Development of the Pediatric Nursing Specialty in Spain: A Critical Analysis of Its History, Current Situation, and Regional Disparities: A Narrative Review
Abstract
1. Introduction
2. Materials and Methods
2.1. Study Design
2.2. Documentary Search Strategy
- 1.
- Academic databases:
- 2.
- Legislative and regulatory sources:
- 3.
- Institutional and professional sources:
2.3. Inclusion and Exclusion Criteria
- -
- Provided relevant empirical data or official policy statements.
- -
- Were published or in force between 2005 and 2024.
- -
- Documents were excluded if they did the following:
- -
- Referred to general pediatric care not linked to nursing roles.
- -
- Were duplicated across multiple sources.
2.4. Data Extraction
- -
- Quantitative data matrix: including year, number of RNI training positions, number of certified professionals, existence of job categories, and public employment offers by region.
- -
- Qualitative data matrix: including regulatory discourse, implementation delays, and institutional positioning on the specialty.
2.5. Ethical Considerations
2.6. Data Analysis
- -
- Access and recognition barriers.
- -
- Territorial inequality.
- -
- Impact on care quality and system equity.
3. Results
3.1. Findings from Literature Review
3.2. Access Routes and Official Certifications
- -
- The 1964 transitional route: for nurses who already exercised pediatric functions prior to regulation: 8997 titles granted [14].
- -
- Exceptional evaluation route (2015): for experienced nurses without prior official specialty: 4055 titles granted [13].
- -
- RNI training route (2010–2024): standard two-year paid postgraduate residency: 2312 titles granted.
3.3. Distribution of RNI Positions in Pediatric Nursing (2010–2024)
3.4. Access to the Title of Pediatric Nursing Specialist Through Decree 3524/1964, of 22 October
3.5. Number of Pediatric Nursing Specialists in Spain
3.6. Creation of the Pediatric Nursing Category
3.7. Recognition of the Pediatric Nursing Category and Public Employment Access
3.8. Public Employment Offers in Pediatric Nursing (2019–2024)
3.9. Merit-Based Selection Process
3.10. Distribution of Specific Employment Lists
3.11. Pediatric Nursing Specialist Positions Through Position Conversion
4. Discussion
5. Conclusions and Implications
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Public Involvement Statement
Guidelines and Standards Statement
Use of Artificial Intelligence
Conflicts of Interest
References
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Autonomous Community | n | % | Offers, 2025 |
---|---|---|---|
Andalusia | 391 | 16.9 | 33 |
Aragon | 79 | 3.4 | 7 |
Asturias | 44 | 1.9 | 4 |
Balearic Islands | 50 | 2.2 | 9 |
Basque Country | 84 | 3.6 | 16 |
Canary Islands | 70 | 3.0 | 16 |
Cantabria | 16 | 0.7 | 4 |
Castile-La Mancha | 148 | 6.4 | 14 |
Castile and Leon | 129 | 5.6 | 14 |
Catalonia | 336 | 14.5 | 47 |
Ceuta | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
Extremadura | 32 | 1.4 | 6 |
Galicia | 149 | 6.4 | 15 |
La rioja | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
Madrid | 581 | 25.1 | 44 |
Melilla | 0 | 0.0 | 0 |
Murcia | 95 | 4.1 | 12 |
Navarre | 18 | 0.8 | 3 |
Valencian Community | 90 | 3.9 | 18 |
Total | 2312 | 100 | 262 |
Autonomous Community | 2019 | 2020 | 2021 | 2022 | 2023 | 2024 | Total |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Andalusia | |||||||
Aragon | |||||||
Asturias | |||||||
Balearic Islands | |||||||
Basque Country | |||||||
Canary Islands | |||||||
Cantabria | |||||||
Castile-La Mancha | |||||||
Castile and Leon | 10 | 10 | |||||
Catalonia | |||||||
Ceuta | |||||||
Extremadura | |||||||
Galicia | 18 | 32 | 50 | 100 | |||
La rioja | |||||||
Madrid | 118 | 118 | |||||
Melilla | |||||||
Murcia | 7 | 10 | 17 | ||||
Navarre | |||||||
Valencian Community | |||||||
Total | 18 | 167 | 60 | 245 |
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da Rocha-Baptista, P.; Santos-Miranda, E.; Vázquez-Lago, J.M. Development of the Pediatric Nursing Specialty in Spain: A Critical Analysis of Its History, Current Situation, and Regional Disparities: A Narrative Review. Nurs. Rep. 2025, 15, 193. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep15060193
da Rocha-Baptista P, Santos-Miranda E, Vázquez-Lago JM. Development of the Pediatric Nursing Specialty in Spain: A Critical Analysis of Its History, Current Situation, and Regional Disparities: A Narrative Review. Nursing Reports. 2025; 15(6):193. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep15060193
Chicago/Turabian Styleda Rocha-Baptista, Patricia, Eva Santos-Miranda, and Juan Manuel Vázquez-Lago. 2025. "Development of the Pediatric Nursing Specialty in Spain: A Critical Analysis of Its History, Current Situation, and Regional Disparities: A Narrative Review" Nursing Reports 15, no. 6: 193. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep15060193
APA Styleda Rocha-Baptista, P., Santos-Miranda, E., & Vázquez-Lago, J. M. (2025). Development of the Pediatric Nursing Specialty in Spain: A Critical Analysis of Its History, Current Situation, and Regional Disparities: A Narrative Review. Nursing Reports, 15(6), 193. https://doi.org/10.3390/nursrep15060193