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ABSTRACT
Many new qualified health visitors may find the transition from being a student to an accountable individual practitioner a daunting prospect. Although competent and knowledgeable, they may feel the need for support and guidance of more experienced professional colleagues as they find their feet in professional practice. The same may apply to those who have returned to practice after a break of five years or more. It may also apply to those who move from a different area of practice by virtue of a new registerable qualification, for example a registered nurse who subsequently qualifies as a health visitor. Feeling valued and invested in by the employing organisation does have benefits to the children, families and communities with whom we work. Building professional resilience and developing and maintaining up-to-date knowledge will inevitably provide a high quality delivery of equitable services. This paper discusses the findings from a six month pilot of the HEE/iHV (2014) National Preceptor Framework for health visitors, exploring the impact of the implementation of the health visitor Preceptorship framework. Whilst the pilot lasted just six months, early indications suggests a positive impact on the staff and the children, families and communities we serve.
KEY WORDS
Health visitor, Preceptee, Preceptorship, CPD, Retention
WHY DO WE NEED TO SUPPORT NEW HEALTH VISITORS?
The profile of health visiting education has been raised considerably since the Health Visitor Implementation Plan 2011-15: A Call to Action (Department of Health, 2011), which presented a real opportunity to strengthen and grow the health visiting workforce. The result of this rapid expansion of the health visiting workforce is that there is a large percentage (46%) HSCIC (Sept 15) in some areas of new and recently qualified practitioners, each requiring robust preceptorship and support in their first two years of practice. Just as education in the first two years of practice is important, having access to continuing education throughout professional careers is vital (Mclnnes 2013). "A Health Visiting Career" (DH, 2012a) highlights that completion of the Specialist Community Public Health Nursing (SCPHN) health visiting qualification, is only the start of the journey for continuous learning, growth and for the profession. All health visitors must be enabled to access and demonstrate achievement of continuing professional development (CPD) to meet the...