For the last two years, the pressures of the pandemic have been putting general practice and community nurses at risk of burnout. Long hours, an increased workload and the need to address the care backlog have all added to the stresses and strains faced by the nursing profession, and negatively impacted on people’s personal resilience.
The role of the Professional Nurse Advocate (PNA) has been created to help tackle these issues. Pamela Shaw, lead nurse, workforce resilience, at Bradford District Care NHS Foundation Trust, recently qualified as a PNA. She explains the role includes facilitating Restorative Clinical Supervision (RCS) to the nursing workforce.
‘It means being an advocate for nurses, offering colleagues a safe space to reflect on experiences so that they develop coping strategies, build resilience and improve their health and wellbeing - reducing stress and burnout. This in turn leads to quality improvements, better team working and high-quality care,’ she says.
Ms Shaw says as part of their role, ‘PNAs need to demonstrate inclusive, compassionate leadership built on equality, integrity, openness, and kindness’.
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