Framework aims to help Welsh nurses achieve career goals

The framework provides guidance on the support nurses can expect from NHS organisations in Wales and how they can help themselves achieve the most from their career.

Chief nursing officer for Wales Rosemary Kennedy said it supported the principles behind the Knowledge and Skills Framework but placed the responsibility “firmly with the practitioner” for considering how they will maintain their continuous professional development.

Under the framework, nurses can expect career advice and regular reviews, and the achievement of specific levels of knowledge and competencies in specialist and advance level roles.

Ms Kennedy said: “Experience has shown that too many newly qualified staff find themselves ‘stuck in the rut’ without having consolidated their early training on a wide enough front. For other nurses and specialist community public health nurses who have begun to establish a career for themselves, the question of “where to go from here” may arise.

“This document sets out the many opportunities that nurses have and the level of support they might need to fulfil their ambitions and realise their full potential,” she said.

Royal College of Nursing Wales director Tina Donnelly said: “Some nurses will see this initiative as a way to advance their careers while at the same time improving care for patients. Other nurses will see it as a way to advance their skills in clinical practice at the bedside.”

Work on the development of post-registration nursing in England – previously being done under the Modernising Nursing Careers banner – is being taken forward as part of the work on the NHS next stage review.

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