Nhs Education for Scotland s2

NHS WESTERN ISLES/NHS Education for Scotland JOB DESCRIPTION

1. JOB DETAILS

JOB TITLE: Practice Educator (Nursing and Midwifery) NHS Western Isles/NHS Education for Scotland.

2. JOB PURPOSE

The Practice Educator is a new NHS Education for Scotland (NES) role within NHSScotland’s Practice Education infrastructure.

This post has the strategic overview of all professional development for Nurses and Midwives and will support the implementation of learning and education within NHS Western Isles as it responds to clinical priorities and changing workforce demands.

Within NES the main purpose of the post is to provide a visible and sustained conduit for NES core business which will contribute to the education and development of nurses and midwives across the NHS career framework, but majoring on level 5 and 6 practitioners in direct care giving roles.

The postholder will provide and facilitate access to education to support key national priorities including the Healthcare Quality Strategy for Scotland. The Practice Educator will have a key role in supporting the learning and development of nurses and midwives linked to the Quality Ambitions and 12 national Quality Outcome Measures - care governance priorities and patient care improvement.

In addition they will support NMC revalidation requirements and provide access to education including web-based resources to support career and professional development and progression of the nursing and midwifery workforce. At a national level this post will enhance and strengthen the existing NES practice education infrastructure of 100 wte Practice Education Facilitators (PEFs) working within the NHS Boards, and the 3 regional Practice Education Coordinators (PECs) positioned within NHS Education for Scotland (NES). Similarly, within NHS Western Isles this post will be part of our newly developed practice development team working within the team and in partnership with the University of Stirling Western Isles campus.

The principle aims of the role are to:

 Support patient-centred care and quality improvement through contributing to the development and delivery of related, and specific, education for nurses and midwives.  Develop local education support for the implementation of NMC revalidation requirements.  Develop strategies to ensure equity of access to appropriate education and

1 learning and development opportunities, with a specific focus on level 5 and 6 nurses and midwives in direct care giving roles.  Maximise the workplace as a dynamic learning environment which values and supports continuous professional development for all staff.  Contribute towards national NES work commensurate with the postholder’s professional expertise.

3. DIMENSION

NHS Western Isles services are provided across an archipelago of 11 islands situated 40 miles of the north-west coast of Scotland. These are 130 miles long from the Butt of Lewis to Barra joined for the most part by causeways but including 2 ferry crossings. The total population is approximately 26,350 across 28 townships and with 8,000 living in the greater Stornoway area. There are 10 GP practices, 1 Rural General Hospital which includes a Midwifery Unit and 2 Mental Health wards. 1 Community Hospital in Benbecula and a 5-bed hospital in Barra. The nursing establishment is 334 trained nurses and 114 health care assistants.

NHS Education for Scotland as a Special Health Board, is sponsored by the HR Directorate of the Scottish Government Health Department (SGHD).

The NMAHP Directorate has a staff of around 70 people, ranging from Director of Allied Health Professions, Associate Directors, Programme Directors, and Educational Programme Managers to Administrative Assistants. In addition, there is a Practice Education Network of over 126 wte posts developed, managed, co-ordinated and part funded by the Directorate to improve practice education provision across all territorial Health Boards; this network impacts on all nurse, midwife and AHP students as well as all registered practitioners in Scotland. NMAHP has three main teams in order to manage its complexity, ensure strength of strategic leadership and provide effective performance management.

The postholder will be employed and based within NHS Western Isles and will contribute towards NHS Western Isles nursing and midwifery education priorities but delivering 1 day a week on the national objectives of the NHS Education for Scotland Nursing and Midwifery Practice Educator post.

The Practice Educator will enhance the practice education infrastructure and will be contextualised within an explicit nursing and midwifery Clinical Education Career Framework. The postholder’s specific expertise will be harnessed in the development and roll out of national, regional and local educational solutions to support care governance.

4. ORGANISATION CHART

The Practice Educator will be a NHS Western Isles employee and line management responsibilities will remain with the professional and/or practice education nursing and midwifery lead (Head of Clinical Governance and Practice Development) within the NHS Board. In relation to the NES Practice Educator function the postholder will receive

2 direction, and leadership from the NES North regional Practice Education Co-ordinator, and will have a close connection with Higher Education Institutions (HEIs), Scotland’s Colleges and professional bodies.

FIGURE 1: ORGANISATION CHART

NES Regional (North) NHS Western Isles Head of Practice Education Clinical Governance and Coordinator Practice Development

Practice Resuscitation Pre- E-learning Educator (This Training registration and IT Post) Officer Practice Facilitator 4 days/week – Band 7 - .7.5 Education NHS WI Facilitator 1 day/week - Band 6 – 37.5 NES

Line Management Professional leadership and support

5. ROLE OF THE DEPARTMENT

NHS Western Isles Professional Practice Team is responsible for providing leadership and professional/practice education to nurses and midwives across primary and secondary care.

