Multi-professional Registration and Standards for Rural Advanced Practice Supervision
Rural advanced practice supervision supports staff to practise in accordance with NHS Quality Objectives. Supervision promotes a culture of high-quality professional practice that is safe, effective, legal and adheres to the NHS Boards agreed policies, procedures and priorities and promotes understanding about respective roles, duties, and responsibilities.
Key areas shared by all forms of supervision include:
- A reflective component
- Support from a skilled Practice Supervisor
- Focus on clinical practice (including team dynamics, communication and personal coping, leadership, quality improvement, research and teaching)
- Professional development (evidenced in e-portfolio)
- Improving patient treatment and care
Recognition of Rural Advanced Practice Supervisors
For those currently working within the scope of Rural Advanced Practice:
Multidisciplinary Rural Practitioners working within the scope of the Rural Advanced Practice (RAP) Capability Framework wishing to be acknowledged as a Rural Advanced Practice Supervisor for the RAP programme must be supported by their employing rural NHS Board and have NHS Education for Scotland (NES) recognition. They will normally be asked to submit evidence rather than complete further training in the workplace.
The Rural Advanced Practice Supervisor will normally be required to:
- Summarise their previous Rural Practice Supervision training and experience.
- Undertake a self-assessment rating against the RAP Capabilities in Practice (CiPs).
- Provide referees who can attest to their current roles and scope of practice.
- Have a letter of collaboration from their manager/professional lead who will be able to confirm engagement with appraisal and revalidation.
- Where appropriate undertake a structured interview with members of NES and Rural Board in order to seek clarification on scope of rural practice supervision.
Each trainee will be allocated a GMC/NMAHP recognised Rural Advanced Practice Supervisor at the start of the RAP programme. In collaboration with the Higher Education Institution and NES employed Senior Education Leads the Rural Advanced Practice Supervisor will oversee the trainee’s educational development throughout their RAP programme. The Rural Advanced Practice Supervisor, NES Senior Education Lead, UHI course supervisor and trainee should meet at the start of each training year and maintain regular contact throughout the RAP programme.
The NES Senior Education Lead plays a central role in helping identify and rectify if the trainee is struggling to access appropriate training opportunities in practice. Along with the UHI course supervisor the overall purpose of the Senior Education Lead is to support RAP Rural Advanced Practice Supervisor and facilitate/support training and the educational development of the trainee. Iterative discussion with the trainee at the outset of the RAP programme and at quarterly review points will:
- Identify learning needs to inform a tailored educational contract required to achieve RAP capabilities/competencies in a planned and realistic timeframe.
- Identify gaps in learning or challenges in obtaining relevant experience in order to sign off competencies.
- Check that the trainee is developing a portfolio of evidence which will allow sign off against each Capability in Practice (CiP).
- Aid the trainee in identifying and accessing appropriate learning opportunities, acknowledging that this may require a period in a different centre.
