Moves are afoot to increase the skills of nurses in Rutland and Leicestershire.

the Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust (LPT) has launched a Director of Nursing Fellowship programme to support band 5 nurses to develop clinical excellence, clinical academic awareness and skills at an early stage of their careers.

The programme offers competitive scholarships which give nurses one day out of direct patient contact to focus on personal development and leading an improvement project in their area of clinical practice.

The fellowship comprises 3 elements, including a taught element, shadow 'insight' opportunities and an evidence-based Quality Improvement project linked to their area of clinical practice.

Dr Anne Scott, Executive Director of Nursing, AHP's and Quality, said: ""I am delighted to announce the launch of the Director of Nursing Fellowship Programme in Leicestershire Partnership NHS Trust.

"This fellowship programme is a great opportunity to support the development of our band 5 nursing workforce, providing them with the skills to find new and innovative ways to improve patient care.

"As an organisation, we are committed to improving quality of care through research and quality improvement and we are looking for nurses who would like to develop these skills at an early stage of their career."

The first cohort of the fellowship will run from September 2021, during which time the fellows will be released from their clinical area for 1 day a week for the duration of 1 year.

The first cohort will consist of 6 fellows:

Community Hospitals: 1 fellow (registration requirement: RGN)

Community Services: 1 fellow (registration requirement: RGN)

Mental Health Services for Older People (MHSOP): 1 fellow for Wakerley Ward (registration requirement: RMN or RNLD and RN with mental health nursing experience)

Adult Mental Health: 1 fellow for Mill Lodge Huntington's Disease Inpatient Service (registration requirement: RMN or RNLD and RN with mental health nursing experience)

Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS): 1 fellow (registration requirement: RMN/RNLD)

Community Learning Disability Services: 1 fellow (open to internal candidates only)

Personal development will be tailored to the individual needs and interests of each participant, and will include support around leadership, research and quality improvement. Fellows will be provided with mentorship by nurses in senior leadership and academic positions.

The programme is open to internal and external candidates.

To find out more please see the vacancy (closes 30 June 2021): https://www.jobs.nhs.uk/xi/vacancy/916576376