Becoming an Advanced Practitioner in Neonatal Nursing

This recently published article discusses the results of a study of the relationship between educational preparation and role development of neonatal nurses.

The aims of this research were to identify

• the educational and working experiences and
• subsequent training needs of graduates of one ANNP course in the UK

The objectives were

• to assess the medium to long-term impact of the training programme on the professional development of the respondents;
• identify potential areas of excellence and
• areas for improvement in this and other training programmes for ANNPs

The results were:

• attention needs to be paid to ongoing professional development particularly the management of professional role relationships among all nurses and between nurses and doctors
• training need to be relevance to clinical practice
• focus on professional role relationships and more effective communication in the clinical setting would be of benefit to all members of multi-disciplinary teams
• greater level of day-to-day support is required for ANNPs, other neonatal nurses and junior doctors if this is to be achieved, especially in clinical settings where there are few ANNPs or the addition of these clinical specialists is relatively new.

Read the full report:
Nicolson P, Burr J, Powell J. Becoming an advanced practitioner in neonatal nursing: a psycho-social study of the relationship between educational preparation and role development.
J Clin Nurs. 2005 Jul;14(6):727-38.