RCN NORTHERN IRELAND
CHANGING PRACTICE
PROFESSIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMMES
April 2015 – March 2016
For further information please contact
Rita Devlin
Royal College of Nursing
Tel: 028 90384600
rita.devlin@rcn.org.uk
RCN membership is open to registered nurses and health visitors, health care assistants,
students and midwives. To join, download an application form at
www.rcn.org.uk/membership/join or call RCN Direct on 0845 772 6100
PROGRAMMES FOR 2015-2016
Supporting and Developing Senior Nurses
Senior Nurse Managers’ Toolkit Programme
(4 day programme delivered over 3 months)
Page 4
Preparing for a Ward Manager post. Developing Skills for the Complex World of
Today’s Healthcare Settings
(6 day programme delivered over 6 months)
Page 5
Managing in Practice
Improving Patient Safety
(3 day programme)
Page 6
Why Do Things Go Wrong? Using Root Cause Analysis Principles to Stop It
Happening Again
(1 day programme)
Page 7
Managing Performance – Managing the Performance of Individuals, Teams and
Organisations
(1 day programme)
Page 8
Understanding Workforce Planning
(1 day programme)
Page 9
Practice Development
An Introduction to Practice Development Principles and Facilitation Skills
Applying PD Principles to Everyday Practice to Improve the Patient/Client
Experience
(3 day programme)
Page 10
Developing Person Centred Service Improvement Tools and Techniques
Tools to Help Us Change and Modernise Our Service
(2 day programme)
Page 11
Resolving Conflict in the Workplace
Conflict Resolution. Managing Conflict in the Health and Social Care Sector
(2 day programme)
Page 12
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Improving Care for Older People with Confusion
Caring For Older People With Confusion
(1 day programme)
Page 13
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SENIOR NURSE MANAGERS’ TOOLKIT PROGRAMME
Overall purpose of the programme
This programme is designed to equip senior nurses with the skills they need to achieve
safe effective care for all their patients/ clients A ‘toolkit’ of practical skills will enable
senior nurses to lead the delivery of care in their practice area by: meeting the challenges
of leading a team; creating a shared vision; developing a culture of excellence in the
workplace; and improving performance and modernising services. The programme helps
participants meet the core competencies identified as fundamental to the ward sister/
charge nurse and team leader role (NIPEC)
Target audience
Any senior nurse (usually band 7 and above) who can influence the delivery of patient/
client care within a nursing and/ or multidisciplinary team. The programme is applicable to
nurses working in acute or community settings.
Programme delivery
The programme will be delivered over 4 days (2+ 2, over a period of 3 months) using a
variety of approaches. It will involve gathering new knowledge and learning new skills and
getting an opportunity to practise them in a safe environment.
Maximum 20 participants
Programme objectives
Participants will develop:
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Knowledge of facilitative leadership practices
Clarity around the role of the senior nurse in improving patient care
An understanding of performance management - what is it and how do we do it
Skills to help them understand why things why things go wrong
Knowledge of the principles which underpin patient safety
Skills to facilitating agreement in the workplace
Problem solving skills
Skills to help manage conflict in the workplace.
This programme links to KSF core dimensions 1,2,3,4,5 and general dimensions 1,2,5,6,7. It also links to the NIPEC
competency assessments for ward sisters/ charge nurses and team leaders
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PREPARING FOR A WARD MANAGER POST
DEVELOPING SKILLS FOR THE COMPLEX WORLD OF TODAY’S
HEALTHCARE SETTINGS
Overall purpose of the programme
It is widely accepted that in health care there is a correlation between the quality of patient
care, staff morale and effective nursing leadership. Effective leadership has also been
identified as one of the essential building blocks in successful healthcare redesign (Kings
College London 2008). This programme aims to help potential ward managers develop the
skills they will need to manage wards efficiently and effectively whilst helping all members
of their team to reach their full potential. The programme will also help Trusts to
succession plan for the future. The programme helps participants meet the core
competencies identified as fundamental to the ward sister/ charge nurse and team leader
role (NIPEC)
Target audience
This programme is aimed at experienced band 5 and band 6 nurses who are considering a
career in management and who have demonstrated they have the potential to become a
ward sister/charge nurse
Programme delivery
The programme will be delivered over a period of six months with one day out per month.
