A real time, longitudinal, qualitative evaluation of the first two cohorts to participate in the Queen’s Nurse Development Programme.

Kennedy, Catriona; MacIver, Emma; Teodorowski, Piotr; Adams, Nick; Grant, Aileen

Abstract

Background: The Queens Nurse Development Programme (QNDP) has been delivered to community nurses in Scotland since 2017, born out of a commitment to reintroduce the Queen’s Nurse title in Scotland after 50 years. The aim of the QNDP was to connect individuals with a shared passion for delivering high - quality nursing throughout Scotland’s communities, to create a safe space where participants could develop and grow on a personal level to become change makers, to inspire others, help those most in need and champion community nursing. As such, the participants selected were employed in a wide-range of diverse roles, from throughout Scotland. The programme takes place over a nine-months, during which participants engaged with a varied programme involving residential workshops, where they experienced a range of creative and contemplative awareness based change practices, the development of a practice issue, and individual coaching. This report presents an independent evaluation of the QNDP based on the first two cohorts of participants to engage with the programme (2017 & 2018). Evaluating the QNDP is important to optimise the programme for subsequent cohorts of Queen’s nurses and to inform the transferability of the programme to other professions and contexts. Methods: A comprehensive, longitudinal, qualitative evaluation, where data was collected at various time points, using interviews, focus groups and a ‘member-checking’ event with all 41 QNDP participants (20 fromcohort 1 and 21 fromcohort 2), as well as 12 community nursing managers and the 3 QNDP facilitators. The purpose was to uncover and explore perceptions and experiences of the QNDP: what was learned; how this was implemented into everyday practice; as well as the impacts and sustainability of changes. The data was analysed using Braun and Clarke’s six-point framework of analysis; familiarisation, coding, generating themes, reviewing themes, defining and naming themes and writing up (Clarke et al., 2015). Double coding and independent analysis ensured trustworthy, rigorous and valid findings. Summary and Conclusions: Participants were overwhelmingly positive about the programme, and appreciated its design, facilitation, approach and methods utilised, as well as the resulting impacts and outcomes. Engaging with the QNDP led to an unexpected ‘journey of self-discovery and transformation’, with notable self-development, growth and positive change. Essentially, the programme enabled participants to see through a new lens, re-position themselves and embody new (person-centred) ways of being and doing, which transcended both their personal and professional lives as community nurses, colleagues, ‘leaders’, service providers, networkers, family members and friends. The participants perceptions of this work and learning was that as it was personal, changing their thinking and identity and therefore, the impact of the programme and the personal and professional transformation and changes introduced were perceived to be sustainable for the rest of their professional life and beyond. The programme facilitated the building of close bonds with their peers which enabled them to confidently share problems and challenges, reinforce their learnings and new thinking, and engage them in a journey of transformation. As such, a community of practice has been created within and across the cohorts which has the potential to become a social movement as intended by QNIS. The programme also equipped them with novel, creative approaches, skills and tools that they were able to share with colleagues, friends and family. Thus, the programme achieved a key aim of connecting individuals and equipping QNDP participants with a range of new skills. The findings of this evaluation and the QNDP are likely to be transferable to other health and social care professionals and beyond the Scottish context.

Citation

KENNEDY, C., MACIVER, E., TEODOROWSKI, P., ADAMS, N. and GRANT, A. 2021. A real time, longitudinal, qualitative evaluation of the first two cohorts to participate in the Queen’s Nurse Development Programme. Evaluation report. Aberdeen: Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland [online]. Available from: https://www.qnis.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2021/11/QNDP-Final-Report_Typeset-1.pdf

• Report Type: Project Report
• Acceptance Date: Nov 24, 2021
• Online Publication Date: Nov 24, 2021
• Publication Date: Dec 31, 2021
• Deposit Date: Jan 7, 2022
• Publicly Available Date: Jan 7, 2022
• Publisher: Queen's Nursing Institute Scotland
• Keywords: Queens Nurse Development Programme (QNDP); Community nurses; Scotland; Safe space; Self-discovery; Self-development; Evaluation
• Public URL: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1555635
• Publisher URL: https://www.qnis.org.uk/robert-gordon-university-launch-research-report/
• Related Public URLs: https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1563504; https://rgu-repository.worktribe.com/output/1563516
• Additional Information: The published report contained an error, this accompanying file has been updated with the corrected version.