Development opportunities

We offer a wide range of learning opportunities to all staff, including:

• Corporate induction
• Mandatory and statutory training
• Clinical development programmes
• Therapeutic and clinical skills
• Leadership and management training
• Recovery College courses

These are registered health and social care professionals, who work with our clinical staff on all aspects of pre-registration education for nursing, allied health professionals (including occupational therapists, physiotherapists, speech and language therapists), clinical psychology and paramedic students and apprentices.

They can support the clinical learning environments by:

• Supporting any students including clinical apprentices on placement, picking up any concerns about the quality of the placement or opportunities to achieve learning outcomes
• Advising and supporting practice supervisors, practice assessors and practice educators with information and where they may have a concern about a learner
• Working with clinical team managers to develop the learning culture and to ensure that adequate levels of support are in place for students on placement with the ward or team
• Building placement capacity across the Trust

Preceptorship is defined as

a period of structured transition for newly registered practitioner during which they are supported by a preceptor to develop their confidence as an autonomous professional, refine skills, values and behaviours and to continue on their journey of lifelong learning

(DOH 2010)

The aim of preceptorship is to support newly-registered professionals in their first year of work. By valuing and engaging newly registered staff we help with build their confidence to develop personally and professionally in the transitional year.

Preceptorship consists of the following elements:

• Monthly teaching sessions
• Monthly preceptee peer support sessions
• Support for preceptees in their clinical areas
• Support within the clinical area – practice education facilitators can advise, train and support CTMs and Preceptors on preceptorship

Our work spans education and organisational development and is derived from the Talent for Care (TFC) strategy (Health Education England, 2014), fittinginto the four themes, “Get ready, Get into, Get on, Go further!” 

We support staff to access apprenticeships and co-ordinate the development programmes including preceptorship for newly-qualified assistant practitioners and our medication management programme for assistant practitioners and allied health professionals. We are very proud to have a range of apprenticeships available to develop staff to be the best they can be at their job and help them realise career aspirations into professions or managerial roles.

We help staff access national programmes such as traineeships, T-levels, work experience. We work with the local Department for Work and Pensions and job centres to provide work placement programmes, supporting local people to find jobs, enabling them to gain the skills they need to get jobs and providing targeted help for young people to get into work.