[Critical comment on nursing expert standards: meeting challenges to improve quality].

The German Network for the Development of Quality in Nursing (DNQP) has published so called nursing "expert standards" on selected nursing issues. These are developed by expert working groups based on the current evidence, subsequently consented, and Implemented exemplarily. The standards aim at securing a generally accepted quality level in nursing. Accordingly, they are already consulted as yardstick for quality inspections and legal judgement identification, making it even more important that they meet recognized criteria. Therefore, members of the nursing section of the German network for evidence-based medicine (DNEbM) critically appraised the standards. Aspects worth being discussed are: definition of the term "expert standard", consideration of internationally recognized criteria for the development ol Suidelines and transparency of methockilogy; professional foundation and differentiation of recommendations, access to the standards, implementation tools, authors' possible conflicts of interest, as well as regular revision of the standards. This statement intents tobe the basis for a discussion on the future development of justified and comprehensible quality levels in nursing in Germany.