PT  - JOURNAL ARTICLE
AU  - Andreja Šajnić
AU  - Carol Kelly
AU  - Sheree Smith
AU  - Karen Heslop-Marshall
AU  - Malin Axelsson
AU  - José Miguel Padilha
AU  - Nicola Roberts
AU  - Carmen Hernández
AU  - Bridget Murray
AU  - Betty Poot
AU  - Georgia Narsavage
TI  - Need and baseline for harmonising nursing education in respiratory care: preliminary results of a global survey
AID  - 10.1183/20734735.0172-2021
DP  - 2022 Sep 01
TA  - Breathe
PG  - 210172
VI  - 18
IP  - 3
4099  - http://breathe.ersjournals.com/content/18/3/210172.short
4100  - http://breathe.ersjournals.com/content/18/3/210172.full
SO  - Breathe2022 Sep 01; 18
AB  - Background The COVID-19 pandemic confirmed that respiratory nurses are critical healthcare providers. Limited knowledge is available about appropriate education to prepare nurses to deliver high-quality respiratory care. A survey was developed by the International Coalition for Respiratory Nursing (ICRN) group to identify the need for a respiratory nursing core curriculum.Method A 39-item survey was distributed to 33 respiratory nursing experts in 27 countries. Questions asked about current roles, perception of need, expectations for a core curriculum project and respiratory content in nursing education in their countries.Results 30 responses from 25 countries were analysed; participants predominantly worked in academia (53.3%, 16/30) and clinical practice (40%, 12/30). In total, 97% (29/30) confirmed a need for a core respiratory nursing curriculum. Post-registration nursing programmes at bachelor (83.3%, 25/30) and masters (63.3%, 19/30) levels include internal/medical nursing care; less than half identified separate respiratory nursing content. The core educational programme developed should include knowledge (70%, 21/30), skills (60%, 18/30), and competencies (50%, 15/30), with separate paediatric and adult content.Conclusion Survey results confirm a wide variation in nursing education and respiratory nursing education across the world, with many countries lacking any formal educational programmes to prepare nurses capable of providing enhanced quality respiratory care. These findings support the need for a core respiratory curriculum. To advance this significant work the ICRN group plans to conduct a Delphi study to identify core curriculum requirements for respiratory nursing education at pre-registration and advanced educational levels to flexibly meet each country's specific educational requirements for recognition of respiratory nursing speciality practice.The development of a harmonised international education curriculum for respiratory nursing will provide more effective and safer delivery of care to respiratory patients around the globe https://bit.ly/3NqMRN7