Can a clinical skills facilitator improve staff retention in a children’s hospital?
Intended for healthcare professionals
Evidence and practice    

Can a clinical skills facilitator improve staff retention in a children’s hospital?

Holly Dowers Clinical skills facilitator, University Hospitals of Leicester NHS Trust, Leicester, England

Why you should read this article:
  • To understand the role of clinical skills facilitators in staff education and development

  • To recognise the role of nurse leaders in supporting staff development and influencing ward culture

  • To consider the potential of clinical skills facilitators to improve job satisfaction and retention among children’s nurses

Clinical skills facilitators are experienced nurses responsible for staff education and support in a clinical area, where they are employed supernumerary to the team. This article discusses the implementation and evaluation of a pilot clinical skills facilitator role on a medical ward in a children’s hospital in an NHS trust in England, aimed at improving the retention of nursing staff.

A baseline survey was conducted at the start of the pilot and a follow-up survey was conducted at the end, nine months later. The surveys contained ten statements about three factors important for staff retention: clinical skills, job satisfaction and well-being at work. Improvements were seen in all ten statements and a review of staff retention data showed that no member of staff had left the ward in the year of pilot implementation, compared with four the year before. The development of clinical skills facilitator roles on children’s wards is therefore of potential benefit for staff retention.

Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2021.e1358

Peer review

This article has been subject to open peer review and checked for plagiarism using automated software

@hollystephanie

Correspondence

holly.s.dowers@uhl-tr.nhs.uk

Conflict of interest

None declared

Dowers H (2021) Can a clinical skills facilitator improve staff retention in a children’s hospital? Nursing Children and Young People. doi: 10.7748/ncyp.2021.e1358

Published online: 19 April 2021

Want to read more?

Already subscribed? Log in

OR

Unlock full access to RCNi Plus today

Save over 50% on your first 3 months

Your subscription package includes:
  • Unlimited online access to all 10 RCNi Journals and their archives
  • Customisable dashboard featuring 200+ topics
  • RCNi Learning featuring 180+ RCN accredited learning modules
  • RCNi Portfolio to build evidence for revalidation
  • Personalised newsletters tailored to your interests
Subscribe
RCN student member? Try Nursing Standard Student

Alternatively, you can purchase access to this article for the next seven days. Buy now

Or