Urology nursing practice educational preparation, titles, training, and job responsibilities around the globe: Republication

Abstract

Research SummaryDescribing urologic nursing practice is an essential step in determining how urology nurses are prepared for practice, the titles they claim, and the job responsibilities performed by urology nurses around the globe to identify commonalities and differences, and to work toward establishing consistency and excellence in care. The purpose of this study was to determine the training preparation for urology nurses at all levels of practice, the titles used by urology nurses, and the clinical responsibilities of urology nurses. The study used a prospective descriptive survey design. The questionnaire was distributed via the Internet with a link to an online survey that was anonymously completed by urology nurses around the world. There were 709 valid responses from urology nurses representing 34 different countries around the world. A total of 82 different titles were identified by urology nurses around the world. The most common title was registered nurse/staff nurse. The most common age group of urology nuses in the study was 51 to 60 years of age (38·7%), with the next most common age being 41 to 50 years of age (36·3%). The most common certification held by urology nurses was urology certification (34·8%, n = 247), with nurses in North America most commonly certified (n = 124), followed by Europe (n = 66) and the United Kingdom (n = 33). The urology nurses identified 98 distinct roles, and the most common activities performed by the entire group were patient/family education, catheterization, intermittent catheterization, bladder ultrasound, change/manage suprapubic catheters, medication administration, uroflow, and assist urologist with procedure. Nursing titles vary greatly around the globe. The lack of continuity in titles may lead to confusion among nurses and the public at large. Nurses around the world reported many roles, and although there were many common roles shared by many nurses, nurses are taking on advanced roles, such as performing cystoscopy, circumcision, and prostate biopsy.