Support and development of general practice nurses – evaluation by the primary care trust

Set out the outcomes you expect or aspire to:
-eg the support and development provided for general practice nurses (GPNs) working in the practice by the primary care trust (PCT) enables them to feel confident and be competent to perform their everyday tasks and take on the new roles and responsibilities that practices require of them.

Describe your objectives for this evaluation:
-eg to assess the nature of the PCT’s support for GPNs; how well development is provided and taken up; and what was achieved when the learning and enablement was applied by GPNs in their everyday and new tasks.

Method(s):
-complete all or part of sections A, B and/or C of this Tool to evaluate the range of support and development available to GPNs in the past 12 months.

Compare your answers to the questions below with the responses given by a number of GPNs to
Tool – Learning and personal development – evaluation by a GPN about their learning and development, or a group of general practice employers to Tool – Training of GPN(s) – evaluation by a practice employer about their approach to the training of GPNs working in their practices.

A. What was the content of support and development commissioned, provided and/or signposted by the PCT for GPNs working in your general practices?

Do you in your PCT give guidance and support to practice employers on:

the quality and design of personal development plans (PDPs) for GPNs (see
Tool – Creating a personal development plan )?
performance review or appraisal for GPNs (see
Tool – How to give constructive feedback: being an effective appraiser )?
in-house training and development for GPNs?
training and development from sources outside the practice team?
the quality of the various types of supervision for GPNs: managerial, personal and clinical?

B. How did the support and development commissioned, provided and/or signposted by the general PCT for general practice employers of GPNs or GPNs themselves work out?

Do general practice employers undertake a training-needs analysis of their GPN(s) and the rest of the staff?
Do general practice employers provide support and development matched to the individual GPN’s needs as agreed at their personal review or appraisal?
Do the PCT and general practice employer work together to ensure that GPNs are able to undertake the learning activities agreed in their PDPs as in-practice learning or training from sources outside the practice (eg e-learning, disease-specific modules, nurse prescribing, cervical cytology training, attendance at an GPN forum etc.) (see Tool – Learning needs assessment in Unit: Education and professional development of general practice nurses) eg in protected time?
Does the PCT support or sustain a mentoring scheme for GPNs?
Does the PCT support a local GPN forum to encourage their development and group learning?
Does the PCT provide training and support for general practice employers and potential supervisors on the different kinds of supervision, including clinical supervision?
Does the PCT make careers information, advice and guidance available to GPNs working in their general practices?
Does the PCT maintain an overview of the numbers and types of mentors and assessors needed to match the PCT-wide, training-needs assessment and training plan for GPNs working in their general practices?
And does the PCT increase the numbers and diversity as appropriate?

C. What was the outcome of the support and development commissioned, provided and/or signposted by the PCT for GPNs?

Have a substantial proportion of GPNs (you set the exact percentage) gained accreditation from the training and development you have made available for them in the past 12 months?
Does an audit show that GPNs working in general practices are now undertaking the tasks, roles and responsibilities related to the recent support and development they have received, in a consistently competent manner? (see Tool – Judge how well you have performed an audit )
Does an audit show that there are sufficient mentors and clinical supervisors to underpin NVQ training or required by the GPNs across the PCT who are working in your general practices?
Do PCT reports contain success stories of GPNs who have progressed in their careers to learn enhanced skills, mentor other GPNs, train for registered nursing or allied health professional careers with support from the PCT and general practice employer?

Conclusion

If things are going well, you will have answered 'yes' to nearly every question in each of sections A, B and C. Discuss any questions to which you have answered 'no' with others in your PCT management and training teams or with the practice manager forum or PCT board to see if things can be improved for GPNs working in your general practices.