The importance of the Reproductive Nursing Specialization
Medicine is constantly progressing at an ever-accelerating pace, and so are the areas that accompany it as they seek accreditation and specialization. In our blog, we recently discussed the importance of the clinical biology specialization, which has not yet arrived in our country. On this occasion, in the framework of the Nursing Day, we would like to support the accomplishments of this collective in their daily work. We would also like to highlight their efforts and the necessity for assisted reproduction to be part of the EIR (Nurse Intern Resident).
"At present, there are very few specialties available to a nursing professional through the EIR. We firmly believe that reproductive nursing is an area with enough importance to join this small and exclusive list. Throughout the multitude of scientific literature, the medical field of fertility has proven that nursing is essential for the multidisciplinary approach to the infertile patient," explained Clara Pardos, Reproductive Nurse, and President of the 8th Congress of Reproductive Nursing, which took place on the occasion of the 33rd National Congress of the Spanish Fertility Society.
At IVIRMA we promote the reproductive nursing career because we believe it to be the core of our field.
Infertility is a disease that requires the participation of many health professionals to achieve successful treatments. In this case, nursing is fundamental not only when advising the patient but also in the follow-up and support. For this reason, in IVIRMA we provide a training and updating plan (link) for this collective, which is the patient's guide in many centers.
Since 2018, the Nursing Competencies Interest Group of the Spanish Fertility Society has been working on a consensus that could lay the foundations for a specialization. Through them, it would be possible to determine broader competencies than those currently available to nurses in the reproductive service.
Carrying out routine ultrasound examinations or conducting informative consultations, such as genetic counseling in fertility, are just some of the healthcare tasks that could be performed by nurses specializing in reproductive medicine. These issues were raised at the last national congress.
"At this congress we have seen a significant number of research studies proposing roles that go beyond general nursing, therefore demonstrating the importance of specialization. In the case of cervical cancer screening, for example, the presence of a specialist allows for a more in-depth follow-up of pathological cases without excessive delay and without loss of cases," concludes Clara Pardos.