Understanding the benefits of the district nurse specialist practitioner qualification
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Understanding the benefits of the district nurse specialist practitioner qualification

Sue Hill Head of Workforce Transformation, Health Education England, Winchester, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To increase your understanding of the challenges involved in the role of the district nurse

  • To gain an insight into nurses’ views of the district nurse specialist practitioner qualification

  • To reflect on the importance of post-graduate education in district nursing

This article shares the findings of an explorative service evaluation conducted in England to elicit the views of community nurses regarding the district nurse specialist practitioner qualification (DNSPQ). A sample of 26 participants took part in focus groups and were interviewed about their perceived benefits of the DNSPQ. The main benefits were increased confidence in themselves and their managerial and clinical abilities. Other benefits included the opportunity for reflection, enhanced team management skills, and improved understanding of patient expectations. The evaluation provides some evidence to support the idea that employing highly trained nurses reduces the risk for patients.

Primary Health Care. doi: 10.7748/phc.2020.e1635

Peer review

This article has been subject to external double-blind peer review and has been checked for plagiarism using automated software

@5Sue2

Correspondence

Sue.hill@hee.nhs.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Hill S (2020) Understanding the benefits of the district nurse specialist practitioner qualification. Primary Health Care. doi: 10.7748/phc.2020.e1635

Published online: 16 September 2020

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