Nursing Specialities and professional practice: current situation and future perspectives. / Especialidades de Enfermería y ejercicio profesional: situación actual y perspectivas de futuro.

ABSTRACT

The establishment of nursing specialties that started in 1953 has contributed decisively to the quality of the medical care provided by the National Health System. Nowadays, a large number of nurses have an official specialist qualification achieved through different means of access established by Royal Decree on nursing specialties. Furthermore, the training programmes must continue to develop in order to complete the catalogue established under the aforementioned regulation. It should be pointed out that many specialists face difficulties in carrying out professional practice according to their education and training, due to the lack of job descriptions and identification of competences during recruitment processes and access to job positions, needed for appropriate professional performance. Therefore, it is essential to create a catalogue for specific job positions for each of the specialties to meet the expectations of professional nursing and enhance progress in quality patient care.