Maltese nurses' perception of their expanded role.

Abstract

The study aimed to identify if nurses are aware of the benefits and risks, and the legal implications of their expanded role. A descriptive research design was used to reach the aims of the study. All staff nurses working on the purposively chosen Surgical and Medical Wards, the Intensive Therapy Unit, the Coronary Care Unit and the Accident and Emergency Department and met the pre-set criteria constituted the sample population. Self-report questionnaires (n=107) were distributed with a response rate of 79% (n=83). Analysis of results was performed using descriptive and inferential statistics. From the results it appears that nurses are willing to expand their role. They also hold a moderately positive attitude towards role expansion that was interpreted as a cautious approach. Statistical significance was achieved between the attitude mean score of surgical nurses and the nurses working in the Intensive Therapy Unit. Responses show that the term expanded role was not clear to some nurses. However, expanded activities are being performed regularly, sometimes ignoring the hospital's policy. It also appears that nurses are inclined to learning and keep updated about their role. A worrying result was that, some nurses are undertaking expanded activities when they do not feel competent in carrying out such activities. The legal knowledge about the expanded role is distorted, as related answers proved very inconsistent. Nurses appear to be in favour of certification and to work in the parameters of guidelines. A number of recommendations were put forward based on the findings of the study. Also further studies were suggested to explore more in depth various elements that emerged form the study.