The international literature describes a variety of frameworks and competence indicators used by regulatory authorities to safeguard the public. In the 5 years since the NCNZ implemented the CCF less than 0.02% of notifications related to 'competence' have been recorded. The majority of NZ nurses believe that the CCF provides a mechanism to ensure nurses are competent and fit to practice. However, it is important to note that CCF processes may infer competence but they are not a guarantee that a nurse is safe to practice on any given day.
Definitions of continuing competence within legislation and health professional regulation across developed nations have strong similarities. The need for continuing competence frameworks is generally agreed by regulatory authorities to be necessary to protect the safety of the public. However, regulatory processes that monitor the maintenance, assessment and development of continuing competence in nursing practice need to be overt, structured and well communicated in order to engage nurses, promote confidence in professional practice and protect the health and safety of members of the public.
There is confusion surrounding the roles and clinical responsibilities of urology nurses employed in Australia and New Zealand. A study of members of the Australian and New Zealand Urological Nurses Society (ANZUNS Inc.) was undertaken to provide baseline information about their clinical practices. A descriptive survey utilizing a questionnaire consisting of 28 questions was sent to all 623 members on the ANZUNS Inc. database. Demographic data, information on role development and the current clinical skill set of each nurse was collected. Information was provided on education received to perform these various activities and which role respondents believed most appropriate to carry out the activity, e.g. RN, clinical nurse specialist, nurse practitioner (NP) or doctor.
Respondents identified over 35 job titles with 26% of roles created independently. One‐third of these job titles had no guidelines for role development. Almost 80% of respondents have been working in a urology setting for longer than 5 years, with almost 60% holding specialist nursing positions. The preparation for a variety of identified advanced clinical practices varied widely between respondents from being self‐taught to receiving informal ‘on the job’ training and undertaking formal competency programmes. Similarly, there was wide disparity between respondent's opinions about which role was best suited to perform these clinical practices. This study highlights the need to introduce consistency across the urological nursing workforce in Australia and New Zealand to standardize role titles and associated clinical responsibilities, with clear guidelines required to define appropriate preparation for advanced practice.
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