Advanced nurse practitioner to specialist nurse
An advanced nurse practitioner already meets 73% of what the specialist nurse role asks for. The move turns on 17 required skills not yet in the profile.
47.3/ 100
1 How much of what a specialist nurse is expected to do is already part of an advanced nurse practitioner’s work. Directional: the figure for the reverse move differs, because moving into a speciality is not the same problem as moving out of one. 2 Every skill the specialist nurse role is recorded as needing, required and optional together. What these numbers mean.
Why this move works
A specialist nurse role treats 53 of its required skills as things an advanced nurse practitioner already does. You would walk in with these on day one.
- accept own accountability
- advise on healthcare users' informed consent
- advise on healthy lifestyles
- analyse quality of nurse care
- apply context specific clinical competences
- apply nursing care in long-term care
What stands in the way is 17 required skills the profile does not yet cover. Table 3 groups them; Table 4 says which to take first.
Table 2 · What you already bring
Of the 63 skills that carry over, these are the ones fewest other occupations ask for. A specialist nurse role needs them, and most people applying for one will not have them already. This is the part of an advanced nurse practitioner background worth leading with.
- already held coach individuals in specialised nursing care communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held communicate in specialised nursing care communication, collaboration and creativity
- already held contribute to the advancements in specialised nursing care information skills
- already held evaluation in specialised nursing care information skills
- already held specialist nursing care health and welfare
- already held analyse quality of nurse care information skills
All 63 carried skills, including the 53 the specialist nurse role treats as required.
Table 3 · What you may need to learn
The 29 missing skills fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, numbered in the order worth working in. Areas carrying the most required skills come first, and inside each one the required skills sit above the optional ones. Nothing here is a verdict on you: it is a list of what this particular job asks for that your current one does not.
- still to learn perform vascular surgery therapeutic procedures required
- still to learn refer healthcare users required
- still to learn adhere to organisational guidelines required
- still to learn apply sustainability principles in health care required
- still to learn comply with legislation related to health care required
- still to learn initiate life preserving measures required
- still to learn promote inclusion required
- optional, not held assist in epilepsy surgery optional
- optional, not held follow-up patients with heart attack optional
- optional, not held provide palliative care optional
- optional, not held treat endocrine disorders optional
- still to learn empower individuals, families and groups required
- still to learn address problems critically required
- still to learn communicate in healthcare required
- still to learn educate on the prevention of illness required
- still to learn promote a positive image of nursing required
- still to learn promote human rights required
- optional, not held use clinical reasoning optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages for health-related research optional
- still to learn promote health in specialised care required
- still to learn provide treatment strategies for challenges to human health required
- still to learn adapt leadership styles in healthcare required
- still to learn impact of social contexts on health required
- optional, not held patient safety theories optional
- optional, not held conduct patch testing optional
- optional, not held address side effects of menopause optional
- optional, not held conduct polysomnography optional
- optional, not held simulation-based clinical education optional
1 further area in the appendix
Table 4 · Where to start
The 3 entries a specialist nurse role is least likely to hire without. The ordering is computed from the skill data, not from what pays.
- 01 empower individuals, families and groups practise this
- 02 perform vascular surgery therapeutic procedures practise this
- 03 promote health in specialised care practise this
Each entry opens a course search for that skill. Career Overlap earns nothing from these links.
