28.09.14
Developing frontline nursing leaders
Source: National Health Executive September/October 2014
Sam Peate, programme lead for the Frontline Nursing and Midwifery Programme at NHS Leadership Academy, tells NHE about the benefits of the six-month development programme and how it has been received by the first cohort of participants. David Stevenson reports.
The NHS Leadership Academy has been charged with providing leadership development training to at least 5,000 frontline nurses and midwives in an attempt to increase their influence on how care is delivered.
Its six-month Frontline Nursing and Midwifery Programme, which started in April 2014, has just surpassed the 2,500 mark for people who have been confirmed on the programme, and at least another 1,500 are in the application process. The first 10 cohorts of participants have also just completed the course.
The programme is for any qualified and registered nurse or midwife delivering NHS-funded care.
Delivered over six months and taught through a mix of online learning and face-to-face workshops, the development programme aims to support participants to be the “nurse or midwife they want to be”, according to Sam Peate, programme lead for the Frontline Nursing and Midwifery Programme at NHS Leadership Academy.
“It is aimed at developing the skills needed to reflect on their strengths, role and their ability to do what they came into the profession to do – make a difference to people’s lives,” Peate told us.
“I’ve sat in on a number of the sessions so far and the benefit seems to be almost mind-blowing in some ways. This group of individuals coming on the programme have had very little input or professional development over a period of 10, 20, or even 30 years of their careers to date.
“They have obviously had professional development in terms of skills, but not in who they are as individuals, the impact they have on other people and how they can get the most out of how they communicate with people in their teams and patients – to be the best they can.”
What can participants expect?
Participants on the programme are given a short amount of pre-induction preparation, carried out in their own time. They then have a half-day induction, face-to-face in their learning group, in their region. Following this they have two two-day residential workshops in their learning groups, and complete five online modules (see box out, left).
NHE was told that NHS Leadership Academy aims to provide effective content to participants in a virtual format, to work around their busy schedules.
“This means that when the candidates start on the programme they gain access to one of our virtual campuses,” said Peate. “And they will then start to work through the virtual campus, and they will have several units that they work through over the course of the programme.”
He added that, in terms of providing support to participants, the employing organisations have released people to complete the four-and-a-half day face-to-face contact sessions. And, in many cases, people have been able to negotiate further time to carry out the online content.
“One of the major challenges we are aware of is around the release of people to come on and do the programme given what we know about the very demanding environment that nurses and midwives operate in,” said Peate.
Although there is no pass or fail for the programme, or accredited certificate, all participants receive an award on completion, and Peate told NHE that he believes the programme is hugely important in the development of nurses and midwives.
“Just looking at the first 10 cohorts on this programme, who have just now completed a submission document, it is apparent in those documents how it has enabled individuals to feel even more confident in the way they work. They are more likely to address areas of conflict,” he said.
Karen Lynas, deputy managing director of the NHS Leadership Academy, added that nobody makes more of a difference to how people’s healthcare ‘feels’ than the frontline nurses and midwives who look after them. She added that cohorts for the programme will open on a monthly basis, and applications are still being taken.
“I am so pleased we are able to offer this programme, designed entirely for them, to support them in their crucial role, develop them to be even better at their job, and importantly, to have more influence in how our care is delivered,” she said.
The Five Online Modules of the Programme
1) ‘What I am like right now’ – giving a deep understanding of how others see me, identifying my varied skills and attributes, identifying areas for development, helping me to think differently and understanding the nature of leadership.
2) Identifies ‘the world I work in’ – understanding environments, systems and what shapes culture and more importantly how we as nurses and midwives can influence this.
3) Examines ‘being me in the world’ – bringing together the learning from modules one and two to understand the skills I need to be even more effective, how others perceive me and how I can increase my ability to influence, address conflict constructively, give and receive feedback and stay resilient.
4) Explores ‘influencing the future’ – connecting with others to release the collective power of nurses and midwives, adopting a political mindset, understanding how we empower patients and being entrepreneurial.
5) Is about ‘continuing the journey’ – knowing what my journey has been, where I’m going next and how I’ll know when I get there, supporting me in developing a PDP and enabling me to demonstrate that I have learnt how to learn and will be able to do this for the rest of my life.
First 10 cohorts:
1. Peterborough
2. Bristol
3. Oxford
4. Brighton
5. London
6. Nottingham
7. Birmingham
8. Manchester
9. Leeds
10. Durham
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