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New framework sets out career pathway for emergency nurses

RCN launches competency framework to aid recruitment and retention in the specialism and help nurses develop emergency care skills.

A competency framework for emergency nurses and those wanting a career in the role has been launched in an effort to aid recruitment and retention in the specialism.


The framework aims to help nurses establish skills, working alongside an emergency nurse mentor. Picture: Charles Milligan

Career progression

The RCN, which produced the pathway, says the UK-wide National Curriculum and Competency Framework for Emergency Nursing provides clear career progression for nurses who wish to work in emergency care.

The framework starts with newly qualified band 5 nurses, whom it says may take up to two years to consolidate their nurse training and develop competencies required to become an emergency nurse.

NHS Improvement executive director of nursing Ruth May said the framework provides 'long-overdue clarity' on the naming of nursing roles in emergency care settings, and a clear career structure for those wishing to advance in the specialism.

Valuable resource

She said: 'It will facilitate consistency and continuity of educational preparation of emergency nursing teams, as well as future workforce planning, and will be an extremely valuable resource for individual nurses and organisations.'

Previously, nurses wishing to specialise or progress their careers in emergency care relied on courses becoming available at higher education institutes (HEI) and on being awarded funding. RCN professional lead for acute and emergency care Anna Crossley said both the money and the courses have dried up.

The framework, produced by the RCN's Emergency Care Association, aims to help nurses work towards skills and have them signed off by an emergency nurse mentor. This learning should then be supported by a HEI course where possible, said Ms Crossley.

Competency levels

The framework consists of two competency levels – level one focuses on understanding the areas of the emergency department and what it takes to be an emergency nurse, while level two covers leadership and management skills. It also offers guidance on how to progress to advanced clinical practice, an academic career or management.

Ms Crossley said the framework would allow nurses to move to a hospital anywhere in the UK with a record of the skills they have had signed off.


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