The consultant nurse - expert practitioner and much more.

The consultant nurse (CN) role is usually described in terms of four domains devised by the Department of Health - clinical practice, education and training, leadership, and research and service development. This study set out to explicate the diversity and complexity of CN roles in an NHS trust; to describe aspects of extraordinary practice and to identify perceived differences between this role and other advanced practice roles. Accounts were written by six CNs and subjected to concept mapping to facilitate identification of extraordinary practice.

Use of electronic pagers to recall patients undergoing outpatient-based chemotherapy.

Long waiting times while receiving chemotherapy in an outpatient setting have been identified as contributing to patient dissatisfaction and discomfort by a number of authors. Following an observation of this practice in a non-medical establishment, and as part of our service improvement program, we introduced the use of message pagers to recall patients in our chemotherapy outpatient service. We audited the impact of this intervention by means of questionnaires directed at patients and nursing staff.