Developing your nursing career

If you’re an experienced adult or child nurse who’s looking for their next challenge, or you're thinking of returning to practice, we’d love to hear from you

We're one of only a few trusts in the UK that have the ability to care for people from before they’re born right through to the end of their lives, providing almost every specialism to over 1.9 million people living in Southampton and beyond. A role here is perfect for you if you’re looking to broaden your range of skills.

Your development is central to our vision of delivering high quality, safe and effective care, so we offer a fantastic induction and exceptional in-house and external training and development, giving you the best possible opportunities to achieve your career goals.

Working collaboratively as part of a bigger team, you’ll get all the support you need to do an amazing job as you explore where your future could take you. There will be plenty of opportunities to take the lead, for example as a ward nurse or nurse practitioner, or as a specialist nurse in nurse-led clinics or outreach services.

As well as the many other benefits you can enjoy while working for UHS, we look to provide flexible working opportunities where possible. 

Read about the support and development options available to nurses joining UHS below. 

INDUCTION

As a new member of the nursing team at UHS, you can look forward to a comprehensive induction and supervision package to support you in your first few weeks with us.

The recruitment team will invite you to take part in a Trust induction programme. For this, you’ll need to complete or demonstrate evidence of your understanding of statutory and mandatory requirements. You’ll complete your local induction checklist over the course of your first three months at UHS.

Our teams and local support arrangements will help you settle quickly and feel confident in your new environment and role. 

Preceptorship

UHS offers a preceptorship programme to support your transition from a newly qualified nurse to a confident practitioner. We have an incredible range of specialties, and the care groups you work in will guide you in developing your knowledge, skills, values and behaviours within your practice areas.

UHS offers a flexible working model to encourage and support career opportunities. To facilitate this, you’ll need to aim to complete preceptorship within a nine month period, offering a three month consolidation stage. The consolidation will allow you to build confidence in your chosen area and continue with your professional development.

Each care group will have allocated preceptors and either individual or team preceptorship concepts to best support your transition within your first post. Peer supervision and support are key to your personal development and we encourage this within your preceptorship period.

SIMULATION TRAINING

Our simulation training is widely available to all clinical staff, and can be used to benefit both singular departments and multidisciplinary teams. With the use of advanced technology and a wide range of both adult and paediatric manikins available in both the SimCentre and clinical areas, our training replicates real scenarios and caters for most disciplines.

We often base our training scenarios on past events, which means that we can offer reactive solutions to real identified issues within the Trust, as part of our drive to be always improving in our services and approach to patient care.

RETURN TO PRACTICE

Are you a registered nurse (adult or child) who has been out of practice for a while? Perhaps your Nursing and Midwifery Council  (NMC) registration has lapsed or you no longer meet the post-registration and practice (PREP) requirements for registration?

If so, we can provide you with the support and assistance you need to return to practice. 

Currently this involves completion of a 20 week university-based component and a placement within the Trust on an honorary contract.

If you'd like further information about returning to practice, please email returntopractice@uhs.nhs.uk

Post-registration education, leadership and advanced practice

Following the preceptorship period, new nurses have the opportunity to rotate into another specialty to continue their professional and personal development. They can also undertake specialist education and training within their chosen specialty. 

Information about learning opportunities will be available from the care group’s local education leads. They’ll form part of an annual training needs analysis and appraisal processes, linked to individual development plans.

At UHS, we’re very supportive of staff members who wish to progress their career along the nursing leadership route or into specialist and advanced practice roles. Academic courses are available that support both of these opportunities via higher education institutes. We also provide some accredited in-house education and training that is delivered by our dedicated team of education leads.

Staff wishing to progress into advanced practice roles will practice alongside national frameworks  and undertake an MSc in advanced clinical practice. Opportunities to study via the apprenticeship route (level 7) will be available from late 2018 to early 2019.

To find out more, view and apply for our latest nursing vacancies or come and visit us at our next recruitment event. If you have any questions, please get in touch with our dedicated team at nurserecruitment@uhs.nhs.uk