Is Heart Failure Nursing Practice at the Level of a Clinical Nurse Specialist or Advanced Nurse Practitioner? The Irish Experience

Abstract

Since 2000 there has been a significant increase of Heart Failure Nursing positions in the Irish health service. The background to these positions has been based on the model established at St. Vincent's University Hospital, Dublin since 1998. Recognition of nursing practice in Ireland has also transformed with the introduction of Clinical Nurse Specialist and Advance Nurse Practitioner positions. To date Clinical Nurse Specialists coordinate and manage heart failure programmes, however it remains to be seen whether current practices are within the scope of practice of these nurses. Advanced Nurse Practitioner is a new position in Irish Nursing from examining guidelines and education this may be the way forward for Heart Failure Nursing in Ireland.

Differences between clinical specialist and advanced practitioner clinical practice, leadership, and research roles, responsibilities, and perceived outcomes (the SCAPE study)

“…Moreover, it is argued that CNSs have a more respectable representation among nursing education elite and that nurse practitioners are recognized as a cost‐effective alternative to physicians (Dunn ). One Irish paper has argued for the need for both CNS and ANP to work in the field of heart failure care and clearly delineates their differing roles (Ryder ). Accordingly, in this article, we compare the roles of the CNS, CMS, and ANP as part of a large, national evaluative study.…”