Appendix · The rest of the record
All 63 skills that carry over
- already held accept own accountability skill
- already held advise on healthcare users' informed consent skill
- already held advise on healthy lifestyles skill
- already held analyse quality of nurse care skill
- already held apply context specific clinical competences skill
- already held apply nursing care in long-term care skill
- already held apply person-centred care skill
- already held carry out invasive cardiovascular procedures skill
- already held carry out nurse-led discharge skill
- already held coach individuals in specialised nursing care skill
- already held communicate in specialised nursing care skill
- already held comply with quality standards related to healthcare practice skill
- already held contribute to continuity of health care skill
- already held contribute to the advancements in specialised nursing care skill
- already held coordinate care skill
- already held deal with emergency care situations skill
- already held delegate emergency care skill
- already held develop a collaborative therapeutic relationship skill
- already held diagnose nursing care skill
- already held empathise with the healthcare user skill
- already held ensure safety of healthcare users skill
- already held evaluate nursing care skill
- already held evaluation in specialised nursing care skill
- already held follow clinical guidelines skill
- already held have computer literacy skill
- already held implement fundamentals of nursing skill
- already held implement nursing care skill
- already held implement scientific decision making in healthcare skill
- already held inform policy makers on health-related challenges skill
- already held interact with healthcare users skill
- already held listen actively skill
- already held manage adverse reactions to drugs skill
- already held manage communicable disease skill
- already held manage hospital-acquired infections skill
- already held manage information in health care skill
- already held manage multiple patients simultaneously skill
- already held manage personal professional development skill
- already held manage trauma through surgical means skill
- already held participate in health personnel training skill
- already held perform bronchoscopy skill
- already held perform diagnostic testing for allergies skill
- already held plan nursing care skill
- already held provide comprehensive care for patients with surgical conditions skill
- already held provide health education skill
- already held provide nursing advice on healthcare skill
- already held provide professional care in nursing skill
- already held respond to changing situations in health care skill
- already held solve problems in healthcare skill
- already held specialist nursing care knowledge
- already held use e-health and mobile health technologies skill
- already held use electronic health records in nursing skill
- already held work in a multicultural environment in health care skill
- already held work in multidisciplinary health teams skill
- already held administer immunotherapy skill
- already held advise patients on infectious diseases when travelling skill
- already held assess physical conditions of clients skill
- already held assist in kidney transplant skill
- already held conduct preoperative investigations skill
- already held perform venous cannulation skill
- already held prescribe medication skill
- already held provide anti-cancer medical treatment skill
- already held provide nursing care in community settings skill
- already held use foreign languages in patient care skill
The 1 learning area not shown above
- optional, not held perform endoscopy optional
12 supplementary skills, helpful but not required
- optional, not held conduct patch testing optional
- optional, not held perform endoscopy optional
- optional, not held address side effects of menopause optional
- optional, not held assist in epilepsy surgery optional
- optional, not held conduct polysomnography optional
- optional, not held follow-up patients with heart attack optional
- optional, not held patient safety theories optional
- optional, not held provide palliative care optional
- optional, not held simulation-based clinical education optional
- optional, not held treat endocrine disorders optional
- optional, not held use clinical reasoning optional
- optional, not held use foreign languages for health-related research optional
30 held skills the specialist nurse role does not ask for
- not needed by the target role apply organisational techniques skill
- not needed by the target role clinical decision-making at advanced practice skill
- not needed by the target role communicate with nursing staff skill
- not needed by the target role conduct research in advanced nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role contribute to high level health strategic decisions skill
- not needed by the target role develop plans related to the transfer of care skill
- not needed by the target role diagnose advanced nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role evidence-based nursing care knowledge
- not needed by the target role implement policy in healthcare practices skill
- not needed by the target role innovation in nursing knowledge
- not needed by the target role lead healthcare services changes skill
- not needed by the target role lead research activities in nursing skill
- not needed by the target role leadership in nursing knowledge
- not needed by the target role make clinical decisions skill
- not needed by the target role mentor other health professionals skill
- not needed by the target role nursing principles knowledge
- not needed by the target role nursing science knowledge
- not needed by the target role organise homecare for patients skill
- not needed by the target role perform antepartum fetal monitoring skill
- not needed by the target role perform health assessment autonomously skill
- not needed by the target role prescribe advanced nursing care skill
- not needed by the target role provide clinical advice to team members skill
- not needed by the target role screen patients for disease risk factors skill
- not needed by the target role spine surgery knowledge
- not needed by the target role supervise medical residents skill
- not needed by the target role supervise nursing staff skill
- not needed by the target role support nurses skill
- not needed by the target role teach nursing principles skill
- not needed by the target role treat medical conditions of elderly people skill
- not needed by the target role work with nursing staff skill
3 gaps that are knowledge rather than practice
Knowledge gaps usually close through study. Practical skill gaps usually need something you can point at.
- still to learn impact of social contexts on health required
- optional, not held patient safety theories optional
- optional, not held simulation-based clinical education optional
Common questions about this move
Can an advanced nurse practitioner become a specialist nurse?
Yes, and it is a moderate move. An advanced nurse practitioner already covers 73% of what a specialist nurse is expected to do: 63 skills carry over, 53 of which the specialist nurse role treats as required.
What skills does an advanced nurse practitioner need to become a specialist nurse?
17 required skills are missing, plus 12 optional ones. They fall into 7 areas of the ESCO skill hierarchy, led by assisting and caring. The single most important is empower individuals, families and groups.
How hard is the move from advanced nurse practitioner to specialist nurse?
Its learning distance is 47.3 out of 100, which is the moderate band. That accounts for both how much is missing and how specialised those skills are.
How this record was compiled
Both occupations are taken from ESCO, which lists the skills and knowledge each occupation is expected to have and marks every one required or optional. Nothing here is a prediction about hiring, and nothing here knows that a particular employer wants a particular certificate. Treat Table 3 as a starting point for your own research rather than a syllabus. The full method states what these figures can and cannot tell you.