Table 1.

Existing Training Opportunities for Parkinson Nurses in different Countries.

Country	Role	Formal Education	Reference
United Kingdom	Being responsible for overall management within primary or secondary care teams Resource of Information and advice for PwPs Catalyst for improving public awareness	Provided via national universities Prerequisite: Being a registered Nurse (registered no longer than three years) Being registered at the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) Proving high level of experience working with and managing PD or other neurodegenerative disease Topics covered during education: Strengthen experience through active involvement in clinical care Education about principles of primary and secondary care Responsibilities in care for PwPs Aspects of multidisciplinary care coordination	[8,9]
Germany	Providing information and advice to patients and care givers on medication, symptoms and treatment options	Provided via German Parkinson Society (DPG), German Parkinson Association, (dPV), Parkinson Competence Network (KNP), Association of Parkinson Nurses and Assistants (VPNA) Prerequisite: Completed 3-year regular nursing training + at least 2 years of working experience in the field Topics covered during education: Specialist knowledge on special treatment procedures (e.g., medication pump or Deep Brain Stimulation) Psychological counseling Activating therapies Handling of specific medications for PwPs	[7,10]
United States 1	Role of APN (generally) Care of patients Education Research Consultation Leadership They have: Expert knowledge Decision-making skills Clinical competencies APNs are trained to work autonomously in specific care areas.	Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) → post-graduate education in nursing Two Types of APN roles have been recognized in the United States. Nurse Practitioner (NP) Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNP) Provided via national universities & national council Prerequisite: Bachelor’s degree in nursing + passed national council licensure Examination For advanced nursing: master’s degree in Nursing + specialty education Topics covered during education: Advanced health assessment Diagnosis Disease management Health promotion Health prevention Evaluation Research	[11,12]
Canada 1	Role of APN (generally) Care of patients Education Research Consultation Leadership Role of NP Legal authority to provide diagnosis and/or interpret diagnosis tests Prescription of medication Perform interventions In Alberta, British Columbia and Ontario: Admission and discharge of patients from the hospital NPs work in primary and community care setting Responsible for health promotion, disease prevention, the diagnosis and management of acute illness and the management of the chronically ill Role of CNP: Multi-faceted Variable Deployment in clinical care, education and research Involvement in organizational leadership and professional development Providing evidence-based practice and efforts on program development	Two types of APN roles have been recognized in Canada. Nurse Practitioner (NP) Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNP) Provided via national universities & national council NP → Registered nurses; completed NP education program; Bachelor- or Master’s degree CNP → Master or Doctoral degree in nursing Topics covered during education for APNs: Leadership Accessibility of care Safety of delivering care Plan, coordinate, implement and evaluate programs to meet patients’ needs Promotion of community health	[13,14,15,16]

¹ In the United States and Canada, a variety of different forms of nurse education exist, and the nomenclature also holds a wide range of designations in both countries. The role and education of APNs (Advanced Practice Nurses) will be discussed here as an example. An explicit training as an advanced practice nurse for Parkinson’s disease is not currently available in the United States and Canada.