Competency Gradients in Advanced Practice Nurses, Specialist Nurses, and Registered Nurses: A Multicentre Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

(1) Background: Identifying differences in the competencies of different areas of nursing is a crucial aspect for determining the scope of practice. This would facilitate the creation of a formal structure for clinical practice in advanced and specialised services. The aims of this study are to analyse the distribution of advanced competencies in registered, specialist and advanced practice nurses in Spain, and to determine the level of complexity of the patients attended by these nurses. (2) Methods: A cross-sectional study was developed on registered, specialist and advanced practice nurses, all of whom completed an online survey on their perceived level of advanced competencies and their professional characteristics. (3) Results: In total, 1270 nurses completed the survey. Advanced practice nurses recorded the highest self-perceived level of competency, especially for the dimensions of evidence-based practice, autonomy, leadership and care management. (4) Conclusions: Among registered, specialist and advanced practice nurses, there are significant differences in the level of self-perceived competencies. Patients attended by advanced practice nurses presented the highest levels of complexity. Understanding these differences could facilitate the creation of a regulatory framework for clinical practice in advanced and specialized services.

Tests on a scale for measuring the core competencies of paediatric specialist nurses: An exploratory quantitative study

“…Good communication, coordination and judgement abilities are prerequisites for treatment and care. Similar to this study, the nurse practitioner core competency framework formulated by the Canadian Nurses Association also shows the importance of the professional role (Gutiérrez‐Rodríguez et al, 2022 ). This conclusion is generally consistent with the results of our study.…”

“…dination and judgement abilities are prerequisites for treatment and care. Similar to this study, the nurse practitioner core competency framework formulated by the Canadian Nurses Association also shows the importance of the professional role(Gutiérrez-Rodríguez et al, 2022). This conclusion is generally consistent with the results of our study.The subdimension of professional technology mastery ability included seven items, which clearly revealed that paediatric specialist nurses should master the nursing skills of specialised diseases, assessment scales related to children, special pipeline nursing skills and so on.…”

“…Specialist nurses are defined as nursing professionals who have specialist knowledge in a specific area of nursing (Gutiérrez‐Rodríguez et al, 2022 ). In the field of paediatric care, paediatric patients are physically immature and their conditions change rapidly and cannot be accurately expressed.…”

“…Cultivating professional nursing talent has become the key direction of nursing development in the new era . Specialist nurses are defined as nursing professionals who have specialist knowledge in a specific area of nursing (Gutiérrez-Rodríguez et al, 2022). In the field of paediatric care, paediatric patients are physically immature and their conditions change rapidly and cannot…”

The role experience of advanced practice nurses in oncology: An interpretative phenomenological study

“…In Spain, advanced practice nursing roles exist, although they are underdeveloped and unregulated (Gutiérrez‐Rodríguez et al., 2022; Manzanares et al., 2021; Serra‐Barril et al., 2022; Sevilla Guerra et al., 2021; Sevilla‐Guerra, 2018). The implementation and development of these roles in potentially unfavourable contexts requires research with a variety of approaches.…”