Practice Nurse Educator

Come and join us

We’re looking for people who share our values of compassion, accountability and optimism to help us provide high quality care for the patients, carers, families and communities we serve. We specialise in NHS mental health and learning disability services and we’re proud to make a difference every day.

At SPFT we put people first. We’ll do everything possible to help you feel respected, valued and included. You’ll have opportunities to learn, grow and gain new experiences to support your career, with access to lifelong learning and professional development.

We actively promote flexible working and understand how important work life balance is, especially in healthcare. Whether it’s part time hours, hybrid working or flexible start and finish times, we’ll explore what works for you and the role.

We recognise that tools like AI are becoming part of everyday life and you may choose to use them when preparing your application. We welcome this, as long as what you submit reflects your own experience, skills and voice. AI can be helpful for structuring or refining your answers, but it should not replace your own examples or create content that isn’t based on your real experience.

Our recruitment process is designed to get to know you, and we’ll explore your examples further at interview, so it’s important your application genuinely represents what you bring. You can read more about using AI in applications and interviews on our recruitment process page.

We’re shaping a workplace where ideas are encouraged, technology supports you and everyone has a voice in how we improve. If that sounds like the kind of organisation you want to be part of, we’d love to hear from you.

Job overview

We are excited to announce a full time, Band 7, position for a qualified Mental Health Nurse who has a passion for nursing governance, quality and standards, nursing education, to work in collaboration with the Matron.

The Professional Nurse Educator (PNE) will be working in inpatients Dementia Unit and offering support/advice to the Community DOPMHS in collaboration with Matron and Head of Nursing

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The overarching aim of the PNE is to facilitate in a supernumerary capacity, supporting the clinical, professional, and educational development of mental health nursing workforce colleagues (including but not limited to registered nurses, learners on nursing apprenticeships, internationally educated nurses, student nurses and healthcare support workers). On occasions there may be a need to travel further afield; in discussion with their line manager and Head of Nursing ( Community) as part of their individual training requirements for the role.

The PNE will be responsible for the development, delivery, and evaluation of a programme of clinically relevant practice education to support the professional development of the mental health nursing in the Dementia Inpatient Unit, with a specific focus on enabling the delivery of high-quality patient/person centred care that is grounded in evidence-based practice and underpinned by national, organisational and trust objectives, guidelines, and policies.

The PNE will provide expert knowledge and clinical leadership to the clinical team, facilitating the application of theory to practice within a designated clinical setting.

The PNE will ensure sufficient high-quality placements to enable safe, effective, compassionate care to be delivered by all learners and staff.

Working for our organisation

The successful candidate will work with the Senior Nursing Leadership in the West Sussex Division and NRED to understand the wider strategic educational picture but be based 100% of the time in practice.

Clinical placements are a vital part of the learning experience for students and trainees and providing high quality placements not only contributes to the development of individuals but also to the Trusts learning and teaching culture. The role will be challenging and rewarding in order to develop and deliver high quality education and training in practice.

Detailed job description and main responsibilities

• Support managers, assessors and supervisors in practice and act as a link between clinical practice, senior Nurse Leadership Team and the Department of Nursing Research, Education and Development (NRED), International Recruitment team and Higher Education Institutes (HEI) in relation to development of learners and staff.
• The post holder will be accountable for their own professional actions and act autonomously to resolve issues and problems arising within practice. Provide strong, skilled professional leadership and support to all members of the workforce involved with learners.
• Lead by example, acting as a role model to others by demonstrating effective professional attitudes and behaviours
• Develop communication networks and close working relationships with managers, practice assessors and supervisors other practice placement areas and HEIs.
• Play a leading role as appropriate, to development curriculum ensuring that the principles of work-based learning, clinical need and up to date practice of caring for patients is included.
• Support the recruitment of internal and external candidates who want to apply for the nursing associate apprenticeship and registered nurse degree apprenticeship within Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust.
• Support NMC quality assurance monitoring and HEI external examiner and Ofsted visits to the Trust.
• Contribute and develop study days locally to their site of work providing virtual , face to face training and clinical coaching in practice.
• Support the general duties of a Practice Education Facilitator in clinical practice.
• Practice as a Professional Nurse Advocate ( or be willing to attend training if not trained on application).

SPFT is committed to building a workforce that reflects the communities we serve. We particularly welcome applications from people from Black, Asian and Minority Ethnic backgrounds and from disabled candidates, as these groups are currently underrepresented.

Successful candidates are normally appointed to the bottom of the pay scale unless previous NHS experience in a similar role can be evidenced.

SPFT takes its responsibilities for safeguarding children, young people and adults at risk very seriously. We expect all staff and bank workers to share this commitment and complete the relevant safeguarding training for their role.

If you have not heard from us within three weeks of the closing date, please assume your application has been unsuccessful. However, we’ll always do our best to keep you informed as we know how much time and care goes into applying for a role.

In the event of a high number of applications, we may close this vacancy early.

Protect Yourself from Recruitment Fraud

Sussex Partnership NHS Foundation Trust does not charge any fees for job applications, recruitment processes, sponsorship arrangements or employment offers.

All vacancies, applications and recruitment communications are managed through the Trust's official careers website and published contact details.

These are the only authorised channels for applying for roles, receiving recruitment communications and verifying job offers.

Further information relating to our vacancies and recruitment process can be found at - https://careers.sussexpartnership.nhs.uk/.