Adventures into the Unknown: The trainee Nurse Associates tale and how two University’s approached the challenges

Background In response to the Shape of Caring Review (HEE 2015), identified a skills and knowledge gap between Registered Nurses and Health Care Support Workers in England. In response, training and education for the new regulated role of the ‘Nursing Associate’ was introduced in 2017 with the aim of bridging this gap. Good levels of recruitment and retention among nurses are critical to the effectiveness of the workforce and another outcome of the introduction of this new role is to increase the supply of nurses and enable Registered Nurses to undertake more advanced roles (Traverse, 2018). This new role has the potential to transform the nursing and social care workforce and supports the career progression of health care assistants (Traverse, 2018). Health Education England (HEE) tested the new Nursing Associate role in several test sites across England. Within the East Midlands, the University of Lincoln was a first wave test site, that recruited trainee Nursing Associates (tNA) in January 2017. Within the West Midlands, the Keele University programme commenced in September 2018. Delivery design was completed in partnership with local employers who formed the Nursing Associate, Lincolnshire Circuit implementation group in Lincolnshire and the Staffordshire and Shropshire Nursing Associate Steering Group (SSNAG) at Keele University. Aim or focus of the innovation A national evaluation of the introduction of the Nursing Associate programme was undertaken in 2018 and gained a range of perspectives from the trainees about their experience thus far (Traverse, 2018). Each circuit across the counties developed their own trainee nursing Associate programme in accordance with the common implementation principles provided by the HEE national curriculum framework. The University of Lincoln and Keele University independently conducted a World café event with the first cohort of trainee Nursing Associate (tNA) registered at their site that aimed to explore the lived experience of being a tNA. The presentation focuses on the experience of being a tNA. TNA’s themselves will share the experiences of academic, employment and placement settings on the journey towards registration. Leaders from the two universities will elaborate on their different approaches to programme design, delivery, and role implementation, share key lessons learned at each site. Implementation of the innovation Each circuit across the counties developed their own trainee nursing Associate programme in accordance with the common implementation principles provided by the HEE national curriculum framework. The development of individualised programmes within each implementation circuit has resulted in different experiences for the tNAs. A national evaluation of the introduction of the nursing associate programme was undertaken in 2018 and reported a range of perspectives from the trainees about their experience thus far (Traverse, 2018). Exploring the locally derived lived experience of the first tNA cohort at each site provides a unique opportunity to inform future programme development, share the key lessons learned at each site and support quality assurance of the programme, academic, employer and placement experience Methods used to assess the innovation Trainee Nursing Associates registered at their respective University participated in a World Café event for the purpose of exploring the tNA experience. The world café event aimed to foster structured collaborative dialogue, connect diverse perspectives, and encourage engagement within a conversational cluster at their respective university. Thematic analysis was conducted using the principles of Braun and Clarke (2006, 2013