NHS England, in conjunction with the Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI), has launched a new induction template, aimed at newly qualified nurses entering general practice as a first career destination.
The document can also be used for qualified nurses entering general practice from a hospital or other setting.
It will also provide guidance to employers on the value of induction for nurses new to the setting, and features a clinical competencies checklist to ensure new GPNs have undergone the appropriate training.
The template covers four main areas:
- General practice nursing as a place to work, including indemnity and key skills the nurse will require
- Orientation, which lists elements of the practice, and of working life at the practice, that a new GPN should know
- Guidance for employers on what they should consider when inducting a new GPN into their practice
- Education, including how a GPN should reflect on their practice and ensuring they work within their scope of practice.
The document has been developed to reduce variation between practices with regard to induction and orientation of new GPNs into general practice and fulfils point four of the GPN Ten Point Plan, which called for a ‘national standard’ for nurses making the transition into primary care.
Paul Vaughan, head of Nursing Now England, which is responsible for delivering the Ten Point Plan, said: ‘This new resource will enable employers to ensure they provide nurses new to general practice with a really good experience of working in the sector and ensure they have a great start to their long and exciting career working general practice. It also contributes towards the overall strategic goals outlined in the GP Five Year Forward View.’
