University leads training to help NHS respond to stress and burnout

With the additional pressures of COVID-19, it has been a year like no other for the NHS.

Now the University of Plymouth has been working with and training nurse professionals to help colleagues in need of support.

The Professional Nurse Advocates (PNA) programme was launched this year by Chief Nursing Officer for England, Ruth May and funded by NHS England.

With 400 teaching places in the first wave, funded nationwide, the University was allocated 120 – and has just completed training its first cohort.

PNA training provides those on the programme with skills to improve the quality of patient care, and to facilitate restorative supervision to their colleagues and teams in nursing and beyond.

Delivered by experienced academics, the programme equips professionals to listen and understand challenges and demands of fellow colleagues, and to lead, support and deliver quality improvement initiatives in response.

Due to the exceptional pressure that many nurses are experiencing through the pandemic, the development of this role started with those working in critical care.

The course builds on the established use of the A-EQUIP model (Advocating for Education and QUality ImProvement) in maternity settings.