David R. Thompson
(Modified Plenary Session Speech presented in the 14th Annual Nursing Conference:
"Advanced Nursing Practice")
Abstract
In the United Kingdom the National Health Service (NHS) employs over 300,000
nurses who are crucial to the Government's plans to modernise the NHS and to
improve the publics' health. The context of care is changing and nurses face
new challenges and are often constrained by structures that limit development
and innovation. The strategy for nursing, Making a Difference, launched in 1999
formally announced the proposal for a new career framework which would incorporate
the new role of consultant nurse. The key components of the role are: expert
practice; professional leadership and consultancy; education and development;
and practice and service development linked to research and evaluation. Although
this role is new and innovative there are problems emerging, such as different
models being used across specialities and lack of consistency regarding clinical/academic
preparation, job descriptions and pay and conditions. The reality is that this
is an evolving role which will be shaped by the individual. There are great
expectations of this new role but they may not be realistic.
Key words: Consultant nurse, expert practice, United Kingdom