Uniformity along the way: A scoping review on characteristics of nurse education programs worldwide.

BACKGROUND: The changing demands on healthcare require continuous development and education in the nursing profession. Homogeneity in nursing qualifications reduces educational inconsistencies between and within countries. However, despite various initiatives, modifying nurse education remains challenging because different countries have their own legislations, structures, motivations, and policies. OBJECTIVES: To summarize the characteristics of nurse education programs around the globe and analyze the similarities and differences between them. DESIGN AND METHODS: A scoping review was performed to identify different characteristics of nurse education programs in Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) countries. Records published between January 2016 and July 2021 were searched in the PubMed, Cinahl, and ERIC databases. The reference lists of all included articles were also searched manually for relevant studies. Articles were eligible if they described nurse education in one or more of the selected countries with a focus on nursing degrees (both undergraduate and postgraduate programs), nursing titles, program duration, study load hours, or practice hours. Data were independently extracted using a predefined extraction sheet. We asked the respective nursing associations for confirmation and to provide any additional information. RESULTS: After searching 9769 records, 117 were included in the synthesis. The included records described characteristics of undergraduate nursing educational programs (n = 50), postgraduate programs (n = 30), or both (n = 37). In total, 86 undergraduate and 82 postgraduate programs were described, with a great variety in degrees, nursing titles, study load hours, and practice hours. CONCLUSIONS: This study demonstrates that there is still considerable variation in nurse education programs between countries. These diverse educational pathways lead to different nursing titles and internationally standardized definitions of nursing roles have not been established. This makes it difficult to understand the healthcare role of nurses. Hence, efforts are needed to increase the quality and uniformity of nurse education around the world.

Differentiated nursing practice as a catalyst for transformations in nursing: A multiphase qualitative interview study.

AIM: To identify and follow-up on the transition towards differentiated nursing practice among bachelor trained and vocationally trained nurses in Dutch hospitals. DESIGN: A multiphase general qualitative interview study. METHODS: Fifty semi-structured interviews with project managers in charge of introducing differentiated nursing practice to their hospital were conducted. Purposive sampling was used, and data were collected in 2017, 2019 and 2020. A meta-analysis was conducted after independent primary thematic analysis of each data collection. RESULTS: The introduction of differentiated nursing practice to Dutch hospitals was perceived as uncertain and ambiguous. Three themes were identified during the transition towards differentiated nursing practice: (1) call to action; (2) sitting and waiting; and (3) new beginnings and open ends. The change to differentiated nursing practice is not straightforward and these findings highlight the emerging awareness among project managers of the nature and complexity of the transition. During the study period, professionalization of the nursing profession was recognized as fundamental in hospital organizations. CONCLUSION: Nursing cannot be separated from differentiated nursing practice. Visible leadership is important at all organizational levels and nurses' opinions must be considered as nurses are essential to such changes in healthcare. IMPACT: Differentiated nursing practice based on nursing education allows nurses to make the best use of their experience, skills and competencies, and could promote the provision of effective and high-quality patient care. However, in many cases, a nurse's practice role is based on their nursing licensure instead of their educational background. The change to differentiated nursing practice in hospitals is not straightforward and the nature and complexity of the transition needs to be acknowledged. Nurses have an important role in healthcare transformation and need to be active in developing and formulating rather than just implementing the changes.

Nurse practitioners' perceptions of their ability to enact leadership in hospital care.

AIMS AND OBJECTIVE: To gain insight into nurse practitioners' (NP) leadership roles in Dutch hospital care, by exploring the perceptions regarding their current leadership role and the differences with their previous role as a registered specialised nurse. BACKGROUND: To meet today's challenges of the increasing healthcare demands, the employment of NPs is proliferating. NPs have the ideal position to play a pivotal role within healthcare reforms, yet full expansion of their scope of practice and expertise is having limited success. Long-term sustainability of NPs depends on the ability to perform and develop a leading role. DESIGN AND METHODS: This qualitative descriptive study was conducted in fifteen Dutch hospitals. Data were collected from April-July 2018, and purposive sampling was used for eighteen semi-structured interviews. This study is conducted and reported according to the COREQ checklist. RESULTS: Three main themes concerning NPs' current leadership role emerged, and they were all linked to a successful positioning of NPs. All themes seemed to be of influence on NPs' scope of daily practice. Direct patient care was emphasised, and leadership on other levels appeared to be underused. Most NPs desired to reshape their profession. However, unprofitable use of their leadership skills especially on professional and organisational level and lack of supportive factors seemed to hinder them. CONCLUSIONS: An adequate use of leadership is crucial for role development and positioning of NPs. Further development of the NP profession can help to better differentiate between the tasks of registered specialised nurses and NPs. RELEVANCE TO CLINICAL PRACTICE: Leadership in nursing contributes to the improvement of the quality and efficiency of health care. Further positioning of the NP profession depends on a profitable use of leadership competencies. Besides, NPs should collaborate with healthcare organisations, educational institutions and professional associations to value the NP profession in the current healthcare system.