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Management of critically ill patients is changing due a rise in population age, comorbidity and complexity. To accommodate these changes, the demand is increasing for advanced practice nurses. More knowledge is needed regarding the role of advanced practice critical care nurses in European countries. The aim of the study was to review the literature describing skills and competencies required for advanced practice critical care nursing in Europe and to investigate related policy. We performed a scoping review including papers published in 1992–2019 targeting policy and the intersection of advanced practice nursing (level of practice), critical care nursing (specialty area) and Europe (geographical origin). Main sources of evidence were PubMed, EMBASE, PsycINFO, CINAHL, Cochrane Library, SweMed+, Scopus, ERIC and Social Sciences Citation Index. We also searched grey literature, webpages, reference lists and performed hand-search. The search identified 11,478 papers/references of which 42 were included. Four levels of practice were identified with unclear boundaries: professional nurse, specialized nurse, advanced practice nurse and advanced critical care practitioner (nurse or other). Most skills and competencies described in the literature were generic to advanced practice and only few were area specific to critical care. Advanced practice critical care nurses were often unable to fulfil their role because education, supportive policy and legislation were lacking. This scoping review informs the policy makers and the INACTIC study of existing advanced practice in critical care nursing in Europe. The advanced role in critical care nursing is characterized by inconsistency regarding policy, education, titles, roles, scope of practice, skills and competencies. Levels of practice and areas of specialization need to be clarified. Most skills and competencies identified were generic for advanced practice nursing and many were generic for any profession. Task-shifting from physician to nurse needs to be more clearly defined and patient outcomes described. Given the scarcity of papers in our target area, we believe it might be too early to conduct a systematic review at this time. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Background: Changes are occurring in global higher education. Nursing is not exempt from these changes, and must adapt in order to be competitive in a global market. The Bologna process has been integral in the last decade in modernizing European higher education. However, modernization does not occur without challenges. This paper addresses the Bologna process and the challenges it presents to nursing higher education in Europe. Objective: To describe the Bologna Process as it relates to European nursing education. Design and methodology: Literature review via searches of the following electronic. databases: Academic Search Premier, MEDLINE, PubMed, ERIC, and CINAHL. Search criteria included Bologna process, European higher education, nursing education, quality assurance, and ECTS. Results: Twenty-four peer-reviewed articles were included as well as one peer-reviewed presentation, one commission report, and one book. Conclusion: Further investigation is required to address the complexities of the Bologna process and its evolutionary changes as it relates to nursing education in Europe. Change is not always easy, and is often complex, especially as it relates to cross-border education that involves governmental regulation. Bologna-member countries need to adapt to the ever-changing higher education environment or fall behind. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Objectives: This paper provides a quantitative review that estimates exposure rates by type of violence, setting, source, and world region. Design: A quantitative review of the nursing violence literature was summarized. Data sources: A literature search was conducted using the CINAHL, Medline and PsycInfo data bases. Studies included had to report empirical results using a nursing sample, and include data on bullying, sexual harassment, and/or violence exposure rates. A total of 136 articles provided data on 151,347 nurses from 160 samples. Procedure: Articles were identified through a database search and by consulting reference lists of review articles that were located. Relevant data were coded by the three authors. Categories depended on the availability of at least five studies. Exposure rates were coded as percentages of nurses in the sample who reported a given type of violence. Five types of violence were physical, nonphysical, bullying, sexual harassment, and combined (type of violence was not indicated). Setting, timeframe, country, and source of violence were coded. Results: Overall violence exposure rates were 36.4% for physical violence, 66.9% for nonphysical violence, 39.7% for bullying, and 25% for sexual harassment, with 32.7% of nurses reporting having been physically injured in an assault. Rates of exposure varied by world region (Anglo, Asia, Europe and Middle East), with the highest rates for physical violence and sexual harassment in the Anglo region, and the highest rates of nonphysical violence and bullying in the Middle East. Regions also varied in the source of violence, with patients accounting for most of it in Anglo and European regions, whereas patents' families/friends were the most common source in the Middle East. Conclusions: About a third of nurses worldwide indicated exposure to physical violence and bullying, about a third reported injury, about a quarter experienced sexual harassment, and about two-thirds indicated nonphysical violence. Physical violence was most prevalent in emergency departments, geriatric, and psychiatric facilities. Physical violence and sexual harassment were most prevalent in Anglo countries, and nonphysical violence and bullying were most prevalent in the Middle East. Patients accounted for most physical violence in the Anglo region and Europe, and patient family and friends accounted for the most in the Middle East. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]