Background: A key step to the development of a roadmap for developing nursing specialist roles is to create its framework based on the immediate context.
Purpose: This study aimed to create the framework for developing nursing specialist roles in the health care system of Iran.
Methods: This was a descriptive qualitative study. A purposeful sample of 81 nursing and nonnursing experts was recruited. The directed content analysis approach was used for data analysis.
Findings: The framework for developing nursing specialist roles in the health care system include eight main categories. These categories are role titles, prioritization of the necessary specialties, the necessary competencies of nurses at specialist level, the scope of nursing specialist practice, expected authorizations, requirements for role development, and its barriers and facilitators.
Discussion: Creating a context-based framework for nursing specialist role development based on the characteristics of each country is recommended.
Keywords: Nurse; Nursing practice; Qualitative study; Role development.
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