[Prospective qualification requirements in nursing care. Results and conclusions of the BMBF research network...

Demographic change, advances in medicine, and innovative health care services are leading to changes in the professional qualification requirements for nursing and care staff. Detecting future trends in relation to these requirements was the focus of a Delphi study developed as part of the BMBF FreQueNz initiative. After qualitative expert interviews, data collection was organized in three consecutive steps, with 243 interviews realized in the second wave. It was found that home care will further diversify in the fields of supporting and counseling services as well as in palliative care, resulting in the necessary expansion of specific qualifications (e.g., intensive care). Moreover, there will be an increased need for interprofessional, intersectoral, and intercultural coordination and communication skills. As a consequence of the delegation of medical tasks, new duties for nonmedical professions in inpatient and outpatient care will also arise. For instance, qualifications need to be tailored to the new demands of assessment, diagnostics, therapy, and patient education and they should take into account evidence-based knowledge as well as clinical practice guidelines. Consequently, the system of care professionals will further diversify through advanced training programs and the continued academization of nursing.