Welcome
Advanced Practice
Advanced practice is a defined level of practice in clinical professions like nursing, pharmacy, paramedics, and occupational therapy. This level of practice is designed to transform and modernise pathways of care, enabling the safe and effective sharing of skills across traditional professional boundaries (NHSE).
Advanced clinical practitioners (ACPs) are healthcare professionals, educated to master’s level or equivalent, with the skills and knowledge to allow them to expand their scope of practice to better meet the needs of the people they care for.
ACPs are deployed across all healthcare settings and work at a level of advanced clinical practice that pulls together the four ACP pillars of clinical practice, leadership and management, education, and research (NHSE).
A definition of ACP, its underpinning standards and governance, can be found in the Multi-professional framework for advanced clinical practice in England. The framework ensures there is national consistency in the level of practice across multi-professional roles that is clearly understood by the public, advanced clinical practitioners, their colleagues, education providers and employers.
Programme accreditation
As there is variation in advanced practice, by accrediting advanced level programmes the Centre for Advancing Practice will consistently assure education quality.
NHS England accredited programmes will become one of the benchmark routes to recognition for practitioners. This will help to ensure a consistent level of quality across England.
Clinical Supervision
NHS England has several resources available to support advanced practice clinical supervision. The most recent publication is the Advanced Practice Supervisor Capabilities.
View the BSol guidance for clinical supervision in practice
There is specific training for clinical supervision of advanced practice trainees available on e-learning for health. This is free to access for healthcare staff, you require an e-lfh login – Advanced practice supervision – a multi-professional learning resource
Pathway to become an ACP
Step 1: Statuary Health Professional: healthcare professionals' regulatory body i.e. NMC, HCPC, etc.
Step 2: This Level 6 post-registration practice is for highly experienced healthcare professionals working across a variety of settings with multi-professional backgrounds.
Step 3: Advanced practice see clinicians educated to a high level (Level 7 advanced Practice MSc via either traditional academic/apprenticeships or e-portfolio route), practicing across all four pillars of advanced practice.
Step 4: Consultant level of practice: Advanced practitioners can further develop their careers and practice at consultant level with the right level of training and experience.
ACP WhatsApp Group
We have a WhatsApp group for Advanced Practitioners/Trainee Advanced Practitioners. This is a professional working group. Please ensure that all conversations are work related and respectful to your colleagues.
If you want to be part of this WhatsApp group, complete the short form using this link.
WhatsApp Group consent form – https://forms.gle/tzY9MsfRmBy3Bpzf7
By completing this form, you consent to your details being held on record by BSol Training Hub. Details will never be shared without your express consent to do so.
Resources for those interested in the ACP Role
If you are interested yourself, or have any experienced registered healthcare professional staff who you are keen to develop into advanced practitioners, by starting a master’s, our expression of interest is available below (only live when we are actively recruiting to cohorts)
To support we suggest that you first use the ‘readiness checklist’ and read “a guide to implementing and funding advanced practice education and training in the Midlands”
Resources for Advanced Practitioners
- View the Regional Faculty for Advancing Practice – Midlands website to keep up to date with important developments at NHS England.
- NHS England have developed a range of resources including a Multi-professional framework for advanced practice in England which can be helpful to understand how the role works.
- Information and supporting links for those seeking to undertake Supported e-portfolio Route (for recognition of education and training equivalence) ePortfolio (supported) Route – Advanced Practice
NHS England Regional Faculties of Advancing Practice
Advancing Practice – Midlands – Advanced Practice
The regional faculties for Advancing Practice have been developed and established to drive forward change in advanced practice.
To receive updates from the Advanced Practice Faculty – Sign up to our stakeholder database
Published Principles for Advanced Practice from the NMC
NMC Guidance
https://www.nmc.org.uk/standards/guidance/advance-practice-principles/
The principles aim to promote consistency and reduce variation in advanced practice across the health and care system – enhancing patient safety and ensuring greater public protection.
By setting clear and consistent expectations, the principles help build confidence in nurses and midwives working at an advanced level. They also provide clear expectations for those aspiring to become advanced level practitioners.
For the public: they will help patients and people who use services to understand the role of an advanced practitioner, including a definition that is clearly understood by members of the public.
For professionals: they will help professionals deliver consistent, high quality, safe and effective delivery of care by setting clear expectations for advanced practice nursing and midwifery.
For employers: they will help employers to develop and sustain systems in which advanced practice can thrive – for example in workforce, education, support, CPD and governance planning.
We strongly encourage professionals and employers to use the principles to ensure people receive the best possible care.
