Message from MAAPC’s President - Nurse Practitioner Week November 12-18 2023

The 2023 National Nurse Practitioner Week Is Celebrated Nov. 12-18, and we recognize Heroes in Health Care.   In 1965, Drs. Loretta Ford and Henry Silver developed the first nurse practitioner (NP) program. Almost sixty years later, the nation’s more than 355,000 NPs are improving the health and lives of millions of patients and their communities every day.

NPs are leading the way in providing high-quality, cost-effective care and helping to solve our nation’s pressing access to health care challenges. Each year, patients turn to NPs in over 1 billion visits for primary, acute, specialty and long-term care across every health care setting and wherever there is a need.  As clinicians who blend clinical expertise with an added emphasis on disease prevention and health management, NPs bring a comprehensive perspective to health care.

We honor the health care heroes working in communities throughout Maryland and across the country, and the critical role of NPs as part of the annual National Nurse Practitioner Week celebration.  This year, the NP role was named as the number one job that helps people, according to U.S News & World Report.   NPs are the providers of choice for millions of Americans seeking high-quality health care — blending their comprehensive knowledge with a personal touch and evidence-based care. As demand swells for mental health and primary care services, a new generation of NP students joins thousands of established NPs to help increase patients’ access to care. NPs continue stepping up to advance accessible, person-centered, equitable, high-quality health care for diverse communities through practice, education, advocacy, research, and leadership.  We recognize the one title inherent to all NPs — hero.

On behalf of the Maryland Academy of Advanced Practice Clinician Board of Directors, colleagues, grateful patients, and communities- we thank you! 

Sincerely,

Marie Taylor Tarleton, CRNP, BC-FNP

President, MAAPC