General practice nurses are being offered career development information and clinical resources through a new website launched by the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) this week.
The QNI said the aim of the site was to increase awareness among nurses and student nurses of the support and opportunities available within the general practice specialism.
It offers information on how to become a practice nurse, an A-Z of clinical skills and educational resources for professional development.
The work was funded by NHS England and developed by the QNI as part of the General Practice Nursing Ten Point Plan.
Queen’s nurse Angie Hack, who led the development of the online resource, said she was ‘delighted’ with the site, called the General Practice Nurse Educator Network.
She said: ‘The structure of this open resource has been informed and appraised by clinically based GPNs, evidencing the need for this resource.
‘The website is also the host site for the Association of Academic General Practice Nurse Educators and contributes to raising the profile of GPNs and encouraging the recruitment of nurses to a career in general practice nursing.’
QNI chief executive Dr Crystal Oldman said: ‘A career in general practice nursing provides an opportunity to work as an independent practitioner but also as part of a multi-disciplinary team in general practice, serving a registered population of all ages in the local community. Visitors to the website will find out more about starting a career in general practice nursing and once in that role, to learn more about clinical skills and opportunities for professional development.’
A spokesperson from NHS England and NHS Improvement said: ‘We are very glad to have been able to support the development of this new GPN education network website, which is another important step in delivering the GPN 10 Point Plan.’
The news follows the recent publication of an induction template for new general practice nurses, which was also developed for NHS England by the QNI.
