THE FELLOWSHIP BY ASSESSMENT (FBA) AWARD

The FBA award was originally piloted in 2002 and was designed to complement the schemes then currently running for General Practitioners and Practice Managers. Following a review, the FBA programme was further developed in 2004 to test in greater depth the knowledge and critical analysis skills of the candidates.

The programme aims to recognise nurses working in the community who provide quality patient care, to promote community nursing leadership and to develop a QNIS reference group to support the work of the institution.

In 2009, this work based learning programme was accredited by Queen Margaret University. A series of six workshops are provided to enable candidates to gain the appropriate knowledge and understanding required for the accreditation.

THE BENEFITS

The FBA programme offers nurses working in the community the following learning outcomes to :

• Demonstrate their knowledge and understanding of community nursing, included related theory, frameworks for practice, research awareness and the need for evidence based practice.
• Promote the use of professional skills, techniques and practice within their teams.
• Make evidence based decisions on identified problems through reflection of critical analysis, synthesis and evaluation of practice.
• Identify personal and team training requirements to meet anticipated future needs for a quality community nursing service.
• Demonstrate accountability, autonomy and leadership at all professional levels

THE FBA PROGRAMME

The candidate is required to meet seven standards of care through the provision of a portfolio of evidence. The standards consider effective quality care, patient issues, leadership, communication, health and safety, a special interest and service development. Each standard requires the candidate to provide evidence to satisfy a set of criteria, which includes a narrative of the context, critique and reflection on the delivery of nursing care. There is an opportunity for the service development section to be written up as either a project proposal, if the candidate has identified an innovation in practice, or as an article for publication. 

The completed portfolio of evidence thus demonstrates the candidate’s knowledge, skills and understanding in organising, managing and delivering high quality community nursing care. Each portfolio is assessed by a nurse with an academic background and a nurse with experience of working in the community. After a satisfactory assessment the candidate is asked to attend an interview with the assessors to clarify any outstanding issues from the portfolio. The Fellowship is awarded at the QNIS Awards Ceremony following the AGM in November each year.

FBA: An account by Pauline Waugh

Link to Projects : to be updated

How to Apply

Community nurses eligible to apply should be on the NMC register and have at least two years experience of working in the community.

Download documents here: 

FBA Application Process and Criteria Handbook

FBA Application Form

If you require more information and are interested in the FBA programme, please contact:

The QNIS Office, Tel 0131 229 2333

Or contact a member of QNIS staff by email;

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , FBA Facilitator

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , Projects Co-ordinator

This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it , QNIS Executive Secretary

FBA CANDIDATE RESOURCES

The following documents are provided to help candidates prepare their portfolios. 

Index of Evidence

Clinical Governance

Writing for Publication

Writing for Portfolios 

Final Checklist for FBA Application

The FBA Assessment Process/Appeals Process

---

WORKSHOP PROGRAMME 2010/11

FBA Workshops 2010/11

FELLOWS FORUM 2010

Evaluation Results