A survey of specialist and advanced nursing practice in the UK

This article is the result of a 1-year research project which aimed to develop a contemporary account of the expectations of senior personnel in NHS trusts throughout the UK with regard to the roles of specialist nurses (SN) and advanced nurses (AN). A questionnaire was sent to the chief nurses in 490 NHS trusts throughout the UK. Findings highlight the distinctions made by senior personnel regarding the roles of SNs and ANs, employment issues, fields of practice, work activities, advantages and disadvantages of employing SNs and ANs and ways in which all of these factors have changed since the last survey in 1996. Differences were highlighted between the roles of SNs and ANs in terms of fields of practice and the strategies used to evaluate the effectiveness of their posts.