A Compass for Nursing Specialty Professional Development

Abstract

Undergraduate nursing curricula in Australia are designed to develop a workforce of healthcare professionals who have generalist knowledge and skills to provide high-quality care across the lifespan throughout a variety of health-care settings (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council, 2019; Schwartz, 2019). Review of international pediatric undergraduate nurse education demonstrates similarities between the education structures of Australia (Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council, 2019), New Zealand (Nursing Council of New Zealand, 2022), Canada (Canadian National Nursing Assessment Service, 2022), and the United States (Bowling et al., 2018), with primary qualification leading to Registered Nurse status. The Australian Nursing and Midwifery Accreditation Council (2019) requires undergraduate nursing programs to include 800 hours of clinical practice, excluding simulation. Undergraduate nursing exposure to pediatric nursing varies between 4 and 12 weeks of the total undergraduate program depending on the university provider (Boyd-Turner et al., 2016) and access to pediatric placements (Reid-Searl et al., 2021). Foundational training without specialism supports the Australian workforce and service delivery needs across wide and often dispersed geographical locations. Recent years have seen increasing discussions to enhance specialist areas of practice within undergraduate nursing curricula, including the care of children and young people (Schwartz, 2019). Pediatric nursing career pathways in both Australia and the United States are supported by the opportunity to credential as a pediatric nurse (Australian College of Children and Young People’s Nursing, 2019; Paediatric Nursing Certification Board, 2022). However, graduating nurses transitioning into specialized practice areas, such as pediatric, child, and youth mental health and neonatal care, are currently required to rapidly upskill and enhance their specialty knowledge, competency, and capability to provide safe quality care (Annamma & Ahmad, 2019; Maree et al., 2020). In countries such as Australia, New Zealand, Canada, and the United States where undergraduate training structures are not specialism focused, the increasing complexity and acuity of patient care resulting from rapidly evolving medical technology and treatments and extended nursing role scopes in rural and remote practice contexts necessitate early engagement in continuous professional development to support safe pediatric and neonatal practice by skilled and capable nurses (Birkhoff, 2010; Muirhead & Birks, 2020).