Nurse Advisor, Nurse Facilitator and Nurse Specialist are just some of the titles applied to Nurses working on a wide variety of programmes sponsored by medical and pharmaceutical companies. What they 'do' in their day-to-day role varies greatly, however, what they all share is that they are all Registered Nurses who work within the guidelines of both the MNC and the ABPI Codes of Conduct.

To add to the mix, some companies give the Nurse Advisor title to those medical and pharmaceutical sales specialists who promote products to a nursing customer base, however here we use Nurse Advisor in the sense that it is a specialist, non-promotional role.

Key to the Nurse Advisor position is the independent status they have, even though a company may well sponsor them. Their role is non-promotional and not tied to prescription of any particular product – but does provide an additional resource for busy GP Practices who are struggling to fulfil demanding clinical targets.

Teams of Nurse Advisors have worked on a local, regional and sometimes national basis, driving forward best practice and raising clinical standards in partnership with PCTs and Health Authorities.

In particular, Nurse Advisers will work with these groups to assist in the development of policies, guidelines and patient group directives.