Four focus groups were conducted in three hospital sites.  Data were analysed using the computer assisted qualitative data analysis package (NVivo). Six categories emerged from the study: Conceptualisation of children’s nurses unique contribution to care, Assessment, Problems, Nursing interventions and Outcomes of care delivery.  The final category – Issues and aspects of children’s nursing, emerged through participants’ numerous accounts of the challenges Irish nurses face in providing quality care.  The transdisciplinary nature of the work of the children’s nurse permeated throughout all of the themes which emerged from this study, in particular the category Nursing interventions.  This key feature of nursing work emerged through participants using terminology such as ‘transmission post’ ‘orchestrators’ and ‘referrees’, in an effort to elucidate the way they liaised with multidisciplinary team members on their patients’ behalf.

 The duality of the children’s nurses’ role (between child and parent) also emerged within the category Conceptualisation of children’s nurses’ unique contribution to care.  This illustrated a ‘doubling’ up of nursing work voiced by participants.  This finding contrasts with the rhetoric of ‘family centred care’ where nursing activity is conceptualised as a single entity.

 This study attempts to make visible, the valuable work conducted by children’s nurses in Ireland, in particular, the key role they play in being the link between the child/parents and the multidisciplinary team.  There is potential for this study to have international resonance with practitioners practising in similar health care settings.  It is hoped that this study will prompt international collaboration in this subject area