Advanced Practice Nursing Roles: A Comparison Between Mexico and the United Kingdom

The COVID-19 pandemic has placed nursing at the forefront of public attention across the globe and has highlighted the critical role of nursing in healthcare service provision. Advanced practice nursing has been recognized for more than 50 years, but the rate of its growth and development varies significantly across the world. One of the key aims of the Better Health Programme Mexico, which commenced in 2019, was to develop advanced practice nursing in Mexico. The Programme was based on the United Kingdom model, where advanced practice nursing has been in place—though not subject to statutory regulation—for more than 40 years. The aim of this article is to compare the frameworks that underpin advanced practice nursing in the United Kingdom and in Mexico. In the present article, current practice in both countries was researched, and the structure, systems, and processes relating to nursing regulation and the frameworks to support advanced practice nursing were examined. A gap analysis report undertaken as part of the Better Health Programme identified challenges in developing advanced practice nursing in Mexico and the United Kingdom and highlighted the need for stakeholders to agree on an approach toward a rigorous regulatory framework in both settings. In summary, this article highlights the issues facing nurses and regulators in both countries in terms of advanced practice nursing and identifies strategies that can be used to strengthen the advanced practice nurse role.