 Responding to the national and local strategic agenda on the practice of nursing and midwives.

 Providing learning and education packages to meet professional and service development.

 Influence education provision and content of education packages to support the development in services and clinical practice.

The NES NMAHP Directorate is characterised by a large range of multi disciplinary endeavour which it undertakes with other NES Directorates and Deaneries; NMAHP leads a significant proportion of this work.

Specifically, the primary functions of the NMAHP Directorate is to:

 Ensure that the educational and lifelong learning needs of Scotland’s Nurses, Midwives, Allied Health Professions (nine groups), Healthcare Chaplains, and their support staff are effectively met;

3  Ensure that all aspects of NES strategy relevant to these health professions are met;

 Lead and contribute to NES multidisciplinary responses to service development needs, nationally, regionally and locally;

 Provide the organisation with health policy leadership and implementation, as designated by the Chief Executive;

 Provide strategic advice, information and support on the educational needs of these designated health professions to SGHD, Higher Education Institutions, Scotland’s Colleges, QAA, NHS Scotland, Department of Health (England), professional and regulatory bodies and social and voluntary sectors. From August 2009 the Directorate has assumed responsibility from SGHD for monitoring and enhancement of designated pre-registration nursing and midwifery programmes in Scotland.

6. KEY RESULT AREAS /KEY AREAS OF RESPONSIBILITY

Education for Quality and Workforce Development

 Assist nurses and midwives to access relevant education and continuing professional development which supports clinically effective patient care and assures positive patient experiences.  Contribute to the development and delivery of education for nurses and midwives linked to care governance and the 12 national Quality Outcome Measures.  Facilitate the implementation and the provision of ongoing support for NMC revalidation requirements.  Support the implementation and review of multidisciplinary education initiatives, such as opportunities for collective learning in clinical areas linked to quality enhancement and cross sector working.  Scope learning and development needs of level 5 and 6 nurses and midwives.  Contribute to the development of personal and career development that maintains and focuses on the enhancement of attitudes, skills and knowledge of nurses and midwives.  Provide peer support to Senior Charge Nurses and team leaders in relation to the facilitation of learning in practice, personal development planning, mentoring, coaching and promoting a positive learning environment.

 Engage in strategic partnership working with service managers, human resource managers and HEIs to support Senior Charge Nurses and team leaders to identify and support the development of talented individuals from across the career framework.  Contribute to the development of NHS Board quality assurance and governance arrangements in relation to education, continuing professional development and revalidation for nurses and midwives.  Collaborate with HEIs to facilitate Recognition of Prior Learning (RPL) to support and enhance career development and progression.

4 Scholarship and Research

 Contribute to the identification, development and coordination of audit and evaluation of workplace learning in relation to quality of care and patient experience.  Establish, evaluate and further develop strategies to ensure equity of access to education and appropriate learning and development opportunities for nurses and midwives.  Contribute to identifying and implementing ways of measuring impact of education initiatives.  Collaborate with key stakeholders to develop a robust evidence base to underpin practice based education activity.  Promote principles of education governance alongside the dissemination and implementation of educational research to support care governance and to enhance practice learning.

Leadership

 Work with NHS Board managers, regional NES Practice Education Co- ordinator (PEC), and Higher Education Institution practice education leads to : i. develop specific education resources that are commensurate with the postholder’s expertise and are linked to key national priorities. ii. deliver key objectives agreed annually by NHS Education in collaboration with NHS Boards to ensure customisation to the Board’s clinical priorities.  Work with regional PECs and other practice education roles within NHS Boards to share good practice and innovation through the development, implementation and dissemination of educational resources and through other activities.  Produce regular reports to NES Nursing and Midwifery Programme Directors and NHS Boards education committees on progress and impact related to delivery of objectives.  Contribute to the formulation and development of regional and national strategic plans and policies for the provision of practice education.  Interpret NMC regulatory standards and guidance and support the implementation of a range of policies related to practice education and revalidation across the NHS Board and HEI partner area taking local factors into account.  Contribute to NES national work corresponding with the postholder’s specific professional expertise.

7. USE OF PHYSICAL RESOURCES

Equipment, machinery and Systems  Use of computer to:  develop and gather information about key stakeholders, for example communication networks.

5  create posters, leaflets, documents, reports, fliers and presentations.  update and maintain data.  A working knowledge of the following software packages:  Word  Access  Excel  PowerPoint  Outlook  Maintain records of confidential issues which are gathered and acted upon with sensitivity.  Regular travel to various local and national meetings.  Use of audiovisual equipment such as data projectors, laptop computers and overhead projectors.

