Do we need tailored training and development plans for European Union respiratory nurses?

• Published in: Breathe
• Main Authors: Allonso, Silvia Arranz, Christensen, Helle Marie, Díaz- Pérez, David, Narsavage, Georgia, Padilha, José Miguel, Quijano-Campos, Juan Carlos, Sajnic, Andreja, Stridsman, Caroline, Täubl, Helmut, Zakrisson, Ann-Britt, Clari, Marco
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: 2020
• Subjects: Norway; Iceland
• Online Access: https://portal.findresearcher.sdu.dk/da/publications/5ff8e07b-a838-451a-81f8-3b88dc4d0b00; https://doi.org/10.1183/20734735.0010-2020; https://findresearcher.sdu.dk/ws/files/172268438/200010.full.pdf

Respiratory diseases inflict a massive health burden worldwide, affecting >1 billion people. COPD, asthma, acute lower respiratory tract infections, tuberculosis and lung cancer are among the most common causes of severe illness and death globally [1]. Respiratory nurses are key members of the pulmonary healthcare team caring for people in acute settings, as well as in primary care, providing a wide range of interventions from ventilation to palliative care. Their specialised roles deliver both autonomous and prescribed interventions [2–6]. Worldwide, the recognition of respiratory nurses has been effective in improving the quality of care and patients' outcomes. In Australia and the USA, the scope and role of respiratory nurses has been well defined and established for 30 years [7]. In 2017, the European Respiratory Society (ERS) documented that allied respiratory professionals (ARPs) “are involved in the prevention, diagnosis, evaluation, treatment and management of respiratory diseases” [8]; however, the role of respiratory nurses within the ARPs was not clearly delineated. In the European Union (EU) only Denmark, Finland, Iceland, Norway, Portugal, Spain, Sweden and the UK have a formal respiratory specialisation for nurses, and the competences and education levels of respiratory nurses vary from one European country to another. Currently, there is a lack of consensus on the definition, role and activities of respiratory nurses. Thus, it is challenging to understand which specialist care would be best provided by respiratory nurses, and respiratory nursing roles in joint research projects and educational programmes remain unclear. It is imperative that respiratory nurses themselves define the scope of respiratory nursing and replace a general description such as “nurses taking care of people with pulmonary diseases”, with the clarity needed for harmonised, tailored training and development plans. Defining and outlining the scope of practice, role and activities of respiratory nurses is of utmost ...