Specialism in nursing is not a new concept, indeed, as far back as 1910, nurses were described as specialists (Hamric and Spross, 1983). Significant developments have been seen in the role of specialism in nurses since its inception in the 1960s in the USA (Hamric and Spross, 1983). However, despite the need for specialist nurses, their emergence has been irregular with wide variations in the interpretation of their roles and functions (Ousey, 2014).