Evidence and practice

Protecting the integrity of children and young people’s nursing as a distinct field of practice

Amanda Garrow Senior lecturer, nursing, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool, England

Kathryn Bailey Lecturer, University of Dundee School of Health Sciences, Dundee, Scotland

Julie Brown Lecturer, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Sonya Clarke Senior lecturer, Queen’s University Belfast, Belfast, Northern Ireland

Matt Carey Associate professor in child health, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, Devon

Sarah Neill Professor, University of Plymouth, Plymouth, Devon

Donald Todd Principal lecturer, Garthdee Campus, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen, Scotland

Debbie Fallon Senior lecturer, University of Manchester, Manchester, England

Why you should read this article:

• To understand the importance of recognising the specific healthcare needs of children and young people
• To be aware of the concerns that have been raised in response to the potential move towards a generalist approach in nursing
• To learn about some of the suggestions for protecting the field of children and young people’s nursing and optimising care for this patient group

At certain points in nursing history, it has been necessary to make a case for children and young people to be cared for by specialist nurses educated to meet their specific needs. However, in 2018 the updated Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) standards of proficiency for registered nurses adopted a generic rather than field-specific approach. This article reiterates that children, young people and their families have unique needs that are best met by nurses who are trained specifically to care for them. The case is made from a historical and legal perspective, concluding with a proposal that in the best interests of children, young people and their families, the NMC should embed specific competencies for children’s nurses into its standards of proficiency to future-proof this field of practice.

Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2024.e1512

Peer review

This article has been subject to open peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

@hodgygarra

Correspondence

A.L.Garrow@ljmu.ac.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Garrow A, Bailey K, Brown J et al (2024) Protecting the integrity of children and young people’s nursing as a distinct field of practice. Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2024.e1512

Acknowledgement

The authors would like to acknowledge the contribution of the Children and Young People’s Nurse Academics UK members whose valuable discussions aided the development of this article

Published online: 07 May 2024

Keywords :

adolescents - child behaviour - child development - child health - duty of care - ethical issues - infants - professional - professional issues - professional regulation - registration

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09 January 2025 / Vol 37 issue 1

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