Nurse‐led clinical activity in kidney transplantation care in Spain: A cross‐sectional observational study

Abstract

ObjectivesTo explore the presence of specialist outpatient nursing activity in care for kidney transplant recipients in Spain and to determine the level of competence development of this activity according to the Advanced Practice Nurse model.DesignDescriptive, cross‐sectional study.Participants and MeasurementsAll outpatient nurses specialising in renal transplantation in the 39 transplant hospitals in Spain were included. To fulfil the study objectives, an ad hoc questionnaire and the ‘Advanced Practice Nurse Role Definition Instrument (IDREPA)’ were administered to assess the nurses' level of competence development.ResultsOf the facilities included in the study, 25 (64.1%) had posttransplant nursing activity, 13 (33.3%) had pretransplant nursing activity and 11 (28.2%) had nursing activity involving kidney donor candidates. Twenty‐seven specialist nurse's offices were identified. The results of the IDREPA reflect the presence of advanced practice in the domains of ‘expert care planning’ and ‘comprehensive care’. Three (11.1%) nurses met all criteria for advanced nursing practice.ConclusionThe results on specialised outpatient nursing activity at the 39 transplantation facilities in Spain indicate a low presence of this type of activity, with an even lower presence of advanced practice nurses.Implications for Clinical PracticeManagement teams should consider investing in the quality of care provided by advanced nurse practice to ensure that suitable treatment is provided and better clinical outcomes are obtained.

The role of advanced practice nurses in improving healthcare outcomes for patients with chronic kidney disease: A scoping review protocol

“…In the early 2000s, some literature described the role of nephrology APNs and showed their practice [ 23 – 25 ]. Nowadays, nephrology APNs have contributed to improving the healthcare outcomes of patients with all CKD stages who are not yet on dialysis [ 26 – 28 ], are on dialysis [ 29 , 30 ], or are pre- or post-kidney transplant [ 31 , 32 ]. We believe it is worthwhile to identify and present such cumulative practice of nephrology APNs.…”

Creating the nursing care map in the evaluation of kidney transplant candidates: A scoping review and narrative synthesis

“…Although nurses perform coordination and management tasks in organ donation in Spain, they are not yet widely present in the teams assessing KT candidates in hospital settings (Fournier & Lerrat, 2016; Gaietto & Brooks, 2019; Pedreira‐Robles et al, 2023; Videloup, 2019). Despite this, evidence from other settings points to the benefits that the presence of nurses in these activities can bring.…”

“…Despite the outstanding recommendations on the configuration of interdisciplinary teams, there are no reports available on how KT teams are actually configured at present, neither in Spain nor in other countries. A shortage of experienced nephrology nurses has been reported in the international literature, causing great concern among nephrology professionals and patients (Gaietto & Brooks, 2019; Pedreira‐Robles et al, 2023). This concern stems from the profile of the current population with chronic kidney disease (CKD), who require specific care under official Spanish guidelines on ageing and chronicity (Sánchez‐Martín, 2014; Vargas‐Marcos, 2015).…”