The concept of the specialist community nurse

This paper seeks to stimulate discussion on the concept of the specialist community nurse and to investigate the effectiveness or limitations of the role. The main arguments presented are that, although the role of the specialist community nurse will be exposed to constraints from both the medical and managerial culture and tensions within the profession regarding perceptions of professionalization may militate against progress towards specialist status, the concept is a worthy goal and can be underpinned by phenomenological concepts of professionalism.