Capacity of, and Demand for, Pediatric Nurse Practitioner Educational Programs: A Missing Piece of the Workforce Puzzle

Background: In contrast to family nurse practitioners and other adult nurse practitioners, the percentage of new pediatric nurse practitioners (PNPs) graduating each year has not increased. Purpose: The aim of this study was to determine whether the marginal increase in the pipeline for PNPs is related to a limit in the capacity of educational programs or whether unfilled student openings exist. Methods: Self-administered survey of program directors at all recognized PNP educational programs in the United States. Results: Approximately 10% of PNP programs in the United States were either closed, put on hold, or did not have new graduates in the last 3 years. Even with these closures, over 25% of active programs did not fill all available positions for the class entering in 2012. Conclusion: Despite evidence that demonstrates plans by employers to hire a greater number of PNPs in a variety of clinical venues including pediatric hospitals, primary care and subspecialty pediatric practices, the PNP pipeline has remained relatively stagnant. More than one third of program directors do not believe that their PNP program is currently at capacity, indicating that underutilized capacity to educate PNPs is a hindrance to meeting the current and future demands for these professionals.