Discussion of the relevance and practicality of taking a Post-Anaesthetic Care Unit nurse into the era of nurse consultants posts.

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The reason for choosing this subject is because it is highly relevant since Trusts are currently in the process of establishing posts in accordance with the National Health Service (NHS) ‘Executive's Health Service Circular 217’ (1999). The political background for setting up these posts stems from the document ‘Making a Difference: Strengthening the nursing, midwifery and health visitor contribution to health and healthcare’ (Department of Health 1999a). It is also relevant in connection with nurses in general, as they are not being recognised nor rewarded for their abilities. This is especially so in PACUs where the nurse's image is low and PACU nursing is not a recognised speciality, such as Intensive Care Unit (ICU) nursing, Coronary Care Unit (CCU) nursing, High Dependency Unit (HDU) nursing and so forth. From personal experience, it has been observed that well qualified and highly experienced staff leave the clinical environment for positions in management, sales or even leave nursing altogether when no further career advancement is possible in the clinical field.