8. ASSIGNMENT, GENERATION AND REVIEW OF WORK

The Practice Educator will receive line management from NHS Western Isles. In addition to operational line management, support and leadership will be available from the regional Practice Education Coordinator employed by NHS Education for Scotland. Overall NES strategic leadership for practice education will be provided by the Programme Director for Nursing and Midwifery Practice Education.

The postholder is expected to work autonomously in planning, prioritising and setting objectives within a regional and national practice education team.

9. DECISIONS AND JUDGEMENTS

The Practice Educator activities will be generated by local and national strategies and priorities. The postholder will work collaboratively with a range of colleagues to facilitate decision-making around education priorities and to lead on designated pieces of work under the guidance of line manager and/or PEC. The postholder will work unsupervised but under the direction of the NHS Board professional/practice development lead.

The postholder must demonstrate an ability to function autonomously and provide professional leadership in team decisions.

10.COMMUNICATION AND WORKING RELATIONS

A key aspect of this role will be to establish and sustain productive and cohesive working relationships and the ability to influence a range of stakeholders within the NHS, Scotland’s Colleges, Higher Education Institutions and professional bodies. The postholder will be expected to interpret complex professional and regulatory standards and guidance and develop local implementation and quality assurance processes in collaboration with stakeholders. The post holder will be expected to communicate with a wide range of individuals including:

6 Within NHS Board: Director of Nursing, Head of Clinical Governance & Professional Practice Lead Nurses and Midwives, Professional Leads, Senior Managers, Senior Charge Nurses, Team leaders, Head of Human Resources, and Workforce Planners and Developers.

Within NHSScotland: Scottish Government Health Directorates. NES Director of NMAHP. NES Associate Directors for Nursing and Midwifery. NES Nursing and Midwifery Programme Directors. NES Regional Nursing and Midwifery Practice Education Coordinators. Other Special Health Boards.

Outwith NHS: Higher Education Institutions and Scotland’s Colleges - senior staff and leads for practice education. Professional organisations. Other relevant agencies.

11.MOST CHALLENGING ASPECTS OF THE JOB

Responding to directives from local stakeholders alongside regional and national priorities. Political awareness to be able to engage strategically and work operationally across organisational boundaries. Maintaining tact and diplomacy whilst working across organisational boundaries. Working in a professional and collaborative way with a range of professional colleagues and stakeholder organisations. Establishing and maintaining visibility over large geographical area. Providing support and guidance for the nursing and midwifery workforce in challenging and changing employment, workforce and regulatory contexts. Achieving the core requirements of the post whilst balancing competing demands. Managing time effectively to achieve required outcomes within the constraints of the role. Providing high quality position, discussion, progress and annual reports on activity and impact related to key results areas for a range of stakeholders. Maintaining a high degree of autonomy and ability to direct own work.

12.EFFORT REQUIRED TO DELIVER THE REQUIREMENTS OF THE POST

Physical Travel locally across NHS Board area and nationally. Key board and IT skills. Moving presentation and teaching equipment. Preparation of venues for teaching/educational activities.

Mental Create practice education resources.

7 Produce detailed, accurate and comprehensive reports for a range of stakeholders, such as impact reports. Analyse and interpret research papers, complex organisational information and regulatory standards. Problem solve around practice education issues. Manage prolonged periods of concentration. Communicate complex, sensitive or contentious information to individuals, groups or large audiences in relation to areas such as governance, education, continuing professional development and revalidation.

Emotional Negotiation with stakeholders on complex and sensitive matters. In partnership with human resource managers and senior nurses and midwives support the development and introduction of processes to address performance or capability issues in relation to professional standards and revalidation. Unpredictable workloads and interruptions. Communicating on partnership issues across organisational boundaries. Managing change.

Environmental Exposure to a variety of environmental settings including clinical areas in hospital and the community, offices and education/teaching venues.

13.QUALIFICATIONS AND/OR EXPERIENCE SPECIFIED FOR THE POST

 Registered nurse or midwife.  First level degree.  Post holder will be required to have a Higher level qualification such as a Postgraduate Diploma in Education or Masters Degree, or equivalent experience/qualification.  Experience within an education role.  Experience as a senior nurse or midwife.  Evidence of continuing professional development around education in practice.  Experience in, and commitment to, teaching and facilitation of learning and development in clinical practice.  Experience of introducing a significant change within a service setting.  Leadership, communication and interpersonal skills to include presentation, influencing, negotiation and complex report writing.  Research and critical appraisal skills with the ability to disseminate complex, highly specialised information.  Knowledge of the healthcare professional regulatory framework for nurses and midwives.  Working knowledge of research and education governance.  IT skills.