It is recommended that participants will have access to a mentor/ coach from within their
Trust. This is important to the success of the programme as in order to develop new skills,
behaviours and ways of working participants will need to be guided in their workplace.
Coaches can be any senior nurse from within the Trust who wants to act as a coach, who
has confidence in their own ability, who has done some leadership training or development
and who can balance a high level of challenge with an equally high level of support.
Maximum 15 participants
Programme objectives
By the end of the programme participants will
 Be able to clarify the role that a ward manager should play in implementing person
centred care
 Have gained an understanding of their Trust’s strategic aims and be able to identify
the part they play in helping meet these objectives
 Understand the concept of performance management as it applies to organisations
and individuals
 Have developed skills around investigating complaints, near misses and untoward
incidents and will be able to apply these skills both reactively and proactively to
ensure effective service redesign
 Be able to examine the culture of their own workplace/ team and begin to facilitate
the development and growth of an improvement and learning culture
 Be able to identify a patient care issue within their sphere of influence which needs
to be addressed, and facilitate the implementation of new ways of working to
address this issue.
This programme links to KSF core dimensions 1,2,3,4,5 and general dimensions 1,2,5,6,7 It also links to the NIPEC
competency assessments for ward sisters/ charge nurses and team leaders
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IMPROVING PATIENT SAFETY
Overall purpose of the programme
Improving patient safety involves assessing how patients could be harmed, preventing or
managing risks, reporting and analysing incidents, learning from such incidents and
implementing solutions to minimise the likelihood of them reoccurring. This programme will
help professionals to develop the knowledge and skills necessary to create and maintain a
safety culture within organisations.They will focus on looking at systems, processes and
patterns of behavior within organisations on both a macro and a micro level.
Target Audience
Senior nurses in all settings who are involved in promoting patient safety, investigating
complaints, near misses and untoward incidents.
Programme delivery
The programme will be delivered over three days using a variety of approaches including
group discussions, creative interaction and active learning approaches
Maximum 20 participants
Programme Objectives
At the end of the module participants will have:
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Developed an understanding of the global and strategic context of Quality and
Safety and how this can be applied to the clinical environment
Learned about Quality Improvements tools and techniques and their application
Learned how to develop and analyse a process map and how this information can
be used to inform patient safety initiatives
Identified a work based patient safety initiative that they will implement and evaluate
Developed an understanding of why things go wrong in the HSC and the tools that
can be used to investigate serious adverse incidents and near misses
Discussed the concept of Human Factors and how this can impact on a safe service
Identified the elements of a safety culture and what we need to do to ensure we
have it in our workplace
Looked at what contributes to building and maintaining safe, consistent and reliable
care
Learned about the similarities and differences between Practice Development
methodologies and Quality Improvement Tools
This programme links to KSF core dimensions 1,2,3,4,5 and general dimensions 1,2,5,6,7
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WHY DO THINGS GO WRONG? UNDERSTANDING SYSTEMS,
PROCESSES AND PEOPLE
Overall purpose of Programme
This programme will give senior nurses the knowledge, skills and tools required to conduct
an investigation in a systematic and effective way. It will also help participants to look
proactively at their practices to ensue they can keep patients and staff safe. This
programme will also help those charged with changing and modernising services to meet
the requirements for quality and safety
Target audience
Senior nurses in all settings who are involved in promoting patient safety, investigating
complaints, near misses and untoward incidents.
Programme delivery
The programme is delivered over one day with a mixture of presentations, interactive
discussions and group exercises.
Maximum 20 participants
Programme objectives
By the end of the programme participants will be able to
 understand what a root cause analysis is and how it should be conducted
 identify the processes, attitudes, cultures and behaviours that have led to problems
and critical incidents
 apply some of the learning to their own clinical setting
 practice using some of the root cause analysis tools
 apply the principles proactively when introducing changes in practices to ensure
patients remain safe
 implement systems to ensure learning from untoward incidents, complaints and
near misses.
