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Abstract
Present nurse practitioner (NP) curricular elements undoubtedly focus on the increasing prevalence of chronic disease, the aging population, increased complexity of care delivered across the health care system, and the high cost of care. Content related to transitions of care and transitional care is essential to understand the implications of these transformative changes, and their impact on quality patient care and advanced nursing practice outcomes. The nationally validated set of core competencies for NPs created by the National Organization of Nurse Practitioner Faculties (NONPF) (2011) provides the framework for integration of transitional care knowledge into the NP curriculum. Clinical experiences to support transitional care competencies will be discussed. NP students need to increase their awareness of complex patient and system level factors that occur during transitions of care and be prepared to assume leadership roles to support and coordinate quality transitional plans of care for high risk patients.