title: [Role and function of registered professional nurses in the health station: a Delphi study].
abstract: This research was motivated by the need for a specific role definition for Registered Professional Nurses in public health stations that will enable them to fulfil their full potential. An adapted Delphi technique was used to reveal areas of consensus among the views of experts from the practicing nursing profession, government and academia regarding the specific roles and functions of registered professional nurses, and to rank such roles and functions in order of importance. Three questionnaires were sent to 150 experts from the above sectors, of whom 99 completed all three questionnaires: 36 (36.36%) from nursing practice, 34 (34.34%) from government and 29 (29.29%) from academia. Respondents believed that the role of the Registered Professional Nurse should be extended from the traditional "case-oriented" role to a "community health-oriented" role, and that the depth and scope of care should be enhanced. Priority roles identified in the area of "service" were those of "community care provider" and "family health manager", and in the area of "administration", that of "health and hygiene planner"; the most important personal qualities required were identified as "abundant knowledge, skills and practical experience in public health and nursing". It is believed that this study is conducive to establishing a consistent view of the role and functions of the Registered Professional Nurse between the above sectors, and can also serve as a useful guide for curriculum design for Registered Professional Nurses' pre-vocational and in-service training.
authors.affiliation: Department of Nursing, Kaohsiung Municipal Min Sheng Hospital.
authors.forename: S T
authors.initials: ST
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.forename: W L
authors.initials: WL
authors.lastname: Shieh
authors.forename: C J
authors.initials: CJ
authors.lastname: Chiou
mesh_terms: D003697:Delphi Technique; D024802:Nurse's Role; D011637:Public Health Nursing / Q000592:standards*; D013624:Taiwan