Nursing and Egg Collections
The Extended Role of the Nurse
HEIDI BIRCH, M.SC., R.G.N., R.M.
BACKGROUND
Within the UK nursing practice is undergoing changes that are both exciting and controversial. The potential to develop the role of the nurse within the health care profession should not be allowed to slip from our grasp. Initiatives by the government are aimed at redefining the traditional structure of the NHS. Making a Difference (1) aims to look at ways of strengthening the nursing, midwifery and health visiting contribution to health care and relates these to the changing needs of the patient. It addresses the difficulty the profession has in meeting these needs, given traditional hierarchies and structures, which limit development and innovation. There is no doubt that increasing pressure on doctors and the recent initiatives to reduce junior doctors’ hours are partly responsible for driving this change. There is also pressure from the nursing profession to improve their professional status and reduce their traditional “handmaiden” image. “In post-feminist times the carry on image of nursing as a saucy Barbara Windsor type character is gradually being laid to rest” (2). The Scope of Professional Practice produced by the United Kingdom Central Council (3) has encouraged nurses to re-evaluate their practice, and as a result, nurses from various fields have expanded their roles to meet the changing needs of patients and the profession (4-6). SCOPE addresses the need for continuing education for all nurses in order for them to meet the needs of patients within a rapidly developing health care and social care environment. The guidance given within SCOPE allows nurses to develop a framework to address training and competence of the individual practitioner in the performance of an extended role (7,8). This not only allows nurses to develop their role but also puts upon the nurse a duty to acknowledge any limits of knowledge and/or skill and actively take steps to rectify this.
HEIDI BIRCH, M.SC., R.G.N., R.M.
BACKGROUND
Within the UK nursing practice is undergoing changes that are both exciting and controversial. The potential to develop the role of the nurse within the health care profession should not be allowed to slip from our grasp. Initiatives by the government are aimed at redefining the traditional structure of the NHS. Making a Difference (1) aims to look at ways of strengthening the nursing, midwifery and health visiting contribution to health care and relates these to the changing needs of the patient. It addresses the difficulty the profession has in meeting these needs, given traditional hierarchies and structures, which limit development and innovation. There is no doubt that increasing pressure on doctors and the recent initiatives to reduce junior doctors’ hours are partly responsible for driving this change. There is also pressure from the nursing profession to improve their professional status and reduce their traditional “handmaiden” image. “In post-feminist times the carry on image of nursing as a saucy Barbara Windsor type character is gradually being laid to rest” (2). The Scope of Professional Practice produced by the United Kingdom Central Council (3) has encouraged nurses to re-evaluate their practice, and as a result, nurses from various fields have expanded their roles to meet the changing needs of patients and the profession (4-6). SCOPE addresses the need for continuing education for all nurses in order for them to meet the needs of patients within a rapidly developing health care and social care environment. The guidance given within SCOPE allows nurses to develop a framework to address training and competence of the individual practitioner in the performance of an extended role (7,8). This not only allows nurses to develop their role but also puts upon the nurse a duty to acknowledge any limits of knowledge and/or skill and actively take steps to rectify this.
References: 5