Nurse Practitioner-Led Prostate Biopsy in the United Kingdom

A nurse practitioner model for the assessment of suspected prostate cancer referrals is safe, cost and time efficient

“…Autonomous nurse-led clinics are a well-established approach in urological centres in the UK and play a significant role in meeting current population healthcare needs. While there are no directly comparable studies in the published literature for our specific clinical approach, there is an overwhelming consensus from the available literature that nurse-led clinics in urological care are safe, clinically as effective as their physician colleagues and cost-effective [5,[15][16][17][18][19][20][21]. This clearly supports the potential benefits of developing such approaches in the UK, with perhaps a wider scope for development in other countries where we believe there is an even greater potential to address more concerning healthcare inequalities through the use and development of nurse-led approaches to patient care, as part of a multi-professional approach [22].…”

An innovative nurse‐led cystoscopy clinic in Denmark

“…There are over 2500 advanced practice urology nurses across Europe offering services such as flexible cystoscopy, prostate health clinics, sexual dysfunction clinics and lower urinary tract assessment, with high rates of patient satisfaction and safety . The United Kingdom has had advanced practice nurse‐led prostate biopsy since 2010 . UK nurses have been performing conventional ultrasound‐guided prostate biopsies since 2004 (Henderson et al, 2004), although this may change as the magnetic resonance imaging (MRI)‐guided biopsy becomes a standard.…”

“…These guidelines can be extrapolated to other urology‐specific procedures (such as cystoscopy) that can fall under the domain of an expert nurse. The BAUN/EAUN guidelines include the ability of the advanced practice nurse to recognize complications and seek guidance from a collaborating urologist as needed . Shah and Baston (2013) likewise report on the success of ANP who perform prostate biopsies .…”

“…13 The United Kingdom has had advanced practice nurse-led prostate biopsy since 2010. 14 14 This advancement of the nursing role is further characterized by the larger societal need of the local community for specialized care, one that this advancement in practice by these nurse cystoscopists has filled by demonstrating proficiency in three distinct domains: patient care, professionalism, and their role within the health system itself. 12 The specialized nurse cystoscopists of the Hospital of Southwestern Jutland meet the criteria established by the Danish Nurses Organization 11 for the role of "Advanced Nurse Practitioner", and their advanced role offers a further exemplar of this ANP role, as it is emerging in Denmark.…”

Advanced urology nursing practice

“…These factors, combined with an anticipated global shortage of urologists, have meant that other health professionals are taking responsibility for some aspects of patient care previously provided by medical practitioners. [1][2][3][4][5][6] In many countries, inpatient care is now being offered in the outpatient setting to reduce costs. Common surgical procedures in urology, such as radical prostatectomy and the surgical treatment of BPH, are now increasingly performed using minimally invasive technology.…”