We are encouraging our much-valued nurses and midwives to train for a new professional advocate scheme to provide advice and guidance to their colleagues.
The Professional Nurse Advocate and Professional Midwife Advocate are new roles which see nurses and midwives undertaking specialist training to offer additional support to their colleagues.
A Professional Nurse/Midwife Advocate provides clinical supervision for nurses and midwives and hosts regular confidential drop-in sessions. They provide the opportunity for staff to speak openly and honestly about anything that is on their mind. We hope this will play a key role in reducing stress and maintaining a positive work-life balance as well as increasing job satisfaction.
Mel Cambage is Associate Director of Nursing, Patient Experience and Improvement. She said: “The resilience of our teams has been tested over the past few years due to the pandemic. Our staff have had to adapt to changing environments and also to new ways of working.
“Undertaking the course has equipped me with the skills and knowledge to implement restorative clinical supervision which aims to engage and empower staff to care for our patients and themselves through personal reflection and growth with a focus on continuous improvement.
“My favourite element of the role is working with staff around personal and professional development especially when it improves wellbeing as a result.”
The training is free of charge. Nurses and midwives are also supported with time allocated to offering their drop in sessions.
Why have the professional advocate roles been developed?
The programme is a national scheme. It forms part of NHS England’s A_EQUIP; Advocating for Education, Quality, and Improvement model of:
- Monitoring, evaluating and quality control
- Clinical supervision (restorative)
- Education and development
- Personal action for quality improvement
Developing a local Professional Nurse/Midwife Advocate network is part of our ongoing commitment to the continuous development of staff, improvement of service and patient quality.