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HEALTHCARE JOURNAL OF ARKANSAS I  SEP / OCT 2025 43 Cheryl Holden, DHSc, MSN, RN-BC Executive Director Master of Healthcare Administration program University of Arkansas Fort Smith decreases errors compared tomanual procedures like paper filing. And as more nurses obtain NPIs (after researching the NPI website in May 2025, we found 146 registered nurses and 771 licensed practical nurses have their NPI numbers), awareness grows among the healthcare community, which serves to support more substantial advocacy efforts for NPI registration. The NPI is free and remains with the individual until it is deactivated. It can be updated as the nurse’s education, skill set, or expertise changes, and with a name or employment change. The online NPI ap- plication is easy to navigate, and can be completed at NPPES: https://nppes.cms . hhs.gov After exploring numerous nursing pro- grams’ curricula and speaking with aca- demic faculty, we saw that professionalism is threaded throughout the curriculum, which leads us to believe that the NPI should be taught in foundational nursing courses and again in the final leadership course. A study completed by Lin et al. (2023) recommends that the NPI begin as part of nursing students’ education and continue throughout their nursing careers to reflect nursing best practices and contributions to healthcare. The NPI is closely linked to both profes- sionalism and leadership in nursing. Cul- tivating NPI in nursing education ensures future nurses are competent clinicians, ethical professionals, and impactful lead- ers. The NPI fosters the internalization of nursing’s leadership role at all levels. Looking Toward the Future We believe a nurse needs two forms of identification: a nursing license issued by the state board of nursing, which grants le- gal authority to practice, and a nurse NPI issued by CMS via the National Plan and Provider Enumeration System (NPPES), which helps track provider-specific out- comes and contributions in a data-driven healthcare profession. Obtaining an NPI is a forward-think- ing decision for nurses. It enhances pro- fessional credibility and aligns with the broader goals of a modernized healthcare system. By securing anNPI, nurses demon- strate readiness to adapt, lead, and thrive in an environment that values streamlined processes and interprofessional collabo- ration. Much like anticipating a patient’s needs, being proactive in administrative readiness is a hallmark of excellence in nursing practice. Now is the time to make nursing’s impact visible. n REFERENCES “National Provider Identifier (NPI) as the Unique Nurse Identifier.” American Nurses Association. June 30, 2022. https://www.nursingworld . org/globalassets/practiceandpolicy/nursing- excellence/ana-position-statements/nursing- practice/npi-position-statement.pdf. “ANA Frequently Asked Questions about the NPI.” Texas Nursing 98, no. 1 (2024): 22–23. https://issuu.com/texasnurses/docs/tn-issue1- 2024-digital. Brenan, Megan, and Jeffrey Jones. “Ethics Ratings of Nearly All Professions Down in U.S.” Gallup, January 22, 2024. https://news. gallup.com/poll/608903/ethics-ratings-nearly- professions-down.aspx. DeMakis, Ashley. “Unveiling the True Worth of a Nurse.” The North Dakota Nurse 94, no. 1 (2024): 5. https://media.healthecareers.com/wp- content/uploads/2024/07/09194958/ND-Nurse- 7_24-WEB2.pdf. “National Provider Identifier (NPI) Application/ Update Form, CMS-10114.” Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services, Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.cms.gov/ medicare/cms-forms/cms-forms/downloads/ cms10114.pdf (retrieved June 1, 2025). Gelinas, Lillee. “Differentiating the Unique Work of Nurses.” American Nurse Journal 18, no. 9 (2023): 4. https://doi.org/10.51256/anj092304. Koehn,Katheren.“HealthcareSpotlight.”ThePulse 61, no. 1 (2024): 9. https://media.healthecareers. com/wp-content/uploads/2024/01/30202821/ Montana-2_24-WEB.pdf. Goodolf, Dawn M., and Nelda Godfrey. “A Think Tank in Action: Building New Knowledge About Professional Identity in Nursing.” Journal of Professional Nursing 37, no. 2 (2021): 493–499. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.profnurs.2020.10.007. Judge, Molly. “American Nurses Advocacy Institute: Advancing the Power of Nursing.” The Bulletin 49, no. 4 (2023): 15. https:// media.healthecareers.com/wp-content/ uploads/2023/08/03202833/Indiana-8_23- WEB.pdf. “National Provider Identifier (NPI) Information.” Arkansas Department of Human Services. https://humanservices.arkansas.gov/divisions- shared-services/medical-services/provider- enrollment/npi/ (retrieved May 25, 2025). Lin, Shuanglan, et al. “Barriers and Facilitators to the Formation of Professional Identity Among Nursing Students: A Four-Year Longitudinal Qualitative Study.” Nurse Education Today 134 (2024): 106087. https://doi.org/10.1016/j. nedt.2023.106087. “National Provider Identifier (NPI).” American Nurses Association. https://www.nursingworld . org/npi (retrieved May 23, 2025). “NPI Number for Nurses: Everything You Need to Know about National Provider Identifiers.” Provider’s Central Hub, October 9, 2024. https:// providerscentralhub.com/npi-number-for- nurses-everything-you-need-to-know-about- national-provider-identifiers/. Sensmeier, Joyce, et al. “Demonstrating the Value of Nursing Care Through Use of a Unique Nurse Identifier. Online Journal of Nursing Informatics 23, no. 2 (2019). https://www.himss . org/resources/demonstrating-value-nursing- care-through-use-unique-nurse-identifier?_ ga=2.194346027.709380364.1754943160- 239065129.1754943143. “Administrative Simplification: Adoption of a Standard for a Unique Health Plan Identifier; Addition to the National Provider Identifier Requirements; and a Change to the Compliance Date for the International Classification of Diseases, 10th Edition (ICD-10-CM and ICD-10- PCS) Medical Data Code Sets.” U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, September 5, 2012. https://www.govinfo.gov/content/pkg/FR- 2012-09-05/pdf/2012-21238.pdf. Welton, John, and Ellen Harper. “Measuring Nursing Care Value.” Nursing Economics 34, no. 1 (2016): 7–14; quiz 15. https://d1wqtxts1xzle7. cloudfront.net/44052782/Measuring_Nursing_ Care_Value_Welton___Harper-libre.pdf. Cheryl Holden, DHSc, is an educator, healthcare leader, and advocate for academic excellence with more than 40 years of leadership experience in hos- pital systems. She has a doctorate in health science fromA.T.Still University,amaster’s degree in nursing from the University of Phoenix-Tulsa,and a bachelor’s degree in nursing from the University of Oklahoma. SusieMarks is the executive director of theArkansas Nurses Association. A native of Arkansas, she has worked in the nonprofit community in the state for 30 years, including over 25 years in community,eco- nomic andworkforce development and 20 years with boards and commissions.She has amaster’s certif- icate in public health fromWalden University,a sport sciencemaster’s degree in sportsmanagement/mar- keting from the United States SportsAcademy, and a bachelor’s degree in business administration from Henderson State University. Margaret Love is a full-time faculty member in the College of Nursing at the University of Arkansas for Medical Sciences,with time spent in clinical practice providing inpatient palliative care consults. She is in her final term as president of the Arkansas Nurses Association. Love is a certified APRN in the family nurse practitioner specialty and an advanced certi- fied hospice and palliative nurse.She has a doctorate of nursing and master’s and bachelor’s degrees in nursing, all fromUAMS. Susie Marks Executive Director Arkansas Nurses Association