Innovation
Foundations of General Practice Nursing: A nationally acclaimed foundation programme for nurses new to General Practice. This university credit-bearing course (which was the first course for GPN’s accredited by the Royal College of General Practitioners (RGCP)) provides evidence based education that develops the core competences and approaches key to perform the role successfully. Evaluation has confirmed that nurses who complete this course are far more effective more quickly than those who do not; hence its popularity with GP’s and Practice Managers
Initially developed by Plymouth University to support workforce development in Devon and Cornwall, our profile and success has led to invitations from other regions to help support their initiatives for improving the development of their General Practice Workforce; this includes Oxford, Winchester, Barking and Dagenham. Plymouth experience and expertise has also been embedded through the development of the RGCP Competence Framework (http://www.rcgp.org.uk/membership/practice-teams-nurses-and-managers/~/media/Files/Membership/GPF/RCGP-GPF-Nurse-Competencies.ashx).
These innovations supporting the development of the GP Practice workforce have been expanded to the role of the Health Care Assistant (HCA): The main aim is to widen the participant’s knowledge and understanding of conditions commonly presented within the general practice setting and to develop their confidence and skills in working within a multi-professional team, and to enhance the overall effectiveness of the provision of care within community settings as a whole.
What prompted innovation?
- Horizon scanning of the academic team providing an understanding of future workforce development needs and a whole systems approach
- Approaches by stakeholders requesting University leadership and expertise for workforce development in this area
What makes innovation different?
These connected innovations take an integrated “whole system” approach to workforce enhancement that have been developed working in partnership with local health care providers and senior leaders in workforce planning.
Changes in practice
Evaluation has confirmed that nurses who complete this course are far more effective more quickly than those who do not; hence its popularity with GP’s and Practice Managers
Impact
- National recognition: Plymouth University’s support for GP Practice workforce development resulted in the University being awarded the Healthcare Practitioner Education Provider of the Year at the General Practice Awards in 2012
- Commissioning: Plymouth continues to work with multiple providers from across the country in support of their general practice workforce development plans
- Stakeholder evaluation: Student evaluations and feedback from GPs and Practice Managers provide strong evidence of the positive impact of this workforce development innovation.
Dissemination
- Disseminated within the University through an email News Alert and Press Release (announcing the external recognition of the development through the Healthcare Education Provider of the Year Award) and through extranet website
- External dissemination via the RGCP (via the competencies developments) and SW Region education commissioners