The Council of Deans have recently published a report on what makes a high performing research environment for Nurses, Midwives and allied health professionals. You can find it here.
I would encourage colleagues at any point in their research or academic management career to take a look at this document, as it is full of eminently practical recommendations to create a highly productive and rewarding research environment to work in. For those short on time, the Executive summary and ‘ten top tips’ covers the key recommendations. The most striking thing I found, as I read the document through, was how obvious the recommendations were and how many of them you may find within your own work places. However, the crucial aspect here seems to be that when time is taken to make a collective decision to do it ALL then significant benefits can be achieved.
The NMC consultation on standards of proficiency for future Nurses has now closed but if you missed it the document can still be found here.
The expected launch date is early 2018. Personally, I found it pleasing to see how research, critical appraisal skills and evidence-based practice remain a strong theme throughout the document. I was struck though by the extraordinary breadth of knowledge and skills a nurse is required to be competent and confident in when they qualify. It reminded me what a unique and extraordinarily rewarding the nursing profession is.
Professor Candy McCabe
Florence Nightingale Foundation Chair in Clinical Nursing Practice Research
University of the West of England, Bristol & Royal United Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust