After shining a spotlight on others, a Walsall Healthcare colleague found himself centre stage after completing a programme that offers support to clinical staff.
Wayne Baldwin is officially a Professional Nurse Advocate (PNA) after completing the programme.
He was awarded a certificate at a presentation with Lisa Carroll, Director of Nursing.
The Professional Development Co-ordinator (Post Reg) has worked at Walsall Healthcare NHS Trust for 28 years and his job entails teaching and supporting clinical staff in clinical subjects, human factors, civility and clinical skills.
The impact of the healthcare role on nurses’ physical and emotional wellbeing has been discussed for many years.
Evidence indicates that when nurses experience poor wellbeing it can impact on the quality of care delivered and increase the risks of them experiencing moral injury. The need to feel a sense of belonging, to be cared for and to care for our colleagues increases feelings of being valued, respected and supported, encouraging positive wellbeing.
After being a support to many staff, Wayne was nominated to do the Professional Nurse Advocate programme.
He said: “The course teaches you to support clinical staff with any stresses or anxieties they may have. I feel I do this anyway, listening to people, offering advice and being there for them.
“I feel very proud to have been awarded this. It is so lovely to have that time having it presented to me this way. My children are over the moon!
Lisa Carroll added: “Ruth May, Chief Nursing Officer highlighted the need for nurses to be equipped to understand the demands of their role and how colleagues may be feeling, developing skills of leadership, quality improvement and to embed robust Restorative Clinical Supervision within healthcare.
“It’s incredible the real support PNAs give to our teams and Community Nurses. It is such an important role; I am very proud of Wayne.”
The PNA programme delivers training and restorative supervision for colleagues right across England. It launched in March 2021, towards the end of the third wave of COVID-19. This was the start of a critical point of recovery: for patients, for services and for the workforce.
PNA training provides those on the programme with skills to facilitate restorative supervision to their colleagues and teams, in nursing and beyond. The training equips them to listen and to understand challenges and demands of fellow colleagues, and to lead support and deliver quality improvement initiatives in response.
This programme is the first of its kind for nursing not just in England, but across the world.