Nursing Educational Requirements: Relevance to Life Care Planning Credentialing Policy

There has been debate among life care planning practitioners and policy-makers regarding the minimum educational requirements for nurses engaged in life care planning practice. Specifically, should nurses be required to attain a minimum of a bachelor’s degree in order to be considered qualified, and to be eligible for certification in the area of life care planning? Some historical background about this debate is presented, followed by an analysis of current nursing educational policy and practice in the United States. Implications for credentialing in the area of life care planning are discussed.