Knowledge & Skills Exchange – first four learning packages launched
The FNP National Unit has launched a new knowledge and skills exchange programme built on the evidence-based methods used in FNP.
The programme will launch with a set of learning packages based on the expert knowledge that supports FNP and the expertise in facilitated learning in the FNP National Unit.
Learning packages, available now through local FNP teams, are designed to enable local commissioners and providers in FNP sites to:
- Use their local FNP team’s skills and knowledge to build capacity in their wider workforce.
- Ensure FNP expertise can benefit a wider local population.
- Build their return on investment in FNP by working with their local FNP team to support quality improvement in their area.
The first four learning packages focus on: communication skills*; parent-child attachment; the adolescent brain; and engaging marginalised clients.
FNP National Unit Director Ailsa Swarbrick said: “We’ve heard from commissioners and providers up and down the country that FNP is a much valued service, but targeted at a very specific population. So we asked ourselves: what if some of the methods used in
FNP could be embedded in the wider workforce? That’s where the idea came from for Knowledge & Skills Exchange.
“FNP’s learning programme for family nurses and supervisors is valued very highly, so inviting the skilled FNP workforce to help embed learning more widely feels like a good opportunity to improve the return on investment in areas where FNP is commissioned.
“Our approach and choice of initial learning package topics are based on feedback from FNP supervisors about the learning they are already sharing and therefore seek to build on current demand.
“We will follow the launch of the first four learning packages with an opportunity for a small number of FNP areas to work with us to refine them further and to co-develop a brand new set of implementation tools. These might cover issues such as how to plan to deliver the learning, depending on local context, resources and who it is being offered to; and ways to embed, practice and develop new skills and knowledge beyond the initial training.”
Knowledge & Skills Exchange is part of FNP Next Steps, an ambitious change programme for FNP which aims to strengthen outcomes, increase cost effectiveness, ensure greater flexibility and share learning with other services through a series of innovations and improvements to the FNP programme in England.
*The focus of communications skills in FNP is to enable clients to feel heard and understood so that they can be supported to make the changes they want and need to make as they become parents for the first time. These skills are based on the theory and practice of motivational interviewing.
