Peer-to-peer support for NHS staff, thanks to training from University of Northampton (UON), is just what the doctor ordered with a dedicated course celebrating its fifth birthday.
The Professional Nurse Advocate programme was launched in 2021 following the COVID-19 pandemic, with the University of Northampton being an early provider.
Nurses, midwives and Allied Health Professionals are trained support their peers’ health and wellbeing to reduce stress and burnout and ultimately enhance patient care.
Nurses and Allied Health Professionals are trained to support their colleagues, utilising the A-EQUIP Model that includes Restorative Clinical Supervision, personal action for quality improvement, promoting education and development of colleagues and advocating for patients and colleagues.
The Professional Advocate course at UON is open to all nurses, midwives and Allied Health Professionals and is taught over 10 days online. The UON course also incorporates a certificated Mental Health First Aid course.
As well as becoming a Professional Advocate within their NHS Trust, upon successful completion of the course, students will also have 20 credits at Level 7.
There are over 20,000 Professional Advocates in England and over 600 of them have been trained through University of Northampton. Interventions from advocates at University Hospitals Northampton have helped reduce sickness by over 50%.
The impact of Professional Advocates across Northamptonshire and Leicestershire was explored at a recent conference for those trained at the University and held at UON’s Waterside Campus. This included speeches about how Professional Advocates can help men experiencing mental health issues or people they suspect might be undergoing domestic abuse.
Claire Poole is University of Northampton’s Professional Advocate lead. She said: “The Professional Advocates role is also about empowering people about their solutions to workplace challenges, developing their professional toolkits, and most importantly, delivering good patient care.
“At University of Northampton, we are proud to have been a part of this incredible initiative for our valued health service professionals, helping them to continue helping patients. Our reach is not just local but stretches across England. We have trained people from as far afield as the Pennines, but the feedback from all locations is positive. It’s a testament to how valuable employers find Professional Advocates that they reciprocate these comments and fully support them in their role.”
Find out more about the Professional Advocate course at UON.