Evolving Roles and Certification Requirements of Infertility Nurses

Infertility and Assisted Reproductive Techniques (ART) Nursing is regarded as a specialized area of Women’s Health and Diseases Nursing in developed countries since the 1980s. Nurses who are responsible for the care and coordination in specialized fertility centers take many responsibilities that require specifi c knowledge and skills. However, nurses do not have suffi cient educational preparation for these special skills and they usually start work without a specifi c training. Insufficient competence among nurses can reduce the professional satisfaction of nurses in infertility clinics with high stress and heavy work load, and cause negative effects about the teamwork and patient safety. In addition, nurses must constantly update their knowledge and practice about the complex diagnosis / treatment procedures due to rapid technological advancements in the field of infertility. Because of these reasons, nurses in infertility units need specifi c training and certifi cation programs as well as other team members in infertility. Development of infertility nurses in Turkey requires meeting their educational needs, clarifying their roles and responsibilities with legal regulations and supporting their individual professional development. Therefore, implementation of an infertility nursing certifi cation program suitable for the Ministry of Health Certified Training Regulations is particularly necessary for infertility nursing. In this review, infertility nurses’ need for a specific training and certification program is explained in parallel with their evolving roles and suggestions are provided according to the review of educational preparation of infertility nurses in developing countriesand Turkey.