This programme links to KSF core dimensions 1,2,3,4,5 and general dimensions 1,2,5,6,7
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MANAGING PERFORMANCE MANAGING THE PERFORMANCE OF INDIVIDUALS, TEAMS AND
ORGANISATIONS
Overall purpose of the programme
The aim of the programme is to introduce senior nurses to the concept of performance
management and to enable them to understand their responsibilities with regard to
performance management within Health and Social Care Trusts.
Target audience
Ward managers, clinical services managers and other senior nurses who have a
responsibility for delivering a service and for ensuring that staff develop and develop their
competence to ensure safe and effective care for patients
Programme delivery:
This is a one day programme delivered using a variety of presentations and workshop
activities.
Maximum 20 participants
Programme objectives:
By the end of the programme participants will be able to:
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Understand performance management principles as they apply to the organisation, the
team and the individual
Understand their role and responsibilities for performance management
Apply the principles of performance management to a real life problem
Link performance management with appraisal and clinical supervision
Understand the steps required for successful capability and disciplinary procedures.
This programme links to KSF core dimensions 1,2,3,4,5,6 and general dimensions 1,6,7
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UNDERSTANDING WORKFORCE PLANNING
Overall purpose of the workshop
Nursing and Midwifery staff are the main caregivers and are crucial to the delivery of safe
and effective care. The aim of this workshop is to help senior nurses including ward
sisters/ charge nurses understand workforce planning and to introduce them to some of
the workforce planning tools available. This in turn will enable HSC Trusts to develop their
workforce planning capacity and capability.
Target audience
This workshop is aimed at ward sisters/ charge nurses and clinical nurse managers who
need to understand the principles and practices involved in workload measurement and
workforce planning.
Programme delivery
The workshop is delivered over one day with a mixture of presentations, interactive
discussions and group exercises.
Maximum 20 participants
Programme objectives
By the end of this workshop participants will have developed;
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An understanding of workforce planning principles and how they are applied
An understanding of the factors which influence nursing and midwifery workload in
their own area of responsibility
Knowledge of existing tools to measure workload
An ability to interpret workload data which will guide effective decision making
An ability to understand when and how to raise concerns about workload or
workforce issues which have the potential to impact negatively on patient care or
safety
This programme links to KSF core dimensions 1,2,5 and general dimensions 1,3,4
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AN INTRODUCTION TO PRACTICE DEVELOPMENT PRINCIPLES AND
FACILITATION SKILLS
Applying PD principles to everyday practice to improve the patient/ client
experience
Overall purpose of the programme
This programme has been developed in line with the evolving Practice Development
strategy for Northern Ireland, providing nurses with an opportunity to develop the
knowledge and skills necessary to implement person centred care. The programme will
assist nurses to move through a Practice Development Learning and Development
Framework with levels of expertise from novice to advanced beginner, through to a
competent or proficient practice developer. The programme will help nurses acquire a
basic understanding of practice development principles and facilitation skills and how they
can be applied in practice to improve the patient/ client experience. It will also be very
useful to those nurses who are involved in service improvement work
Target audience
Any nurse who would like to learn more about practice development or who is engaged in
a service improvement/implementing change initiative. It may also be of interest to ward
managers who would like to learn more about workplace culture and person centred
practice.
Programme delivery
The programme will be delivered over three days using a variety of approaches including
group discussions, creative interaction and active learning approaches.
Maximum 20 participants
Programme objectives
By the end of the programme the participants will
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Understand the underpinning principles of PD
Understand workplace culture and it’s impact on the delivery of care, the
development of practitioners and the implementation of person centred care
Be aware of different modes of facilitation and how they can be used to drive
service change and service improvement
Be able to make links between PD theories and tools and understand how it can be
applied to everyday practice
Develop their knowledge and skills of reflecting, working with values and beliefs and
creating a shared vision
This programme links to KSF core dimensions 1,2,3,4,5,6 and general dimensions 1,6,7
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DEVELOPING PERSON CENTRED SERVICE IMPROVEMENT TOOLS
AND TECHNIQUES
Tools to help us change and modernise our services
Overall purpose of the programme
The aim of this programme is to help nurses develop the knowledge and skills required to
change and modernise services to ensure the delivery of safe, effective, efficient evidence
based practice. It will be particularly useful to those nurses who are involved with service
improvement or service change to meet the Transforming Your Care agenda
Target audience
Any nurse or nursing team, who wish to (and have the authority to) change practice,
implement new ways of working, develop a new service or redesign an existing service.
