Paul Kavanagh-Fields
Queens University Belfas, UK
Title: An evaluation of a regional job planning toolkit for clinical nurse specialists
Biography
Biography: Paul Kavanagh-Fields
Abstract
Nurses have developed clinical specialist roles, particularly in the areas of long-term conditions management for example diabetes and respiratory issues, and increasingly in the management of acute conditions such as urology, dermatology and cancer care and treatment. The contribution of these roles has been described in numerous publications including the National Cancer Action Team and MacMillan Support (2010) and by Young (2012). They conclude that clinical nurse specialists (CNSs) reduce inefficiency, drive innovation and improve the quality of care and the patient’s experience.
The aim of the study is to evaluate if the introduction of a regional job planning methodology has enabled CNSs in one Health and Social Care Trust (HSC) in Northern Ireland, to meet the requirements of their job through the identification of clinical activity and supporting professional activity sessions in line with the regionally agreed job plans. Ethics approval was not required.
The study was carried out using a mixed methodology approach. The results indicated that embedding of the toolkit methodology within the HSC Trust had not been widespread with a variance between hospital based CNSs and those based in hospital/community and community settings. While the use of the job plan to identify the core activities of the role was welcomed as a positive thing, nervousness still remained around the support it had at a senior level within the HSC Trust.
It was concluded that the job planning toolkit required to be revised to include for example travel time and that clinical coding for activity carried out by CNSs needed to be more robust.