Advanced Practice Core Competences Review
Started February 2008
 
NHS North West commissioned Acton Shapiro to conduct a review to identify core competences which could provide the foundation for common education programmes and inform future commissioning decisions.  The review was intended to build on some initial work which the Strategic Health Authority had carried out to begin mapping the competences set out (in both national and local documents) for a range of advanced roles.
 
There are four main stages to the review:
  1. Obtaining details of the competences for all the advanced practitioner roles included in the study
  2. Mapping the core competences – this involves the development of a simple typology. For example, core competences which are common to all advanced practitioner roles (e.g. research or clinical leadership skills) are being identified as well as common core competences for related advanced practitioner roles (e.g. Critical Care Practitioners and Physician Assistants). Competences which are extremely role specific are also being identified
  3. A brief overview of academic training for all the advanced practitioner roles in the North West is also being undertaken, in order to understand:
    • the extent to which courses are specific or generic
    • the level of academic qualification (i.e. Postgraduate Diploma, Masters Degree)
    • the format of the courses (e.g. full time/part time, modular/day release etc.)
    • how competences are taught/examined
  4. Validation of findings and recommendations with an expert reference group –12 ‘experts’ from policy bodies, the Strategic Health Authority, Primary Care Trusts, other Trusts and Higher Education Institutes are being convened into a ‘virtual’ group which will feedback electronically on the findings from the review and help to shape the recommendations to be included in the final report

The results of the mapping process will be synthesised into a ‘schema’ for the competences and this, along with supporting documents, will be put together in a final report for the SHA.