A delegation from the German Association for Nursing (DBfK) has been on a fact-finding mission to the UK to learn about the role of advanced nurse practitioners – a role that does not currently exist in Germany.
The team visited the University of Cumbria earlier this month (October) to find out more about the training required to become an advanced nurse practitioner (ANP), and how ANPs work in the NHS .
In Germany, training for the country’s 1.5 million nurses is largely vocational through apprenticeships rather than the degree-based system in the UK. ANPs in the UK are generally educated to masters’ level.
Burkharat Zieger, of the DBfK, said: ‘We currently have a pilot ANP project in northern Germany and we want to learn about the differences and the challenges of the role before the pilot can be rolled out.
‘The role of the ANP and its part in the education system is also something we want to explore. In Germany to become a nurse [training] is vocational rather than academic, so developing ANPs would provide continued professional development opportunities through higher education.’
