Best Practice in Nursing 2015 Post Show Newspaper-Issue 3 Nov 2015

Thanks to The Queens Nursing Institute for supporting Best Practice in Nursing in our inaugural year. PRIMARY CARE FACED WITH LOSING A THIRD OF THE NURSING WORKFORCE. Preliminary findings of a major survey have revealed that more than a third (34%) of general practice nurses are expecting to retire from practice within the next five years. The findings have prompted the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) to urge practice nurses to do more to help boost the number of nurses coming into general practice nursing. Results of the QNI’s survey are due to be published at the end of November, but chief executive Dr Crystal Oldman warned delegates that primary care faced losing a third of its nursing workforce, and there was an urgent need to attract more nurses into general practice. QNI told delegates: ‘The first myth we have to dispel is that general practice nursing isn’t a viable career choice. We need to do more to improve the perception of general practice nursing. And the second myth we have to dispel is that you can only become a general practice nurse after working in hospital. Dr Oldman said: ‘We need much more exposure for student nurses who want to go into primary care, but the funding hasn’t been particularly attractive to GPs so we need to make the case for why it can 10 Best Practice in Nursing Newspaper Issue 3 RCN CHIEF SETS OUT THREATS AND OPPORTUNITIES The roles of general practice and community nurses have undergone a ‘sea change’ in recent years, according to Janet Davis, general secretary of the Royal College of Nurses. She told the audience that there were ‘real opportunities’ for development. ‘Revalidation is an absolute landmark and we should embrace it… Most of us practise [safely and effectively] all the time but now we can prove it.’ ‘For example, we mooted a framework that would be recognised by the medical profession, and worked very hard with the RCGP to develop it, but Northern Ireland doesn’t like it because they work very differently to England and Wales. But nursing practice is nursing practice and we need to do it together. ‘The biggest problem is that we are not together on what it means to be a registered nurse, and many (older) nurses question why we need to be graduates. Although we now have a graduate profession, we need to articulate it better. We need to celebrate how far we have come in 100 years.’ Ms Davies said that the most recent report on primary care workforce, The future of primary care: Creating teams for tomorrow, only had two pages on nurses but it included important recommendations, including: If we are going to “grow our own” we need to be linking with our universities, we need to get creative and make opportunities to talk to student nurses – you are all fantastic role models and even if you only go in and speak to students for an hour, it could really inspire them.’ She said that many ‘medical colleagues rarely understand what [advanced practitioners] are doing or are capable of doing – even if they work in the next room.’ ✓✓ N urses should have opportunities for professional development including gaining advanced clinical skills ✓✓ P lacements for pre- and post-registration should be commissioned as part of routine nurse training However, the new Primary and Community Nurse Career Framework from Health Education England, together with the Royal College of General Practitioners General Practice Nurse Competencies framework set out clearly the scope of practice of nurses from entry to advanced levels. ✓✓ T here should be encouragement for nurses to enter primary care to address current shortages and the number of nurses due to retire in the next 5 years Lord Willis commented: ‘In 2013 there was not a single student nurse on placement in general practice, now it is common. But it is not enough to provide placements – these nurses need to be given work. The message needs to get across that it is no longer the case that they have to do two years in secondary care before becoming a practice or community nurse.’ The QNI has pledged to continue to campaign to ‘increase the visibility’ of general practice nursing, to influence policy through the work of Queen’s Nurses. Put your name on the waiting list to receive a free pass in 2016 at: www.bestpracticeinnursing.co.uk She added that while many nurses ‘may not feel particularly valued,’ perceptions were changing. ‘Two years ago I was being asked to go on TV to defend nursing practice, but there has been a shift, and coverage about nursing is much more positive.’ The biggest ‘threats’ to nurses were changes in health policy, and a lack of cohesion about the future of the profession. Ms Davies said that while there was increasing integration between health and social care, it was happening in different ways in the different countries of the UK, and she said, ‘in some ways we are moving further apart. be useful to them to have student nurses in the practice. www.bestpracticeshow.co.uk/nursing2016 Nurses in primary care have moved from ‘taking bloods to taking a full caseload’ and while no one was sure what the Government’s plans for a 7-day service meant for primary care – ‘whether it is about increasing convenience or meeting clinical need, it is coming, like it or not, and nurses will be fundamental to making it happen,’ Ms Davies said. Register your interest in visiting in 2016. Visit www.bestpracticeinnursing.co.uk for more details 11 Best Practice in Nursing Newspaper Issue 3 www.bestpracticeinnursing.co.uk

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