Whilst NHS staff shortages continue to affect services across the country, we have launched a new preceptorship programme to support newly qualified nurses, improve retention, and help maintain high-quality care for local patients.
Preceptorship marks the period when newly registered nurses and other healthcare professionals are supported to build confidence and competence in early career. At a time when 48.4% of national nursing associations are finding a significant increase in nurses leaving the profession, preceptorship is a key tactic for ensuring retention. It does this by allowing nurses to have a structured start to their careers, developing the ability to assuredly fulfil their obligations to patients, service users and external bodies.
Our first cohort successfully completed the programme at the end of April and were congratulated on their achievement and hard work. Initial feedback demonstrated that the preceptorship enabled new nurses to feel more resilient, communicate better, put together an effective handover and handle medications with confidence.
The completion of the programme was marked by a celebration event at Penn Hospital, attended by key Trust staff, including Susan Brady, Interim Deputy Chief Nursing Officer and Emma Perry, Divisional Director of Nursing - Mental Health Working Age Adult.
We spoke to our nurse preceptees to get their take on the programme and being a nurse. Here’s what they had to say:
Kia: “The nursing profession is not an easy job to do, but it is a calling to a lot of us, to help patients, families and carers. It should be seen as an honour that we have the capabilities, skills and knowledge to help those in their time of need.
Healthcare and nursing opportunities are continuously growing, and learning and reflecting upon our role, is never ending (which is one of my favourite aspects). After a long and tremendously hard degree, I cannot imagine working in any other field or feeling as fulfilled in any other career.”
Margaret: “I was inspired by tremendous job done by nurses during Covid-19. Their dedication, commitment and compassionate willingness to work in risky conditions to save lives motivated me to do the same.
“I feel I have chosen the right profession where I can help those who need it.”
Emma: “Working at BCHFT has taught me so much. I have learned so much from a wonderful supportive team and love the community we work in.”
Demi: "Being а nurse is the most inspirational, hard and rewarding job. Every day is different, and every day is a learning day. There are endless amounts of opportunities out there, be inquisitive!
"I most am proud to be a learning disability nurse and feel privileged to work with the amazing and unique patients during their time of need. Helping them to live as independently, healthily and happily as possible. Some days more challenging than others, but if you see this as a learning experience and reflect, it can have really positive outcomes."
Kerry: “I’m a proud Learning Disability Nurse. It is a privilege to support individuals that view the world a bit differently. Every day, I try to raise awareness of the importance of Learning Disability nursing and advocate for individuals and families. I’m excited to see where my new career takes me.”
Helenah Duffill, Practice Education Lead, said:
“It is a great privilege to share the preceptorship journey with newly qualified nurses. The experiences we have early on in our careers will go on to shape our practice in the future and in turn, shape patient experience. It is for this reason that it was so important to us that our preceptees have the best start to their nursing journey as possible.
“Nursing is a challenging role, and when we support nurses in their careers, we help to improve the future of our NHS people and the welfare of those who use our services. As our first cohort of nurses begin their work as autonomous practitioners, we wish them all the very best and look forward to welcoming our next cohort of preceptees.”
Susan Brady, Interim Deputy Chief Nurse, said:
“We know that retaining nurses is essential to providing consistent, high-quality care to the communities we serve. Supporting newly qualified nurses through structured programmes like preceptorship is one of the most effective ways we can invest in the future of our workforce and, ultimately, the wellbeing of our patients.
“Improving the experience of our colleagues helps them to stay with us for longer. Attrition of healthcare professionals has been under the spotlight for many years and can pose several risks to the healthcare system, as well as to the wellbeing of nurses.
“While there is no single solution to addressing the retention of healthcare staff, ensuring that our newly qualified staff have a positive start to their careers is a key tactic to ensuring we retain and develop our newly qualified nurses.”
For more information on nursing preceptorships, please visit: NHS England » National preceptorship framework for nursing