It may be of specific interest to specialist nurses who are engaged in setting up a new
service and wish to learn how to ensure it is safe, efficient and cost effective and how to
evaluate its impact and contribution to meeting the aims and objectives of the HSC
organisation
Programme delivery
The programme will be delivered over two days using a variety of approaches including
formal presentations, group discussions, creative interaction and active learning
approaches.
Maximum 20 participants
Programme objectives
By the end of the programme the participants will have developed;
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A vision for their service improvement project
An understanding of the principles of change management
Knowledge of tools and methodologies necessary to change practice
A sense of current practice and what needs to change/ improve
An ability to identify ways of working differently
An evaluation strategy to ensure the change is successful and makes the intended
impact
This programme links to KSF core dimensions 1,2,3,4,5,6 and general dimensions 1,6,7
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CONFLICT RESOLUTION
Managing Conflict in the Health and Social Care Sector
Overall purpose of the programme
This programme is designed to equip participants with greater insight into the development
of conflicts within the workplace. Conflict is an inevitable part of everyday life. The
programme enables an appreciation of how a conflict starts and escalates, recognising
different styles when dealing with a conflict and developing strategies for managing a
conflict. The programme will explore our own responses to conflict and discover what
triggers changes in our reactions to conflict and the impact this can have on present and
future situations. This will give greater understanding into the individual and corporate
response to conflict.
Target audience
Managers, and all those who supervise staff, however this course is designed to give any
healthcare professional insight into understanding conflict and how to manage it.
Programme delivery
This is a two day programme delivered using a variety of presentations and workshop
activities with the MBTI (Myers Briggs Temperament Indicator).
There is a portfolio workbook to be completed as part of this programme and in order to be
accredited by The Open College Network (OCN).
Delivery
The programme will take place over two consecutive days.
Maximum 20 participants
Programme objectives
By the end of the programme participants will have:
 Developed an understanding of how different factors might influence problem
solving when dealing with conflict in the workplace.
 Developed their own interpersonal skills, building confidence and problem solving
skills in relation to dealing with conflict.
 An understanding of how to assess their own and others’ preferences when dealing
with conflict situations in the workplace and how this can change when under
stress, under pressure or going through change - application to a real conflict
situation.
 Gained an insight an understanding that will help them to develop the skills to
diffuse a conflict before it grows, using interventions such as mediation.
This course has been accredited with the Northern Ireland Open College Network at educational
level 2. This is comparable to NVQ level 2, intermediate GNVQ and GCSE grades A*- C
This programme links to KSF core dimensions 1,2,3,4,5,6 and general dimensions 1,2,6,7,8
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CARING FOR OLDER PEOPLE WITH CONFUSION
Overall purpose of the workshop
This workshop will help nurses who work in acute hospital settings or community settings
develop awareness and understanding of the difficulties experienced by older people
coping with confusion (from whatever cause or diagnosis) and learn strategies to help
lessen the impact of the confusion on both the patients and their families, and the staff
caring for them.
Target audience
This is a basic level workshop aimed at nurses who wish to enhance their understanding
of caring for patients with confusion. It is not suitable for nurses who have undergone any
prior training or development around dementia care.
Programme delivery
The programme will be delivered over one day using a variety of approaches including
group discussions, case studies and formal presentations.
Maximum 20 participants
Programme objectives
By the end of this programme participants will have gained
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An understanding of different types of dementia and the disease progression
Knowledge about rights and risks as they apply to the patient/ client
Insight into the difficulties experienced by patients with confusion
Knowledge which will help them develop coping strategies to care for patients in a
more person centred way.
This programme links to KSF core dimensions 1,2,3,4,5 and general dimensions 1,2
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