The QNI has published new voluntary standards of education and practice for nurses who are embarking on a career in General Practice Nursing.
The new standards have been designed to provide a contemporary and structured overview of expected best practice, standards and guidance for nurses at the beginning of the General Practice Nursing career pathway. The standards also aim to give guidance to education providers developing introductory GPN programmes and Specialist Practitioner Qualification (SPQ) programmes.
The QNI was commissioned by NHS England to develop the standards, as one of the actions arising from the strategic document, ‘Developing confidence, capability and capacity: Ten point action plan for General Practice Nursing’ (NHSE, 2017). Leading experts in General Practice Nursing including nurses, Higher Education Institution (HEI) programme leads, training hub leads and current GPN students have worked together to develop the new standards. The project was managed by Queen’s Nurse Angie Hack.
The evolving role of the General Practice Nurse (GPN) with specialist knowledge and skills is pivotal in contributing to the success of the transformation of primary care services. However, this brings unique challenges for nurses selecting General Practice Nursing: many GPNs are directly employed by General Practitioners with variations in roles, responsibilities, terms and conditions, in addition to variances in role preparation and continuing professional development opportunities.
Current General Practice Nurse education is not mandatory; however, it is anticipated that HEIs will adopt these voluntary standards as a best practice guide in developing future ‘Introduction to GPN’ programmes, to promote standardisation in length and content across England. The standards have been drafted encompassing four key domains of:
- Clinical Care;
- Leadership and Management;
- Facilitation of Learning;
- Evidence, Research and Development.
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