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Background: The concept of a 'specialist nurse' has existed for many years and related education programmes are proliferating. However, while literature clearly outlines the roles and practice of registered nurses and advanced practice nurses, those of specialist nurses remain unclear and nursing specializations across Europe need clarifying., Aim: This pilot study aimed to explore the competencies, education requirements and regulation of specialist nurses in Europe., Design: A descriptive cross-sectional survey., Methods: An online questionnaire named 'Specialist nurse and specialization in Europe' was sent to 550 members of the European Federation of Nurse Educators and ten members of the European Specialist Nurses Organizations. Snowball sampling was then used to build a convenience sample of nurse educators, clinical nurses and specialist nurses, national nursing association members, and chief nursing officers from all European countries. Besides quantitative aspects, responses to open-ended questions were analysed using a qualitative content analysis process., Results: A total of 77 experts from 29 European countries responded to the questionnaire. Findings highlighted variations in titles, levels and length of education, certification, regulation and scope of practice for specialized nurses in Europe. Analysis of the promoted competencies revealed dominant clinical and technical aspects of the role with a high level of knowledge., Conclusions: The study emphasized the need to improve standards for education, certification and regulation for specialist nurses. Interpretation of the role and competencies is diverse with a weak presence of health policy that would enhance and develop the specialities., Implications for Nursing and Health Policy: To address the current lack of provisions for automatic recognition of specialist nurses, common training frameworks corresponding to the relevant level of the European Qualifications Framework should promote lifelong learning and mobility, and enhance levels of health care and patient safety., (© 2014 International Council of Nurses.)

Aim: To examine the engagement of French registered nurses with the Ministry of Health's initiative to spur scientific inquiry in the community., Background: French nursing research has suffered from a lack of dedicated funding. Positive signs of change have recently appeared, with the launch of the first national public funding programme dedicated to nursing research. This initiative, begun in 2010, was launched by the French Ministry of Health. Through this initiative, 149 registered nurses, serving as principal investigators, and their teams submitted research proposals between 2010 and 2011. The administrative guidelines of the funding programme are clearly oriented towards producing quantitative and exogenous nursing research., Method: A cross-sectional analysis of 149 nursing research projects submitted during the first and second years of a French national funding programme for hospital-based nursing research was conducted. Research proposals were included in the analysis whether they received funding or not. Data collection took place in 2011. The categories used in the analysis were the following: (1) the socio-demographic data on the registered nurse principal investigators, (2) the research teams and (3) the research proposals (methodologies, bibliography, focus of the research, output, the status of the research proposals)., Results: This study highlights the presence of methodological homogeneity among the research proposals submitted for funding. Clear tendencies were towards interventional and quantitative studies and those with an exogenous factor research objective. Between 2010 and 2011, 25 projects were funded out of 149 submitted. They were mostly quantitative and/or focused on the exogenous factors in patient care., Conclusion: The socio-political context of a funding programme designed to encourage nursing research has had an implicit influence on the type of research to which French nurses have committed themselves to and the scientific positions with which these nurse researchers align themselves., (© 2013 The Authors. International Nursing Review © 2013 International Council of Nurses.)

Background: France is currently implementing a number of reforms to the healthcare and education systems. Within this context, a comprehensive reform of undergraduate nurse education was launched in 2009, bringing nurse education closer to the higher education environment. It is likely in future to move from being vocational towards becoming an academic educational programme., Aim: In this paper, the 2009 reform of the French pre-registration nursing curriculum will be analysed in light of the European framework., Process: The pedagogical approach, methods and content of nursing education in France are undergoing an in-depth reorganization. The main innovation that the reforms introduce is a competency-based approach. France is joining the group of countries that require first degree-level entry to the nursing profession., Conclusion: There are still many unanswered questions regarding the competencies and qualifications required by both the academic and clinical educators many of whom have not been previously involved in research or publications. The future status of nursing science is unclear, as is the way in which the nursing profession will be able to retain control over its educational mechanisms., (© 2012 The Authors. International Nursing Review © 2012 International Council of Nurses.)