RESEARCH ARTICLE The impact on patient hea n n

Full list of author information is available at the end of the articleand Progression Model in Hong Kong by the Hospital Authority, which manages all the public hospitals and covers about 80 % of in-patient hospital services in Hong Kong [1]. The primary aim of introducing of NCs was to broaden the nursing clinical career path. Under the new structure, a registered nurse can progress to advanced practice nurse (APN) and NC in a specific clinical field. The first batch of seven NCs in Hong Kong specialty units in Hong Kong public hospitals. In Hong Kong, there are suggested requirements of an NC in four main areas: academic, research, clinical and leadership competency. An NC is required to have at least a Master degree, preferably doctoral, in clinical streams of nursing, completed nursing specialty training, preferably with general training in other specialties, and track record of demonstrated specialty educational planning and teaching experiences. Experiences on knowledge development, implementation and transfer are also expected from an NC. Regarding clinical competency