I found out about the Professional Nurse Advocate role through a colleague and decided to undergo the training because I have previously provided support to staff through clinical supervision and thought that becoming a PNA felt like a natural progression.
The PNA training course helped me to explore a wide range of challenges we are likely to experience across our organisation. It was attended by nurses from across the country which allowed useful networking and lots of discussion about common issues and sharing good ideas as well as things to avoid!
When supporting others experiencing problems it is really easy to give advice, explaining how you have tackled similar issues in the past. Yet the real skill is getting them to develop their own ideas by talking it all through and steering them to look beyond the issues towards potential solutions.
To do this it’s important to listen to individuals – to support and encourage them as they explore what they find challenging and come up with solutions which are unique to them.
This approach not only gives individuals ownership of the problem at hand, it also increases their confidence to overcome future challenges and also often leads to the pursuit of quality improvement projects which can be incredibly rewarding to see through.
On a personal level it is very satisfying when you see someone you’ve supported through restorative supervision go on to change practice or progress in their career as a direct result of your support.
Join our PNA Community!
We need at least 250 PNAs in the organisation to support our nursing staff.
We are also establishing a support network for PNAs to ensure we all receive clinical supervision and have the support to develop our own skills as a PNA.
