New website for General Practice Nurses launched

A new website for General Practice Nurses (GPNs) has been launched.

The website has been developed by community nursing charity The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI), as part of one of the key deliverables of the GPN Ten Point Plan. The new website has been designed as an easily accessible online repository of educational and clinical resources for General Practice Nurses. The work was funded by NHS England.

The aim of the website is to: a) offer information to nurses interested in becoming a General Practice Nurse; b) provide an A-Z of clinical skills, with links for nurses who need quick access to contemporary information and c) offer educational resources for professional development. The clinical resources section will continue to be under development as new links and sources of information are added.

A key aim of the website is to enable nurses, and student nurses, to be aware of the opportunities available in general practice and the support that is available to them to embark on a career in this specialism. The website follows the recent publication of a new Induction Template for new GPNs, also developed for NHS England by the QNI.

The development of the new website has been led by Queen’s Nurse Angie Hack, who commented, ‘I am delighted to have had this opportunity to develop the General Practice Nurse Educator Network website to support General Practice Nurse education and practice. The structure of this open resource has been informed and appraised by clinically based GPNs, evidencing the need for this resource. The website is also the host site for the Association of Academic General Practice Nurse Educators and contributes to raising the profile of GPNs and encouraging the recruitment of nurses to a career in General Practice Nursing.’

QNI Chief Executive Dr Crystal Oldman CBE commented, ‘This fabulous resource provides the opportunity for students and registered nurses interested in pursuing a career in General Practice Nursing to learn more about this specialist area of community nursing – and critically, the pathway to follow when applying for a role in General Practice. A career in General Practice Nursing provides an opportunity to work as an independent practitioner but also as part of a multi-disciplinary team in General Practice, serving a registered population of all ages in the local community. Visitors to the website will find out more about starting a career in General Practice Nursing and once in that role, to learn more about clinical skills and opportunities for professional development.’

A spokesperson from NHSE/I commented, ‘We are very glad to have been able to support the development of this new GPN education network website, which is another important step in delivering the GPN 10 Point Plan.’

ENDS

Notes: The new website can be viewed at www.gpnen.org.uk