Consultant nurse: an appropriate title for the advanced nurse practitioner?

The term 'consultant nurse' has been offered as an appropriate title for the 'advanced nurse practitioner'. Although both share similar roles and functions the way that each will perform within these roles will differ. Many of the principles and processes involved in consultancy may be viewed by nurses as incongruent with nursing practice, including the relationship between the consultant and the consultee and the view that the consultant nurse should not have a direct care role. The title itself has medical connotations and therefore is viewed negatively by many nurses as it conjures up a view of an aloof, elitist practitioner. Nursing is unique, and although many of the processes involved in consultancy are appropriate to nursing they should only be used in a way that keeps the patient at the centre of care. The title is therefore seen as inappropriate for the advanced nurse practitioner.