Planning for the future: advanced nursing practice in critical care.
The subject of advanced nursing practice has become a topic of great interest and considerable debate in recent years. It has as a concept, however, been increasingly obscured by the plethora of terms used to denote its particular role and function. The purpose of this paper is to suggest how a consensus may be achieved in terms of role clarification, educational preparation, intellectual skill, level of performance and remuneration. Fundamental elements of the current debate are seen to be the need for advanced nursing practice, how it will be recognized in practice, the parameters of the expanding role and the centrality of the patient rather than professional boundaries in delineating advanced nursing practice for critical care. The debate will no doubt continue. It is not the aim of this paper to reach a definitive understanding, but to provide a platform so that essential elements can be confronted and the development of the role carefully considered.
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City University, St Bartholomew School of Nursing and Midwifery, London, UK.
D002983:Clinical Competence; D003422:Critical Care; D005544:Forecasting; D006801:Humans; D007587:Job Description; D009720:Nurse Clinicians / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D009722:Nurse Practitioners / Q000193:education / Q000458:organization & administration*; D017009:Professional Autonomy