The genesis of advanced nursing practice in New Zealand: policy, politics and education.

When New Zealand's first Nurse Practitioner was approved by the Nursing Council of New Zealand in December 2001, it was the centenary year of New Zealand nursing registration, but less than a decade after the commencement of New Zealand's first pre-registration nursing degrees. What were the conditions and forces in play that saw nursing achieve a new emphasis on advanced clinical education and practice, culminating in the development of an advanced, expanded scope of nursing practice? This contemporary historical study examines the professional and sectoral milieu of the 1990s and the turn of the 21st century, together with the policy initiatives undertaken to advance nursing in New Zealand during that period.