The future of post-registration education for children's and young people's nursing: a SWOT analysis

The primary aim of this paper is to elucidate the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats surrounding the arena of post-registration education provision for children’s and young people’s nurses in the UK. The authors of this paper were approached by the Association of Chief Children’s Nurses (ACCN) in the autumn of 2006 and asked to conduct the analysis. An email letter was sent to the head of each children’s and young people’s nursing department in all higher education institutions offering children’s nursing in all four countries of the UK (n?=?63) inviting them to participate in the SWOT analysis. There was a tight timescale in which to prepare the presentation for the symposium and therefore two reminder emails were subsequently sent to the participants. Seventeen (26.9% of the sample) university child health departments representing the four countries of the UK participated in the analysis, generating useful data which was subsequently collated for presentation at the symposium. The respondents identified a number of strengths to the existing provision across the UK, including the availability of a good range of appropriate modules that promote evidence-based practice and strong partnerships with care providers. A number of weaknesses were highlighted, including difficulties experienced by managers in releasing staff from practice. Opportunities were identified, particularly that of collaborative working and changes to the way in which post-registration education is designed and delivered. The primary threat to post-registration education delivery was perceived to be financial cuts to the education budgets within NHS care provider institutions and within the higher education sector itself

NMC review of pre-registration nursing education: views of the children's and young people's nursing academic community

The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) for the UK commenced a consultation of the future configuration of pre-registration nursing in November 2007. The Association of Chief Children’s Nurses (ACCN) of the UK, in preparation for a joint symposium with higher education institute children’s nursing academics, undertook a SWOT analysis of the suggested changes to the existing register, with particular reference to one of the NMC’s review criteria: ‘marks relating to fields of practice (nature and number of branches versus no branches at all)’. The views of these senior children’s and young people’s nurses on the future configuration of the register were expressed earlier by Richardson et al (2007) who conclude that the existing configuration of the NMC register should remain. This analysis of the NMC consultation was later extended to some of the other criteria of the review and involved members of the children’s nursing academic community across the UK. The views reported in this paper include: Generic or common components, e.g. CFP Minimum academic level (Dip HE versus Degree) Time and content versus outcome-based approaches Use of simulation as practice learning EU specific practice learning requirements for general care. The UK academic children’s nursing departments were invited to participate by the chairperson of the ACCN by email. Data were elicited from 13 departments in academic institutions in England, Scotland and Wales who submitted electronic responses to a) the transcribed SWOT analysis conducted by the membership of the ACCN and b) the other criteria of the NMC review. An analysis of the data confirms that academics favour the retention of a direct entry children’s nursing field of practice

All change in children’s and young people’s nurse education: the views of senior practitioners

The field of children and young people’s nursing practice has only existed for 18 years in its current configuration. Despite this the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as part of their mandate to consider a recommendation of the outgoing UKCC post-commission development group to consider its recommendations for the future of the pre-registration fields of practice was launched in November 2007. This consultation with the profession as a whole asks registrants to consider the UKCC post-commission group (2001) legacy of six potential changes to the way in which nurses are educated for the profession. This paper reports on a focus group activity conducted with Members of the Association of Chief Children’s Nurses (ACCN) at their autumn 2007 meeting on the Island of jersey designed to fully consider the six options from a children’s nursing perspective. As part of the consultation exercise the current NMC also consider no change to the existing register format as a discrete option in its review. (ACCN, 2007). Data in the format of a SWOT analysis was elicited from 18 members of the ACCN. An analysis of the data demonstrates that senior children’s nurses firmly believe in retaining discrete children’s and young people’s nursing field of practice at the pre-registration level