TY - JOUR

T1 - The unique contribution of community clinical nurse specialists in rural Wales

AU - Roberts, Deborah

AU - Hibberd, Patricia

AU - Lewis, Christopher Alan

AU - Turley, Joanne

PY - 2014/12

Y1 - 2014/12

N2 - To date, quality indicators that have been developed for nursing tend tofocus on acute, secondary care settings. It remains unclear whether suchquality indicators are applicable to community settings, particularly in ruralenvironments. This research aims to identify the consensus view amongspecialist nurses regarding their unique nursing contribution within theirrural community. Identifying agreed aspects of the unique role within therural community area will enable quality care metrics to be developed,allowing specialist nurses to measure their unique contribution to ruralhealth care in the future. The research used the Delphi technique toidentify a consensus view among a population of specialist communitynurses working in a designated rural area in Wales. The strongest area ofconsensus related to clinical and teaching expertise, where participantsperceive educational expertise as being at the forefront of their role. Interms of care for individuals, consensus was focused on four main areas:developing appropriate criteria for referral in to the service, collaborativeworking, education, and advocacy roles. The findings highlight similaritiesto models of care provision elsewhere. Specific quality indicators arerequired for clinical nurse specialists working in rural areas. Current qualityindicators may not be applicable across all clinical settings. Further work isrequired to explore the nature of rural nursing practice.

AB - To date, quality indicators that have been developed for nursing tend tofocus on acute, secondary care settings. It remains unclear whether suchquality indicators are applicable to community settings, particularly in ruralenvironments. This research aims to identify the consensus view amongspecialist nurses regarding their unique nursing contribution within theirrural community. Identifying agreed aspects of the unique role within therural community area will enable quality care metrics to be developed,allowing specialist nurses to measure their unique contribution to ruralhealth care in the future. The research used the Delphi technique toidentify a consensus view among a population of specialist communitynurses working in a designated rural area in Wales. The strongest area ofconsensus related to clinical and teaching expertise, where participantsperceive educational expertise as being at the forefront of their role. Interms of care for individuals, consensus was focused on four main areas:developing appropriate criteria for referral in to the service, collaborativeworking, education, and advocacy roles. The findings highlight similaritiesto models of care provision elsewhere. Specific quality indicators arerequired for clinical nurse specialists working in rural areas. Current qualityindicators may not be applicable across all clinical settings. Further work isrequired to explore the nature of rural nursing practice.

U2 - 10.12968/bjcn.2014.19.12.601

DO - 10.12968/bjcn.2014.19.12.601

M3 - Article

VL - 19

SP - 601

EP - 607

JO - British Journal of Community Nursing

JF - British Journal of Community Nursing

IS - 12

ER -