Developing student primary care placements

NHS Cumbria Clinical Commissioning Group (CCG), general practices and the University of Cumbria are working in partnership with the North West Placement Development Network (NWPDN) to develop and increase primary care placement opportunities for pre-registration nursing students, trainee assistant practitioners and nursing cadets. This has been identified as a key education and training need if future student learners are to have the exposure and the right skills to develop the role of primary care in the future.This project is exploring the concept of providing a 10-12 week hub placement for pre-registration nursing students in year 3 of their degree programme. A bespoke placement model has been developed which utilises a cluster arrangement between two practices, in order to address previously identified challenges of supporting a hub placement for this length of time.