GP Nurses
At Southeast London Workforce Development Hub our aim is to support nurses develop careers in primary care. From student nurses, newly qualified nurses to experienced nurses wishing to become advanced practitioners, we can provide guidance and funded access to further education and training. We want to support the nursing workforce through recruitment of new nurses as well as retaining existing nurses.
Student Nurses
We are focused on increasing GP placement capacity for student nurses. We hope this will introduce more nurses into general practice nursing.
We are working closely with local Universities to provide supervision for student nurses on placement by ensuring registered nurses meet the new SSSA standards. We are aware of the constraints facing primary care, and we work with practices across South East London to make placements as accessible and efficient as possible. We support all the nurses who are hosting students - induction packs, timetables, placement workbooks, weekly teaching sessions for students, drop-in sessions for the hosting nurses - to ensure that the placement is a positive experience for all involved.
If you work at a practice that would be interested in hosting a student nurse placement, please .
The GP Route Nursing Pathway
In 2021, South East London Workforce Development Hub (SELWDH) started collaborating with the University of Greenwich (UoG) to increase the number of student nurses that have the opportunity to experience general practice during their their undergraduate programmes. We found that many student nurses completed their studies without ever having any placement experience in general practice.
As well as increasing placement opportunities for student nurses, SELWDH and UoG also devised the "GP Route Nursing Pathway". Student nurses who wish to work in general practice may choose to undertake this new pathway, which is focused on developing the skills and knowledge required to work in general practice.
Training for New General Practice Nurses
The NHS have devised a GPN Induction Template.
The aim of the Induction Template is to provide a consistent and comprehensive system, ensuring that all newly qualified GPNs who are new to primary care receive an effective period of induction that assists and supports them to become confident and competent in their new career.
Advanced Practice Training
We can provide guidance for experienced primary care nurses wishing to become Advanced Practitioners. See more on our Advanced Practice page.
Practice Nurse Facilitators
Practice nurse facilitators (PNF) provide leadership for the nursing team across a Primary Care Network (PCN). Their role is to keep the nursing team up-to-date and to encourage working together across their PCNs. They also provide Preceptorship for new members of the team. The PNF is there to listen and support team members. PCN meetings are a great way to find out what is going on within the PCN, what concerns nurses may have about their practices, and how the team feels they would be best supported. The PNF also communicates with the various learning hubs to facilitate training opportunities. The PNF can identify skills gaps within their PCN and feed back to the workforce development hub to target needs within the locality.