What is a Professional Nurse Advocate?
The Professional Nurse Advocate (PNA) programme was launched in March 2021 with the intention of improving the patient experience through enhanced quality of care delivered by a resilient, valued and confident workforce.
The PNA role was designed to be central to this improvement by delivering Restorative Clinical Supervision (RCS) for nurses across England post the COVID pandemic, with the intention of restoring staff resilience, improving staff wellbeing, and in turn improving staff retention across the NHS. The PNA is a practising nurse, trained to support the workforce by facilitating other nurses to lead and deliver quality improvement initiatives in response to service demands and changing patient requirements.
Ruth May, the Chief Nursing Officer for England, described a vision of a minimum of one PNA for every 20 registered nurses. Having access to a PNA will increase staff confidence and help staff to take ownership of improving working conditions within their own clinical areas, ultimately resulting in higher job satisfaction and retention throughout the organisation.
What will the PNA do?
The primary focus of the PNA role is to deliver Restorative Clinical Supervision which allows individuals to reflect on personal and professional practice in a safe, nonjudgmental, confidential setting. This is intended to be a two way process with no set agenda, allowing time to think, to explore feelings and emotions and ultimately to determine how these feelings and emotions can impact practice, either in a beneficial or detrimental way.
The PNA is not in place to solve problems, but to help and support others to move forward to find acceptable solutions to the issues raised. RCS sessions are also about providing a safe place for staff to slow down, think and reflect. They are guided by the PNA and may include career development conversations, appraisals, and revalidation discussions if these are appropriate to the situation. The PNA should be sufficiently well versed in these areas to offer appropriate support or to indicate where such support can be accessed
How can I access a PNA?
Every single member of the workforce is eligible for accessing specialist PNA supervision. Please contact PNA
Emma Webster -
Hello, I'm Emma and I am currently a Preceptorship Programme Facilitator, supporting newly qualified nurses in the Trust. I am a mental health nurse and my background has mainly been working in community mental health with a specialism in psychosis. I also currently educate around supervision, resilience and working with adults with ACES with my ultimate goal and passion being to ensure all staff are able to practice in a trauma-informed way.
I chose to become a PNA due to experiencing vicarious trauma and burnout at work, which highlighted to me the importance of (and sometimes lack of) access to good supervision for staff.
In my 'real life' I can usually be found elbow deep in some form of crafts (currently crochet), consuming true crime podcasts, or spending time with my children.
Clare Handley -
Hello, my name is Clare and I am currently part of the Safeguarding Children team. My background is in paediatric nursing, and I am a qualified health visitor. I have worked in all of our boroughs over the 15 years that I have worked in Community Health Services and Safeguarding.
I'm a strong advocate of the supervision process and have witnessed firsthand how it can support staff being the very best they can be, which led me to become a Professional Nurse Advocate and deliver the estorative supervision programme.
Outside of work my time is taken up by my silversmith studio, where I spend a lot of time with Toby, who is a mini dachshund who forgot to stop growing and is actually quite big!
Hannah Williams -
Hi, my name is Hannah - I am a learning disability nurse currently working in the Specialist Community Forensic Team for learning disabilities / autism.
I have experience working with people with learning disabilities and / or mental illness, having previously worked in secure hospitals, prison and assessment and treatment units, so I understand the challenges (and the reward) of working with people with complex needs. My base is at Hollins Park, so you might catch me having a vitamin D walk in the grounds when I am office based - chats always welcome!
I chose to become a PNA because I experienced burnout, and I truly believe that the additional support of a PNA around that time could have helped me prevent that.
Outside of work, I have a gorgeous choccy lab called Thornton and we love adventures in the van - he LOVES the beach! We also have an allotment, I can't take much credit for the actual growing but I love eating the fresh produce!
Julie Pinder -
Hi, I'm Julie. I am a registered mental health nurse with 25 years of working both in inpatient and community settings. I am currently team leader for the Community Physical Health Team. As well as my nursing qualification, I have completed other courses in different areas of talking therapies and have a degree in psychosocial interventions. In my spare time, I enjoy walking and practising holistic therapies.
The professional nurse advocate A-EQUIP model: A model of clinical supervision for nurses document describes the professional nurse advocate (PNA) role and the A-EQUIP (Advocating and Educating for QUality ImProvement) model of professional nursing leadership and clinical supervision, and provides guidance on their implementation, including key actions for each relevant group. It is of particular relevance to all nurses, student nurses, providers of nursing services and patients.
Professional Nurse Advocate Supervision 1
Professional Nurse Advocate Supervision 2
Professional Nurse Advocate delivered restorative clinical supervision
What is the Professional Nurse Advocate (PNA) training programme?
