Integrated Carer Framework for Acute Medicine Nurses.

Introduction

Acute medicine and acute medical units (AMUs) have developed across the breadth of the United Kingdom since the 1990s (RCPL, 2007). Over the last ten years acute medicine has evolved into a distinct specialty, and now has full specialty status for medical trainees. As nurses, Allied Health Professionals (AHPs) and pharmacists specialising in acute medicine we must also ensure that we demonstrate our huge contribution to promoting and developing this dynamic and exciting new specialty. Despite this development and expansion of AMUs across the UK there has been no official acknowledgement of nursing as a specialty, in acute medicine. Rather it has been regarded as a hybrid of emergency care and general medical nursing, because of this; acute medicine nursing roles do not appear to be valued as highly as nursing colleagues in other recognised specialties. This is an anomaly that the Society for Acute Medicine (SAM) is seeking to address through an integrated career and competency framework in acute medicine.

This document proposes to introduce an integrated career and competency framework for nurses working in acute medicine through core acute medicine competency standards. The acute medical unit is an area rich in diverse opportunities for experiential learning and the aim is to maximise the value of this learning through provision of the framework setting out the standards expected at each level of experience (Jones and Lees, 2009).

These competencies can be flexibly used for assessment and as evidence of continuing professional development (CPD) to progress through the nursing KSF framework (Whelan, 2006). Each competency can be inserted into an individual Professional Portfolio to demonstrate evidence of progression to senior experienced nurse.