Practice nursing: an evaluation of a training practice initiative

Globally, health care is moving towards a primary care approach. In the UK initiatives for nurses wishing to gain experience in primary and community care may be crucial with the advent of Primary Care Groups (PCGs) and Prima ry Care Trusts (PCTs). This paper outlines an initiative in practice nursin g, developed as a pilot study by a Health Authority. The training practice initiative was aimed at nurses returning to practice and offered them an ex periential and supportive career pathway into primary care. The evaluation (carried out over 1 year), highlighted that those primarily involved in the initiative - the trainees, educators and general practitioners - felt it h ad been successful, especially in relation to professional development issu es. The funding bodies for the initiative, who previously had concerns over the recruitment and retention of practice nurses, were also optimistic tha t the support networks which developed as a result of the initiative had ra ised morale. The paper suggests several educational, organizational and pro fessional issues which arose from the evaluation exercise. Further. it sugg ests how this initiative, in an extended form, could provide an effective b asis for the training and development of nursing staff in PCGs/PCTs. (C) 20 01 Harcourt Publishers Ltd.