An evaluation of how trainee nursing associates (TNAs) balance being a ‘worker’ and a ‘learner’ in clinical practice: an early experience study. Part 1/2

Abstract

In December 2015, the Government announced plans to introduce a ‘nursing associate’ role to bridge the gap between healthcare support workers and registered nurses ( Gummer, 2015 ). The role, according to the Department of Health and Social Care (DHSC), will be to deliver hands-on care that will allow registered nurses to spend increasing time on clinical duties and take more of a lead in decisions about patient care ( Merrifield, 2015 ). In July 2016, Health Education England said that this role was to be introduced in a two-phase process, with 1000 trainee nursing associates (TNAs) recruited in December 2016 to start in January 2017 and a second pilot phase with a further 1000 TNAs recruited to start in April 2017. In January 2017, the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) subsequently agreed to the DHSC's request to become the regulator for nursing associates and has been consulting on various aspects of its responsibilities since. The aim of the author's project was to undertake an early-experience evaluation of TNA roles across the northeast of England, focusing on how the TNAs balance being a ‘worker’ and a ‘learner’ in clinical practice, in order to inform future cohorts. The results found give rise to a number of areas for discussion, including: role clarity; placement models; mentorship and protected learning time. These are helping to inform the third phase of TNA recruitment in 2018 in the northeast of England and will be fed back into the national evaluation.