Fit for Children and Young People project (Fit4CYP)

Investigating the readiness for practice of newly qualified children’s nurses

Background

The Fit for Children and Young People (Fit4CYP) project was established to determine how the structure and content of pre-registration educational programmes influence the readiness for practice of newly qualified children’s nurses. The project team are made up of passionate nurse academics, health policy leads and practice leaders in the field of children's nursing and key stakeholders responsible for the preparation, regulation, and quality assurance of children’s nurses in the United Kingdom (UK).

Undergraduate nursing programmes provided by Higher Education Institutes (HEIs) across the UK are subject to approval by the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) as the nursing and midwifery regulators for England, Wales, Scotland, and Northern Ireland. The development of undergraduate programmes are informed by the standards for pre-registration nursing education laid out by the NMC, the most recent being the ‘Future nurse: Standards of proficiency for registered nurses’ (NMC, 2018) and prior to this the Standards for pre-registration nursing education (NMC, 2010). All pre-registration programmes must demonstrate how their programmes meet these standards.

Registration as a nurse within the UK sits within four fields of nursing: Adult, Mental Health, Children, and Learning Disabilities Nursing. The University of Plymouth and some other universities also offer some dual-registration programmes with routes leading to a master’s degree.

The NMC 2018 standards for pre-registration nurse education programmes promote a move towards greater degrees of shared learning across all four fields of nursing (often referred to as genericism), raising concerns that newly qualified children’s nurses will not be adequately prepared to safely care for children, young people, and their families.

No research evidence exists concerning the impact of differing levels of generic content in pre-registration nurse education programmes on newly qualified children’s nurses preparedness for practice.

Aim

Child Nursing skills session. Nursing and midwifery facilities. 2 male nurses

The Fit4CYP project aims to establish how the structure and content of pre-registration educational programmes influence the readiness for practice of newly qualified children’s nurses.

Through patient and public involvement and engagement (PPIE) the project has established a parent panel and is in the process of engaging with children and young people to support the development of the project.

Anticipated work packages:

A survey to establish the impact of the NMC (2018) Future Nurse Standards have had on the structure and content of pre-registration nurse education programmes among higher education institutes in the UK.
A systematic review of the national and international literature to considers factors that influence pre-registration nurse education programme in preparing newly qualified children’s nurses for caring for children, young people, and their families.

An updated historical review of the history of children’s nursing, following on from the Professor Alan Glasper seminal work in 2002.
Establish, more broadly, the international picture of how children’s nurses are educated and prepared to care for CYPF.
A proposal focused on a multi-site qualitative study to explore the feelings of preparation of NQCNs across the United Kingdom. To include the perspectives of NQCNs, CYPF and those involved in preparing NQCNs.

Publications and research outputs

Carey, M.C., Edge, D., Blamires, J., Foster, M., Neill, S. (2024) How Does the Proportion on Child-Specific Content of Pre-Registration Nursing Programmes in Higher Education Institutes Impact Upon Newly Qualified Nurses; Perceptions of Preparedness to Care for Children, Young Peoples and Their Families? A Narrative Review Protocol. Comprehensive Child and Adolescent Nursing. 1-11. https://doi.org/10.1080/24694193.2024.2397579.
Reynolds, R., Edge, D., Neill, S., Hayward, M., Alexandropoulou, M., Carey, M. (2024) Impact of the Nursing and Midwifery Council (2018) future nurse: Standards of proficiency for registered nurses on children’s nursing curriculum – A cross-sectional study. Nurse Education Today. 140, 106284. DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2024.106284
Reynolds, R, Edge, D, Neill, S, Hayward, M, Alexandropoulou, M, Carey, M. (2024) Impact of NMC Future Nurse standards on Pre-registration Children’s nursing programmes, RCN Education Forum National Conference & Exhibition 2024, Future Insights: Enabling professional practice in health and social care nursing education. Conference Abstracts. York. 23-24 April. P23. Available at https://www.rcn.org.uk/news-and-events/events/uk-rcn-education-forum-conference-230424#Programme
Edge, D., Carey, M.C., Hayward, M., Nathan, M., Taylor, A., Neill, S. (2024) Impact of Nursing and Midwifery Council Future Nurse Standards on children's nursing: A critical discussion. British Journal of Child Health. 5(1): https://doi.org/10.12968/chhe.2024.5.1.11
Tatterton, M.J., Carey, M.C., Hyde, R., Hewitt, C. (2024) Don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater: Preserving children’s undergraduate nurse education in the move towards genericism in nursing. Journal of Child Health Care. 2024;0(0). doi:10.1177/13674935241231112
Edge, D., Carey, M.C. (2023) Time for change in children and young people's nurse education. RCNi Nursing Children and Young People [online] 23 October 2023. Available at: https://rcni.com/nursing-children-and-young-people/opinion/editorial/time-for-change-children-and-young-peoples-nurse-education-201026.