Defining urology nursing practice roles in Australia and New Zealand

Abstract

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.

Developing an Educational Framework for Urological Nursing: Using a World Café approach to gain an emerging international understanding of issues, challenges and responses

“…Attendees expressed a variety of needs and desires with one of significance being the need to have the framework help address the issue of diverse urological nursing titles. This issue is one of long standing within urological nursing and has been addressed a number of times within the urological nursing literature . Some ANZUNS conversations centred around the capacity of a framework to be seen as credible, internationally recognized, consistent and transferable.…”

Urology nursing practice educational preparation, titles, training, and job responsibilities around the globe: Republication

“…The investigator-initiated survey was developed specifically for this project, with face validity provided by leaders and scholars from multiple professional urology nursing organizations, including SUNA, the British Association of Urological Nurses (BAUN), the Australian and New Zealand Urological Nurses Society, and the European Association of Urology Nurses (EAUN) who are all participants in GAUN (an organization created by the previously listed organizations to share information and glean knowledge from any urology nursing organization around the globe). Several survey items were adapted from the survey used by White et al (2009) with permission.…”

“…A review of the literature failed to identify any global studies that described urology nursing education, titles used by urology nurses, or specific clinical responsibilities of urology nurses at both the basic and advanced practice level. White, Crowe, and Papps (2009) used survey data from Australian and New Zealand nurses to describe their roles, professional titles, educational preparation, and clinical practice responsibilities. Results of this study identified more than 35 job titles used by urology nurses.…”

Advanced urology nursing practice

“…44 However, relying on the support and enthusiasm of individual urologists to train and mentor nurses is a risky strategy, and nationally recognized educational programmes are needed to prepare urology nurses for advanced practice roles, as well as guidelines and standards to ensure practice is evidence-based and consistent. 6,[8][9][10]22,45 These problems are common to all nursing specialties, not just urological nursing. The AUA is involved in ongoing discussion about its role and responsibilities with respect to providing education and procedural training for advanced practice urology nurses, 41 although divided opinion amongst AUA members has prevented collabor ation with nursing organizations in the development of guidelines and competencies.…”

“…Owing to the rigorous clinical and academic preparation required for this role, only a handful of urology nurse practitioners have been appointed in Australia and New Zealand. 9 Similarly, in the UK, a survey of BAUN members revealed almost 50 urology nursing job titles. The researchers expressed concern that this range of titles, without agreed understanding regarding the roles and experience of these nurses, introduced a lack of uniformity of practice.…”