"Nursing professional development (NPD) is critical to the nurse's lifelong learning that allows them to develop, maintain, and expand competence in professional nursing practice, and so to support achievement of one's career goals. As a practice specialty, it facilitates those lifelong continuing education activities for the individual nurse and so plays a key role in staff development as well. The NPD specialist employs and engages a broad range of in-depth knowledge and skills in education theory and application, career development, leadership, and program management. This is the most succinct one-volume guide to an expansive and complex practice specialty that must be responsive to such dynamic issues as globalization, practice environments, evidence-based practice, and nursing and healthcare technologies."--Publisher's description.