ASSISTANT PRACTIONERS GOOD PRACTICE DAY
The Development of the Trainee to the Assistant Practitioner
Delivering The Workforce-The Assistant Practitioner Programme
Kay Lavery-Delivering The Workforce Development Lead
Sarah Bridgford-Practice Trainer; Stacey Mather-Practice Trainer
Two Years on from
‘Delivering The Workforce’ Project Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust has been extremely successful in developing new roles and ways of working within the Clinical Directorates.The driving force for developing the Assistant Practitioner and new ways of working has been patient centred by focusing on the needs of the patient
’s and service users.The skills, knowledge and competencies have been devolved from the Multi-Professional Team, including Nursing, Physiotherapy, Occupational Therapy, Speech & Language, Podiatry, and Dietetics in collaboration with the Educational provider Manchester Metropolitan University.
AIMS:
To educate/train & develop unqualified staff to diploma level
To design a role that meets the needs of the patient/service
usersTo provide high standards of patient care
To break away from the traditional professional boundaries and move towards the concept of multi-professional working
Currently the trust has 12 qualified Assistant Practitioners the next cohort of Trainee Assistant Practitioners will qualify in September 2005.
The aim of the poster is to provide an overview of how Salford Royal Hospitals NHS Trust has developed and integrated the role of the Assistant Practitioner within clinical teams and ultimately enhanced the service and met the needs of patient care.
References:
The Greater Manchester Strategic Health Authority
www.gmsha.nhs.uk
Manchester Metropolitan University http://www.foundationdegree.org.uk
ASSISTANT PRACTITIONER QUALIFICATIONS
The Assistant Practitioner (AP) is a Graduate who has achieved an NVQ at Level 3 and the Foundation Degree in Health & Social Care (240 cat points).
ASSISTANT PRACTITIONER
Assistant Practitioners are accountable
for their own practice.Each role has been specifically designed to meet the needs of the patients.
The AP delivers clinical/technical care based on the patient
’s needs & requirements.Each role will provide a high level of support to registered staff fr
om a variety of professional backgrounds.The skills, knowledge and competencies, are gained from multi-professional backgrounds.
The AP is competent to deliver and monitor progress against the registered professionals care plans.
The AP is responsible for
supporting unqualified staff in the workplace and supporting them in their learning needs.The AP is NOT:
A replacement for qualified member of staff, the AP is an additional member of staff who will compliment registered professionals.
POST QUALIFICATION
The AP can achieve their A1 Assessors Award to assess NVQ Level 2/3 candidates.
The AP is required to maintain their own Portfolio of evidence about their continuing personal development of knowledge skills & competencies.
The AP can continue with
their education and obtain a Degree with Honours in Health & Social Care. (12 months).The AP could progress on to Professional Training and APEL their Foundation Degree to professional courses for example nursing, therapies.
WHICH DIRECTORATES HAVE QUALIFIED AP
’s?
Diagram (1)
THE FUTURE AP
Diagram (2)
EXAMPLES AP ROLES
ACUTE STROKE UNIT (ASU) AP
Liaises with the A&E Department and Emergency Medical Admissions Unit assessing patients utilising the ROSARY assessment tool to determine if
the patient requires a bed on the ASU.Delivers specialised nursing care & therapeutic skills to patients who have experienced a CVA, before being transferred to L1 for intensive rehabilitation.
NEURO-REHABILITATION AP
Delivers planned nursing care & the
rapeutic skills to patients who have neurological needs, working closely with all the multi-professional backgrounds to enhance patient’s rehabilitation needs.MATERNITY POST NATAL WARD AP
Works closely with the Midwives to support mothers post delivery,
assisting mothers with baby cares and breast-feeding. Providing health promotion and assisting with any social needs that may arise with the parents/families.NEONATES (SBCU) AP
Works within the Nursery where babies have stepped down from the High Dependency/Intensive Care Rooms, assisting mothers with baby cares and feeding regimes. Providing health promotion and assisting with training needs of parents/famil
ies. They also work closely with the Out-Reach Sisters out in community and in the outpatient clinic; monitoring low dependency babies post discharge offering advice and support.DERMATOLOGY AP
Developed a scrub role to assist in theatres, monitoring p
atients and assisting the medics, post procedure providing information on postoperative care and health promotion.Delivers planned nursing care for patients who have skin conditions applying preparations on the ward and in clinics providing skin care info
rmation, supporting patients in applying treatments and providing health promotion.ELDERLY CARE/ORTHOPEADICS
Delivers planned nursing care & therapeutic skills to patients who have rehabilitation needs, working closely with all the multi-professional b
ackgrounds to enhance patient’s rehabilitation in preparation for discharge.FUTURE DEVELOPMENTS
AP
’s will be registered on the Health Care Professional’s Register (2007).Training places for AP
’s will be commissioned as part of the normal commissioning cycle for all students and training places.Photograph of a qualified AP in Uniform.
REFERENCES
Department of Health (2000) The NHS Plan. DoH. London.
Greater Manchester Strategic Health Authority Delivering the Workforce www.gmsha.nhs.uk
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Congratulations to the January 2003 cohort on becoming a Graduate and a qualified Assistant Practitioner.
Thank you to all who have been and continue to be involved in the project for your support and vision.
