Words matter: Thoughts after the winter advanced practice nursing Fellows meeting.

Critical issues facing nurse practitioners (NPs) today can be influenced by the words used about NPs every day. The words used to describe who and what NPs are can affect efforts to achieve full practice authority throughout the United States. They affect how NPs treat each other and how the public, professional colleagues, and others view them, which can have a profound effect on rules, regulations, and policies that affect NP effectiveness and practice.