Professional competencies of oncology nurses: Recognizing advanced practice in nursing

Sergio Muñoz-Villaverde; María Martínez-García; Leticia Serrano-Oviedo; Ana María Sobrado-Sobrado; María Ángeles Cidoncha-Moreno; Paloma Garcimartin

doi:10.1016/j.enfcle.2023.07.006

Professional competencies of oncology nurses: Recognizing advanced practice in nursing

Enferm Clin (Engl Ed). 2023 Sep-Oct;33(5):338-345. doi: 10.1016/j.enfcle.2023.07.006. Epub 2023 Aug 3.

Authors

Sergio Muñoz-Villaverde¹, María Martínez-García², Leticia Serrano-Oviedo³, Ana María Sobrado-Sobrado⁴, María Ángeles Cidoncha-Moreno⁵, Paloma Garcimartin⁶

Affiliations

¹ Unidad de ensayos clínicos de oncología, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain; Programa de investigación en cáncer, IMIM (Instituto Hospital del Mar de Investigaciones Médicas), Barcelona, Spain; Centro de Atención Primaria Casc Antic, Instituto Catalán de Salud, Gerencia territorial de Barcelona, Barcelona, Spain. Electronic address: sergio.munoz2@alu.uclm.es.
² Unidad de ensayos clínicos de oncología, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain; Programa de investigación en cáncer, IMIM (Instituto Hospital del Mar de Investigaciones Médicas), Barcelona, Spain; Departamento de oncología médica, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain.
³ Unidad de Investigación Traslacional, Hospital General Universitario de Ciudad Real, Servicio de Salud de Castilla-La Mancha (SESCAM), Ciudad Real, Spain.
⁴ Departamento de oncología médica, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain.
⁵ ISS Bioaraba, Subdirección de Enfermería, Dirección General de Osakidetza, Vitoria-Gasteiz, Álava, Spain.
⁶ Dirección Enfermera, Hospital del Mar, Barcelona, Spain; Grupo de Investigación en Cuidados de Enfermería, IMIM (Instituto Hospital del Mar de Investigaciones Médicas), Barcelona, Spain.

PMID: 37543360
DOI: 10.1016/j.enfcle.2023.07.006

Abstract

Objective: To identify the competency profile of advanced practice nurses involved in the care process of cancer patients.

Methods: Cross-sectional and descriptive study. The study included all nurses involved in the cancer patient care process in a tertiary hospital in Barcelona. Competence profile data were collected using the instrument for defining the role of the advanced practice nurse (APRD), as well as sociodemographic and occupational variables. Sociodemographic and occupational data were compared against the performance of advanced practice activities.

Results: A total of 29 (82.9%) nurses participated with a mean age of 42.6±12.54 years. 9 (31%) nurses were identified as meeting the standard in all 6 domains on the APRD scale to be considered advanced practice nurses. Of these 9 (31%) nurses, 7 (24.1%) met the training standards required by the International Council of Nurses (ICN) with an official master's degree and 2 (6.9%) with a PhD.

Conclusions: There are nurses who carry out their activity in the oncology field of the hospital analyzed with the EPA profile. The identification of advanced practice nurses (APNs) in our health system is essential to be able to recognize the competencies of these professionals and create specific positions that help to address chronicity, patients' quality of life, their survival, and the optimization of health resources. Our study highlights the importance of chronicity and cancer as areas for the development of the APNs.

Keywords: Advanced practice nursing; Clinical competence; Competencia clínica; Enfermedad crónica; Enfermería; Enfermería de práctica avanzada; Enfermería oncológica; Medical oncology; Non-communicable diseases; Nursing; Oncology nursing; Oncología médica.