Urology Nurses Association of Hong Kong

Whether or not you embarked on your nursing career because of a love of the profession or because of the abundant opportunities, it is important to acknowledge that your career and professional needs are ever changing. Most likely there are opportunities for exploration and growth within your current position -- and if you consider the variety and vast opportunities within the broader profession, then your choices are even greater.

The need for nurses transcends the traditional care environments and should be considered as evolutionary options as you gain experience and valuable knowledge. Developing a mix of career choices that uniquely fit your interests, may offer the greatest rewards.

Our association firmly believes that career development is a major contributing factor in the advancement of health systems and the nursing profession worldwide, and is directly linked to the maintenance of high quality care delivery. Career development must therefore be supported and sustained by means of an articulated educational system, recognised career structures (including clinical ladders) flexible enough to provide career mobility, and access to nursing intra/entrepreneurship and/or independent practice opportunities.

We supports research demonstrating that career mobility provides incentives for professional development and fosters higher levels of job satisfaction thus ensuring a more consistent coverage of health facilities. Appropriate reward mechanisms need to be promoted, introduced and maintained so that achievement is rewarded by recognition, advancement and/or remuneration.

Continuing education should be available to all nursing personnel, using suitable means to reach those working in isolated areas. UNAHK have a major role to play in determining satisfying patterns of career development in urology nursing, creating national and international databases while supporting the regulation, professional development and protection of nurses and the public.

The unique body of nursing knowledge must constantly be renewed, incorporating advances in the social, educational and health sciences and fostering the emergence of innovative approaches to care delivery. Curricula must be planned in relation to total health needs and resources of the target population and their social and cultural background.

To realise its full potential, career development of nursing personnel needs to evolve within the context of the health system as a whole and must allow for horizontal as well as vertical career mobility. Career mobility in nursing may be defined as the movement of nurses to more advanced levels, to different areas of nursing practice or to positions in which different functions predominate, including nurse entrepreneurship and independent, autonomous professional roles (e.g. advanced practice, consultant).

We are prepared to take the lead as needed in initiating, promoting or further developing systems of continuing urology nursing education, ensuring whenever possible that these educational opportunities lead to recognised credentials.