Confusion prevails in defining 'advanced' nursing practice.

Abstract

The Australian nursing profession has accepted the challenge to support and encourage advanced nursing practice role development. A critical review of national and international literature highlights that there is no singular definition or understanding of 'advanced' nursing practice. Instead difficulty with nomenclature and clarification of levels of nursing are perpetuated by unclear distinction between 'advanced', 'specialist' and 'expert' nursing practice. This paper presents the findings of a review of the literature and posits that ambiguity and lack of consistency in defining 'advanced' nursing practice is hampering the progression of the profession towards the development of consistent advanced practice roles in Australia. It is proposed that a universally accepted definition would provide a vehicle for future Australian role development so that all advanced practice roles have a common genesis and national consistency results.