1. Professional values and parameters of practice

• Apply and promote safe and effective practice that places the individual and/or family/carer at the centre of care, in a manner that promotes individual wellbeing and self-care
• Display a personal commitment to professional standards and ethical practice, operating within national and local ethical, legal and governance requirements
• Act as a role model for others acting with probity and personal integrity in all aspects of practice, be truthful and admit to and learn from errors

• How to exercise personal responsibility and work independently within defined parameters of practice, legislation and local policies
• The limits of the role and when to escalate concerns and seek support
• The responsibilities and professional values of a nursing associate and the nursing profession
• The importance of personal health, resilience and wellbeing on personal performance and judgement

2. Person- centred approaches to care

• Deliver holistic, person centred nursing care
• Engage actively with individuals, their families and/or carers by establishing their needs, wishes, preferences and choices and incorporate these into care planning
• Ensure the rights of individuals are upheld and facilitate the resolution of any conflict arising act independently and in partnership with others to: ensure that the rights of individuals are not overlooked or compromised; and resolve conflict in situations where there may be refusal of care by individuals or their families

• The principles of nursing practice in the assessment, planning, delivery and evaluation of care
• The principles of person centred care including consent
• How to safely adapt care or support plans to reflect changing need(s)
• How to manage appropriate relationships with individuals and carers
• How person-centred care enables individuals to be equal partners in their care

3: Delivering nursing care

• Deliver planned interventions under direction of Registered Nurse without direct supervision delivering care, at times, independently in line with an agreed and defined plan of care
• Support healthcare professionals to assess, plan, deliver and evaluate care
• Recognise and act upon including escalating where necessary, in a timely manner, early signs and/or deterioration using appropriate physiological or psychological assessments and observations
• Safely administer medication
• Safely use invasive and non-invasive procedures, medical devices, and therapeutic, technological and pharmacological interventions
• Work safely and learn from the assessment and evaluation of health and safety related incidents raise health risks for discussion with individuals and undertake brief interventions (including key messages for major lifestyle risk factors) and assess evidence of effective interventions

• The appropriate diagnostic, decision making and problem solving skills needed to support the registered nurse or other appropriate healthcare professional
• The structures and functions of the human body
• Common physical, mental health and learning disability conditions
• Infection prevention and control
• The principles and practice of medicine management including:
  • the management of adverse drug events, adverse drug reactions, prescribing and administration errors and the potential repercussions for individuals, their families/carers, teams, departments and organisations
  • the statutory requirements in relation to mental health, mental capacity, children/young people and medicines, national service frameworks and other guidance
• Concepts of behaviour change in health promotion, wellbeing and addressing health inequalities the strengths and weaknesses of the nursing interventions required to deliver high-quality, person-centred care

4: Communication and inter- personal skills

• Communicate complex, sensitive information effectively and improve communication using a range of strategies with regard to person- centred care, duty of care, candour, equality and diversity to reduce conflict and complaints
• Handle information and data in line with national and local policies and legislation

• How to communicate with individuals, considering wide range of options and channels focusing on delivering and improving health and care services
• The legislative, policy and local requirements and ways of working with information and data in relation to accuracy of recording, reporting, secure storage and confidentiality

5: Team- working and leadership

• To lead peers and others where appropriate
• Use reflection to improve personal performance
• Work effectively with others in teams and/or networks to deliver and improve services
• Contribute to planning, management and optimisation of resources to improve services and promote equity in access to services
• Contribute to and support quality improvement and productivity initiatives within the workplace
• Assess and manage risk to individuals

• The supervisory and leadership opportunities and roles for a nursing associate
• The principles of working with others to deliver and improve services
• Quality and service improvement, including the focus on unwarranted variation as a way of ensuring the right care in the right place at the right time
• Health and social care leadership frameworks

6: Duty of care, candour, equality and diversity

• Safeguard and protect vulnerable adults and children
• Manage tensions and conflicts between an individual’s rights and a duty of care
• Demonstrate the ability to treat all individuals, carers and colleagues with dignity and respect for their diversity, beliefs, culture, needs, values, privacy and preferences.
• Demonstrate respect, kindness, openness, compassion and empathy for all individuals, carers and colleagues within the workplace and wider organisation

• The legislation and principles underpinning safeguarding, duty of care, equality and diversity and the need for candour and the ways in which you are able to avoid acts or omissions which can reasonably be foreseen as likely to cause harm
• The ways in which individuals can contribute to their own health and well-being and the importance in encouraging and empowering people to share in and shape decisions

7: Supporting learning and assessment in practice

• Act as a role model in terms of ongoing learning and development of professional knowledge, skills and capabilities.
• Demonstrate the skills required for career-long CPD
• Promote and actively support, leading where appropriate, training, teaching, learning, supervision and assessment within the workplace
• Contribute to the education and promotion of health and wellbeing in individuals, their families and/or carers.

• The importance of Continuing Professional Development to ensure that professional knowledge and skills are kept up to date.
• The educational theories that underpin learning and teaching in the clinical environment including health promotion and its impact on individuals
• A knowledge of teaching, learning and assessment in the design and delivery of peer learning.

8: Research, development and innovation

• Apply critical analytical skills in a research/audit/service improvement context, working within an ethical framework
• Contribute effectively to evidence-based audit procedures, research, development and innovation in the delivery of health and care.
• Adhere to all ethical, legal, governance and quality assurance frameworks that pertain to research, development and innovation.

• The role of research, innovation and audit in improving the quality of patient safety and nursing care
• Methods of research and audit in their area of work and how these are used to interpret and apply new knowledge in health and social care.
• The role of statutory and advisory regulatory bodies and the concept of evidence- based practice and how these support service improvement.