A nurse by any other name? An international comparison of nomenclature and regulation of healthcare assistants

Jennifer Jackson, Farida Gadimova, Sandra Epko
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Abstract

Background

Across international healthcare systems, healthcare assistant roles have proliferated, in part to decrease nursing costs and support workplace staffing. There is a lack of consensus about the professional title for healthcare assistants, and whether this group requires professional regulation. The variety of terms for healthcare assistants has resulted in confusion around their scope of practice and role within the healthcare team, which may influence patient care.

Aim

We aimed to identify the terminology used for healthcare assistants across English speaking countries and determine the international status of professional regulation of healthcare assistants.

Method

We conducted a deductive, structured search for healthcare assistant roles that were codified on English-language nursing regulator websites in each jurisdiction in Australia, New Zealand, USA, Canada, Ireland, and the United Kingdom. We assessed what terminology were used for healthcare assistant roles in each area, and whether they were regulated by a professional regulator, such as a college of nursing.

Results

Across 77 jurisdictions, we identified 37 different terms for healthcare assistants. The most frequent term was Certified Nurse Aid with 24 uses, and Certified Nursing Assistant with 13 uses. The majority of healthcare assistants are not professionally regulated. Only 12 jurisdictions have professional regulation programs for healthcare assistants, all in the USA.

Conclusion

There is an urgent need for international consensus about the nomenclature for healthcare assistants, so the healthcare assistant workforce can be supported, and their work evaluated via research studies. Regulators can consider how to engage with healthcare assistants and protect the public, as healthcare assistants provide an increasing proportion of patient care.

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护士的其他名称?医护助理名称和监管的国际比较
背景在整个国际医疗保健系统中,医护助理的职位激增,部分原因是为了降低护理成本和支持工作场所的人员配置。关于医护助理的专业职称以及这一群体是否需要专业监管,目前还缺乏共识。我们的目的是确定英语国家对医护助理使用的术语,并确定医护助理专业监管的国际现状。方法我们对澳大利亚、新西兰、美国、加拿大、爱尔兰和英国各辖区的英语护理监管机构网站上编纂的医护助理角色进行了演绎式、结构化搜索。我们评估了每个地区对医护助理角色使用的术语,以及这些角色是否受护理学院等专业监管机构的监管。结果在 77 个辖区中,我们发现了 37 个不同的医护助理术语。最常见的术语是注册护士助理,有 24 种用法,注册护理助理有 13 种用法。大多数医护助理不受专业监管。只有 12 个辖区对医护助理实施了专业监管计划,这些辖区均位于美国。结论目前迫切需要就医护助理的术语达成国际共识,以便为医护助理队伍提供支持,并通过研究对他们的工作进行评估。监管机构可以考虑如何与医护助理接触并保护公众,因为医护助理提供的病人护理服务所占比例越来越大。
本文章由计算机程序翻译,如有差异,请以英文原文为准。
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来源期刊
CiteScore
5.80
自引率
0.00%
发文量
45
审稿时长
81 days
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