A bibliographic exploration of nursing's scope of practice

Aim: To conduct a bibliographic analysis of the indexed literature relating to scope of practice in nursing so as to identify underlying patterns in journal publication, volume of scholarly work over time, countries of origin, central contributors, academic affiliation and the major dimension of the studies conducted. Methods: A systematic search of the Scopus database provided data that was then extracted and utilized to undertake a bibliometric analysis of published work relating to scope of practice. In addition to identification of aggregated metrics relating to the most frequently occurring journals and most cited authors, a co-word analysis was conducted. Results: A total of 2730 articles with the term Scope of Practice in the Title, Abstract or Keywords were identified. Co-word analysis revealed five major themes - Changing Regulatory Environment; Health Care Drivers; Competence & Role Implementation; Policy Context; and Role Evolution & Role Differentiation. Conclusions and policy implications: From a policy perspective, we conclude that bibliographic analysis of the indexed literature is a useful technique that can augment our understanding of key regulatory issues such as scope of practice. However, the overemphasis on advanced practice in the scope of practice literature coupled with the increased interest in task shifting to support-personnel as governments pursue the goal of universal health coverage may leave nursing inadequately prepared to inform any evidence-based policy change.