PNA training provides those on the programme with skills to facilitate restorative supervision to their colleagues and teams, in nursing and beyond. A version of this programme exists already for maternity colleagues, where outcomes point to improved staff wellbeing and retention, alongside improved patient outcomes. The training equips them to listen and to understand challenges and demands of fellow colleagues, and to lead support and deliver quality improvement initiatives in response.
This programme is the first of its kind for nursing not just in England, but across the world, and we are keen to measure and share its impact. We will commission an economic evaluation and independent research for this programme.
The virtual Level 7 Accredited PNA Training Programme will run for 10 days, but the delivery may differ due to the various Higher Education Institutes delivering the programme and the mode of academic assessment can vary from: short essays, poster presentations and competency portfolios.
The training programme is accessible to Bands 5 and above, if you can evidence that you have obtained a Level 6 qualification or equivalent and have line manager approval. It is expected that as soon as you start the PNA Training Programme, you will start to; support your fellow colleagues, facilitate restorative clinical supervision in practise, and lead and deliver quality improvement initiatives in response to the service demands and the ongoing changing patient requirements.
The PNA Training Programme will focus on the four functions of the Advocating for Education and Quality and Improvement (A-Equip) Model, but it will primarily focus on restorative clinical supervision. The four functions of the A-Equip Model are as follows:
- Clinical Supervision (Restorative)
- Monitoring, Evaluation and Quality Control (Normative)
- Personal Action for Quality Improvement
- Education and Development (Formative).
Are there any entry requirements to enrol on the PNA training programme?
The entry requirements are:
- You are band 5 or above (primarily aimed at bands 5 and 6 front line staff)
- You have evidence that you have obtained a level 6 qualification or equivalent, such as post-graduate modules, internal level 6 modules or pre-2012 nursing diploma
- You have line manager approval.
Is there a cost to undertaking the PNA training programme?
There is no cost to you to undertake the PNA Training. The training programme is fully funded by NHS England and NHS Improvement (NHSE/I). Upon submitting an expression of interest, applicants make a commitment to complete the programme, supported by the line manager and nominated PNA lead for your organisation.
Who do I contact with enquiries relating to the PNA training programme?
The point of contact is Berni
Do I receive an increase in my salary for undertaking the programme and facilitating Restorative Clinical Supervision (RCS) in practice and supporting fellow colleagues – are there additional responsibilities on top of my current role?
No, there will be no increase in salary from undertaking the PNA Training Programme. We expect the additional responsibilities to be implemented as part of your current role.
Can I undertake the PNA training programme while I am undertaking academic studies?
In view of the time commitment required to complete the PNA Training programme, we would not recommend that you apply for the PNA training programme while you have other academic commitments.
I have received my outcome letter containing my allocated university, what are my next steps?
Please complete the registration and enrolment process, as detailed in the outcome letter to secure your place on the programme. Should you experience any difficulties with this process, please arrange to contact the university at the email address provided in the outcome letter and they will be happy to support you through this process.
I have just received my cohort start date, but I must now withdraw or cannot commit to completing the programme. What can I do?
Please discuss this with your line manager and your nominated PNA lead, to identify what support they can provide to enable you to undertake the programme. If after speaking with your line manager and your PNA lead you need to withdraw, please contact the Northwest PNA team.
NHS England » Professional nurse advocate
I have started the programme but now wish to defer to a later cohort. What can I do?
Once an expression of interest is submitted and a university placement secured, there is no option to defer to a later date, unless there are extenuating circumstances. You will need to discuss this with your line manager and nominated PNA lead in the first instance to explore what additional support they can provide to enable you to complete the programme.
What is the funding process for the PNA programme?
The virtual programme is fully funded directly from NHSE/I and paid straight to the allocated Higher Education Institutes (HEIs).
Can I still enrol if I do not hold a level 6 qualification?
Apologies, if you apply and do not hold a relevant level 6 qualification you will be unsuccessful and not secure a place on the programme. This is due to the HEIs not wanting to set anyone up to fail with this being a level 7 accredited programme.
How can I contact my allocated university (for holiday, sickness and absence, bereavement, withdrawal, personal circumstances relating to children or health conditions)?
All relevant contact details for each higher education institute delivering the programme can be found on the PNA website.
https://www.england.nhs.uk/nursingmidwifery/delivering-the-nhs-ltp/professional-nurse-advocate/
What is the process for submitting my expression of interest and confirming a place on the programme?
The process consists of the following steps:
- Expression of interest (EOI) completed by applicant and submitted to line manager to confirm support
- Line manager confirms applicant holds a level 6 qualification and can commit to undertaking training, and submits the EOI to the PNA lead for approval
- PNA lead considers EOI and confirms approval (or otherwise) to the line manager and applicant, and submits approved EOI to the Northwest PNA team
- EOI acknowledged and allocated university confirmed including links to register and enrol on the programme
- University registration and enrolment process followed to receive your student login and cohort details
- Enrolled onto the PNA training programme
- Await your cohort's start date.
