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University Hospitals Birmingham NHS Foundation Trust | JUNE 2016
Nurses share their passion for hospital As any nurse will tell you, choosing which hospital you want to work for can be a decision that shapes the rest of your life. That’s why scores of nurses at QEHB have teamed up to shout about why they feel this hospital is the best place to kick-start your nursing career. Staff nurses are sharing their experiences via social media and through a new nurse recruitment website, which aims to help prospective nurses with an in-depth introduction to working and training at the hospital. It is part of a project to raise awareness of the Trust’s nursing career pathways and support those interested in working at the hospital to find their perfect job. One of those nurses eager to share her story is Natasha Salmon, who joined the Trust 10 years ago. She said: “I couldn’t imagine working anywhere else. Once you’ve been here and experienced the training and the support, you don’t want to leave. “You are encouraged to learn new skills and expand your knowledge into different areas of medicine such as diabetes, which helps you
Show compassion to meet needs of patients
Page from the new nursing recruitment website
grow in confidence and gives you an advantage should you want to go for a more senior or specialist role.” In addition to the staff experience, the new website will include helpful guidance on applying for jobs, information about training
and development opportunities and living and working in Birmingham. It will also feature the ‘added extras’ that staff benefit from such as the on-site crèche living and leisure centre. To find out more visit nursing.uhb.nhs.uk
Praise for revalidation system Nurses are praising revalidation, a new system for maintaining professional registration, as straightforward and achievable. Revalidation, first introduced by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) in October 2015, ensures that the UK’s 692,000 nurses and midwives demonstrate their ability to deliver care in a safe, effective and professional manner every three years. The new requirements encourage professionals to reflect on the NMC Code of Professional Standards of Practice and Behaviour, and demonstrate a range of evidence in order to maintain their professional registration with the Nursing and Midwifery Council.
The guides produced by the NMC brought everything together and allowed me to refresh my skills Deirdre Kalinski The first nurses to revalidate were those with a renewal date of April 2016. Over 100 nurses across the Trust submitted their applications successfully, and are now sharing their experiences with others. Revalidation is much simpler than many people expected. Those who had concerns before they started say that, in reality, the process is so straightforward that they are now completely reassured. Alexandra Newton-Cox, Professional Development Nurse at the Queen Elizabeth Hospital Birmingham describes the online application process as “clear and easy to complete”. She added: “Once I had read through the
Dignity in C
Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) revalidation – are you prepared?
(L) Alexandra Newton-Cox, Professional Development Nurse and (R) Deirdre Kalinski, Band 5 Staff Nurse
guidance, I realised it was not as daunting as I originally thought.” Alexandra said: “You look back, and feel proud as to how much you have developed and grown professionally throughout your nursing journey.” The resources provided by the NMC have been praised as helpful and supportive. Deirdre Kalinski, Band 5 Staff Nurse said: “The guides produced by the NMC brought everything together and allowed me to refresh my skills. “I stored all my evidence in a paper file; you are not required to upload any evidence online.” One aspect of revalidation gives nurses the opportunity to reflect on their care to patients by discussing pieces of practice related feedback received from patients and visitors. Alexandra thought her reflective discussion was ‘very beneficial’, and feels that she ‘got a lot out of it’. Both Alexandra and Deirdre shared helpful advice for their fellow professionals who are yet to go through the process. Their top tips included: ‘Start early’, ‘do not be frightened, because you do most of these things on a daily basis anyway’ and ‘keep it simple; do not over-think it’.
Delivering the best in care
All registered nurses should complete the following activities in order to prepare for the new NMC revalidation framework. The first nurses to revalidate will be those with a renewal date of April 2016. 1. Have you registered with NMC Online? In order to 1
revalidate nurses must sign up to this online platform.
2. Do you know your renewal/revalidation date? This can be 2 found out via your NMC Online profile. 3. Have you read the NMC provisional guidance on 3 revalidation?
4. Have you begun to build your portfolio using the 4 provisional NMC template?
For further tools and information please visit; http://uhbhome/nursing-revalidation.htm NMCRevalidation@uhb.nhs.uk
If a nurse has gone the extra mile for you whilst you have visited the Queen Elizabeth Hospital, Birmingham please share this with a member of nursing staff or via our patient experience team; PatientExperience@uhb.nhs.uk Tel: 0121 371 4724 These pieces of feedback contribute towards a nurse’s revalidation portfolio. Registered nurses are encouraged to visit the Trust Revalidation intranet pages; uhbhome/nursing-revalidation.htm to access all available information published by the NMC. For any further queries regarding revalidation please contact; NMCRevalidation@uhb.nhs.uk.
‘Mind the Gap’ was the title of Nicky Beecher’s workshop. Mrs Beecher, UHB’s patient experience manager, explored compassionate care and its impact on the experience of patients as a whole. Supported by Julie Hudson, the workshop asked how we can ‘mind the gap’ to ensure that a patient feels that they have been well looked after. Dr Terry Hatton and Dr Helen Guy led a further workshop called ‘It’s the little things...’ which explored the psychological impact of everyday nursing tasks from the perspective of both the patient and the professional, and looked at the psychological implications for both dignity and compassion with a variety of practical tasks. A workshop that received many great reviews was led by Sue Atkins, the Trust’s Clinical Nurse Specialist for Learning Disabilities and Dementia, and Nadeen Proverbs, a Clinical Educator at UHB. The workshop looked at the effects of ageing and how they can be difficult for those who aren’t experiencing ageing just yet to understand. Using a variety of simulations from visual difficulties to mobility constraints, attendees were able to experience first-hand what it is like to live with a variety of age-related impairments. The experience of a young woman with learning disabilities was the focus of a further workshop led by Keith Smith from the British Institute of Learning Disabilities (BILD) and Kate Brackley. Kate’s journey within the healthcare system was outlined in detail as she repeatedly visits hospital with a condition that causes frequent abscesses that require treatment. Kate often faced doctors who would speak to her support worker or mother, instead of addressing her directly – and no reasonable adjustments seem to be made to consider Kate’s feelings or thoughts when it came to her healthcare. Kate has learning disabilities and works with BILD and has become a valued speaker, telling her story and the things that can be done to support people like her, such as easier to understand written information, to create more positive health outcomes for others with learning disabilities.