The document discusses the new standards for registered nurses in the UK called the Future Nurse standards. It notes several societal changes that will increase demand for expert nursing care and leadership. The new standards are intended to equip registered nurses to meet these changing needs by demonstrating advanced skills and clinical leadership. Implementing the standards provides an opportunity to recalibrate and promote the nursing profession. However, it also presents challenges in ensuring current nurses are supported to meet the new standards through development and resources. Strong nursing leadership is needed to leverage the case for obtaining necessary workforce investments and infrastructure to support both current and future nurses.

1. THE FUTURE
NURSE
STANDARDS
GRASPING THE NETTLE
Meeting Future Needs for
Expert Nursing Care and
Professional Leadership:
Opportunity and Challenge
Professor Dame Jill Macleod Clark
Chair, Future Nurse Oversight Board
Emeritus Professor, University of Southampton

2. Future Nurse: An Ambitious Response to Changing Need
• ageing population
• increased complexity of care needs
• technology juggernaut
• influence of Dr Me/Google
• challenging long term conditions
• self care requirements
• inequitable access to services
• epidemic of lifestyle related morbidity
= inevitable increase in demand for expert nursing care and leadership

3. Future Nurse: Raising Benchmarks and Shifting Focus
Future Registered Nurses must therefore be equipped to:
• demonstrate high level knowledge and skills and decision making
• act as role models for expert, evidence based nursing care
• provide accountable clinical nursing leadership
• advocate high quality, safe and compassionate care
• respond to mental, physical and cognitive care needs
• work across places of care and health/social care boundaries
• demonstrate political awareness and acumen

4. Future Nurse: Ambition provides Opportunity
The New Standards are in the Public Interest:
• define the essence of registered nursing practice
• offer transparency, focus and absence of ambiguity
• reflect proficiency at point of registration
• provide solid foundations for higher levels of practice
• acknowledge the requirement for post-registration development
• encourage new approaches to practice learning and skills acquisition

5. Future Nurse Opportunity 1: Recalibrating the Profession
Generate professional pride and confidence in the INDISPENSABLE role
of the registered nurse – without RN’s the system would collapse:
• pivot and hub of safe and effective nursing care
• leader and supporter of formal and informal nursing team members
• advocate for safe, high quality care
• autonomous practitioner – clinical assessment, intervention and Rx
• supervisor and assessor of students and nursing associates
• equipped to respond to predicted changes in care delivery -LTP and
the need for affordable and sustainable health care services

6. Recalibrating the Profession: Challenges
The fact that FN standards are designed to prepare students for the
rigours of being a modern registered nurse has implications for every
current practising nurse
• understand the new standards and recalibrate own practice
• demonstrate the new proficiencies in all aspects relevant to own area
of practice
• supervise and support future students and unregistered staff
= be personally prepared for the rigours of modern RN practice

7. Future Nurse Opportunity 2: Creating Leverage
The New Standards provide an unarguable case for resources and
infrastructure to:
• deliver essential development and upskilling to existing RN’s
• support clinical leadership development
• transition current student nurses
• develop robust post-graduate advanced practice benchmarks
• introduce cohesive, benchmarked clinical career pathways
• exploit an attractive hook for recruiting students into a career defined
by leadership at every level

8. Exercising Leverage: THE Leadership Challenge
Having confidence in the unarguable case for securing a large, stable
and motivated RN workforce and a robust pipeline of new graduates
requires:
• stepping up at a time of overstretched resource and RN shortages
• motivating and retaining existing registered nurses
• demonstrating professional solidarity and cohesion
• believing in the argument that skilled RN’s are the key to sustainable
health care delivery in the future
• turning anxiety and stress into excitement

9. Grasping the Nettle: It’s Now or Never
Some evidence based policy messages to strengthen leverage:
• effective nursing care and improved health outcomes pivot around the RN role
• without RN stewardship, nursing care deteriorates
• recruitment of more students and nursing associates not possible without enough RN’s
• RETENTION and motivation of current RN’s dependant on personal development resource and
recognition
• supervision, support and RETENTION of future students dependant on resource for developing
skills and knowledge of existing RN’s
• LTP ambitions cannot be delivered without growing the RN workforce and developing skills and
knowledge of existing RN’s in order to ‘maximise their contribution’
• FN standards are here to stay and require recalibration of the registered nurse workforce
The previous failure to invest in the continuing development of RN’s is a public scandal and is
coming back to bite

10. GRASPING THE NETTLE: GROWING POLITICAL MUSCLE
BELIEVE IN THE CAUSE AND THE MESSAGES – PROTECTING THE PUBLIC’S NEED FOR
HIGHLY SKILLED, MOTIVATED REGISTERED NURSES -
• Avoid wasting energy on the negatives – challenge energy into fight and determination
to win the case to protect public interest
• Create a strong storyline about the case for resources and infrastructure which all senior
nurse leaders sign up to and use to leverage local and national workforce and education
funding
• Stick together in order to punch above your weight when lobbying DHSC, ministers, lords
and ladies, local workforce boards etc etc
• Get your own staff behind you and influence your boards
• Gain the support of the public and MP’s to strengthen the case locally and nationally
• Stick together in order to punch above your weight
• Resort to the railings if need be!