A pioneering training pathway for general practice nurses (GPNs) is ‘driving change’ and helping to develop a ‘national culture’ for the training and education of the profession, according to an independent review.
The Queen’s Nursing Institute (QNI) has published its evaluation of the GPN Foundation School (GPNFS) in Staffordshire – a project launched in 2023 to standardise training and move away from a ‘pick and mix’ of education that many GPNs face.
Based on focus groups with trainees and stakeholders, the school has been described as a ‘vital contributor’ to the primary care workforce and an initiative that offers a ‘reliable pipeline’ for recruitment in the face of workforce challenges.
The pilot phase
The 12-month school programme, designed for both newly registered nurses and those new to general practice nursing, began as a pilot in September 2023 and has recently launched its second cohort.
Each trainee has a funded place on the Fundamentals of General Practice Nursing university course and attends the GPN school for one session a week.
The school curriculum is focused on the core capability and career framework and includes a bespoke leadership programme, wellbeing, resilience, clinical supervision, peer support and clinical topics.
GPNFS director and strategic nurse lead Rachel Viggars, and GPNFS training programme lead Gill Boast, spoke to Nursing in Practice when the programme first launched, and set out their hopes for the scheme to be rolled out at a national level.
The QNI was asked to conduct an independent evaluation of the programme to determine what could be learned from its pilot phase – which saw a 93% retention rate.
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This was carried out by Professor Alison Leary, Dr Lesley Baillie and colleagues under the QNI’s International Community Nursing Observatory and was published on Thursday.
An 86-page evaluation report found the GPN school was recognised by stakeholders, such as those within GP practices, for ‘providing robust support and a structured pathway for developing new GPNs, reducing isolation, and establishing a valuable network’.
GPN school a ‘vital workforce contributor’
‘The programme was seen as a vital contributor to the primary care workforce, offering a reliable pipeline for recruiting skilled GPNs into general practices,’ it added.
Those on the programme attend while being employed on a full-time contract for 12 months – some within a primary care network model and some within a GP practice.
The review suggested the school ‘provided opportunities for nurses to enter general practice, who would not have been able to previously’ and it praised the initiative for facilitating the employment of newly registered nurses into general practice by offering the ‘necessary support structure’.
It added: ‘Stakeholders unanimously considered that the GPN trainees were competent, confident and employable.
‘The GPNFS was considered by some stakeholders to develop competent GPNs more quickly than was possible prior to the GPNFS.
‘Some trainees were already demonstrating leadership skills and had contributed to service developments.’
For trainees, the evaluation also found they ‘reflected positively on their development and confidence’.
GPN trainees were ‘enthusiastic about GP nursing and could foresee career pathways in primary care’ and reported a ‘decline in stress and uncertainty associated with taking on a new role’.
The QNI added that the school was ‘developing a national culture for GPN training and education that helps address pressing workforce issues in general practice’.
Barriers and challenges
The evaluation recognised some barriers and challenges for the development of the GPN school, including: finance, employment, and general practice and PCN engagement.
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‘With current funding issues in primary care, agreeing the financing was challenging,’ the report noted.
It added: ‘Engaging general practices was also challenging, with one factor being that general practices are in the independent sector, so even national support was not sufficient.’
Those behind the initiative told evaluators that of around 140 GP practices in the local area, only 15 had signed up to be involved in the pilot phase.
However, the report said there had been ‘more interest’ for the second cohort and that practices had been ‘a little bit more willing to have that conversation’.
A ‘gold standard’ for education
Assistant director of nursing programmes at the QNI and a Queen’s Nurse, Angie Hack, said: ‘The programme sets a gold standard for the education and practice for nurses new to general practice based on the expertise, commitment and passion of the team for development and retention of GPNs.’
She added that the evaluation ‘supports the call for consistency in GPN education and practice across primary care’.
GPNFS training programme lead Ms Boast said: ‘It is wonderful to see the next generation of GPNs progress and to be part of developing a pipeline of competent and confident GPNs for the future.
‘The community of practice that has evolved within the school is beneficial not only for safe patient care, but for the wellbeing of the GPNs too.
‘This improves retention of new GPNs and retaining experienced staff.’
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And GPNFS director and strategic nurse lead Ms Viggars said the school ‘addresses critical challenges in the recruitment and retention of GPNs’.
‘It offers much-needed reform by introducing a standardised and high-quality training and education pathway,’ she said.
‘This evaluation underscores that the model is pivotal for the future of GP nursing, setting a benchmark for training excellence.
‘With its demonstrated success, the programme provides a clear vision for national implementation, ensuring sustainable growth and development of the primary care nursing workforce.’
