Meeting in Brussels on 16-17 April 2015 for the 102nd EFN General Assembly, the EFN members approved policy documents that will support the EFN and its members to set the scene at national and European levels.
The EFN Competency Framework, will be used by the National Nurses Associations to encourage the nursing schools at national level to deploy the guidelines for implementing the competences listed under Article 31 of Directive 2005/36/EC, amended by Directive 2013/55/EU, on the Mutual Recognition of Professional Qualifications. Furthermore, recognising the importance of Continuous Professional Development (CPD) to deliver high quality and safe care, the new EFN Policy Statement and Position Paper on CPD are calling on the European Commission, national governments, regulators, professional organisations and employers to take actions and guarantee that nurses all over the EU & Europe have access to CPD, supported by appropriate structures and resources.
Moreover, the new EFN Matrix 3+1, including three categories of nurses (General Care Nurse, Specialist Nurse, and Advanced Nurse Practitioner) + the principles of the Healthcare Assistant (HCA) will provide clarity when collecting comparable data for workforce planning and forecasting in the EU Member States. An EFN working group has been established to look at the HCA profile.
Looking closely into the necessary move from hospitals towards Primary and Community care, the EFN Policy Statement and Position paper on “Moving Care to the Community” are calling on the EU key decision-makers to ensure that the frontline workforce is supported with sufficient EU funding, in order to make integrated care a success. Furthermore, to engage the nursing profession in the deployment of the European Digital Agenda to make EU policies “fit for practice”.
Moreover, the EFN Members noted the results of the Ebola questionnaire that will be taken forward during the Luxembourg Presidency. It is important to build the capacity for being prepared. Lessons learned are always positive!
Finally, the EFN members approved a new revised Constitution of the European Nursing Research Foundation (ENRF). This was done bearing in mind, that it is important to strengthen the nursing research at EU level, in order to deliver evidence-based policy-making and ensure that political decisions are taken to improve the daily realities of the European nurses and to bring in appropriate measures to improve the access to high quality healthcare services.