Third year of the Queen’s Nurse programme in Scotland gets under way

The 2019 Queen’s Nurse development programme has started with 20 community nurses from across Scotland gathering for a week-long residential.

The candidates were selected last month to take part in the programme, now in its third year, and they were brought together for the first time at Balbirnie house in Fife this week to begin their nine-month journey to becoming Queen’s Nurses.

Nurses working in GP practices, schools, care homes, a hospice and in people’s homes across the country are included in the group.

Health visiting, midwifery and district nursing are all represented within the 2019 cohort as well as specialists in Alzheimer’s and cancer care.

Community nurses bringing their clinical expertise to specialisms such as sexual health, learning disabilities, homelessness and mental health are also part of the group.

All candidates were nominated by their organisations for demonstrating high quality, compassionate care. They completed a written application and were chosen to go forward for the programme after attending a selection event where they impressed a panel of nursing leaders.

The programme consists of the week-long residential, which involves masterclasses, small group learning and conversations with inspirational leaders, as well as two further workshops held in June and October.

It is described as a journey of discovery, with an emphasis on self-care, mindfulness, deep reflection and connecting participants with their creativity.

Each nurse commits to developing an issue which will have an impact on their practice and benefit their community, which they work on through monthly coaching during the nine months.

The 2019 Queen’s Nurse Candidates are detailed below