Yet Another Round of the Name Game

I was appalled to read Sue Richards comments in her column Another round of the name game (Practice Nursing 8(10): 48), as I am a trainee nurse practitioner in my third year of the IANE/RCN course. I have undertaken this training to give academic weight to my years of experience as a practice nurse. Practice nurses have always been seen as less well qualified than other community nurses and the isolation of their employment has denied them the status conferred on other professional groups. Adequate training has been difficult to obtain and there is no universally recognised course that equips one for the role.