Partnership working between a higher education institution and NHS TRUSTS: developing an acute and critical care module

The underpinning philosophy of preparing nurses to work within a modern National Health Service (NHS) is to ensure patient safety and quality of clinical care. There is increasing recognition that post-registration education should become more clinically focused and adopt a more work-based approach. Critical to the success of such an approach is partnership working between education providers and NHS Trusts. Changes in the delivery of acute care in the NHS have resulted in an increased number of highly dependent patients in both critical and non-critical care areas. This article describes a partnership approach between a Higher Education Institution (HEI) and two NHS Trusts to deliver a degree level module to address the subsequent educational implications of these changes. This approach ensured module credibility and clinical focus. Student feedback confirms the clinical relevance of the module. Staff from the NHS had the opportunity to develop teaching skills by preparing teaching materials, delivering teaching sessions and receiving feedback on these. Areas of good practice were identified and there was sharing of skills, knowledge and expertise between both institutions. Joint working can enhance clinical relevance of educational provision and ensure consistency between theory and practice. In addition, there were a number of wider benefits to both institutions that resulted from this initiative.