RCH Nursing Roadmap 2023–26
Forward
Nursing is an extraordinary and dynamic profession; no two days are the same and no two patients are the same.
Nurses practice in the raw and confronting landscape of illness, disease, injury and disability.
Caring for patients, their families and carers during their most vulnerable moments requires expertise, dedication and compassion. It is complex work within a complex and constantly changing health care system.
Our nurses at The Royal Children’s Hospital (RCH) care for very special patients; our children and young people. Supporting our RCH nurses to be their best is key to delivering on our vision to see a ‘world where all kids thrive’. It is this focus and commitment that has taken us on a journey to develop the RCH Nursing Roadmap (2023–26).
The Nursing Roadmap has been designed and developed by our nurses, who have informed where we place our efforts. The Nursing Roadmap recognises the value, expertise and contribution of nursing across our health service. It is focused on your professional ambition to develop, learn, lead and to see our entire nursing workforce come together as one. It is a three-year plan, that is already coming to life and will continue to be a dynamic process, as we move forward achieving our objectives and seizing on the next opportunity.
As nurses we will always be changing and evolving, our patients depend upon it. Our privilege lies in the unique position of being so closely and consistently connected to our patients and their families. With this privilege comes great opportunity and responsibility to partner in care and ensure their voice is not only heard, but listened to and considered in all that we do. Our nurses know the patient voice and the complexity of our health care systems. Listening to our nurses and giving them opportunities to lead and drive change is vitally important in elevating excellence across our health service and beyond.
The Nursing Roadmap will continue to be owned and driven by our RCH nurses. Every nurse has a role to play and an important contribution to make to ensure nursing at the RCH is, and always will be, exceptional.
Chief Nursing Officer
Our journey to date
Nursing Survey – What you told us
In early 2023 we set out to map a nursing strategy to elevate the identity, contribution and value of our RCH nurses.
We wanted to hear from our nurses and the process started with an invitation to respond to a hospital wide Nursing Survey. We asked the RCH nurses to tell us what was working well, what needed to change and where they saw opportunities for the future. Their feedback was invaluable and through thematic analysis of the survey responses we identified several key focus areas:
- Workforce – recruitment and retention – right nurse, with right patient, in right setting
- Workload – focusing on model of care, skill development and nursing workflows
- Career opportunities, advancement and recognition
- The Voice of Nursing – professional governance, identity and leadership
Exploring your ideas
In June 2023 more than 100 RCH nurses attended the inaugural RCH Nursing Strategy Day. Nursing representatives came from across the career profile, from every clinical service, and included nurses in clinical, management, education and research roles. We stayed connected to these committed nurses who became our Nursing Strategy Reference Group. Their feedback was further distilled into three key focus areas, with each focus area assigned three priority action items.
- Strengthening our professional identity and advocacy
- Growing a dynamic paediatric nursing workforce
- Valuing our exceptional nursing practice
The Nursing Roadmap – What are we doing?
In August the first draft Nursing Roadmap was presented to the Nursing Strategy Reference Group, in addition to broader consultation and feedback gathered over a three-week period. The reference group overwhelmingly endorsed the Nursing Roadmap and the key initiatives. Each focus area of the Nursing Roadmap is being led by a working group which reports through to an overarching Nursing Roadmap Steering Committee. Membership for the working groups and steering committee has been selected via an expression of interest process, ensuring each group has a broad representation of nurses from across the RCH.
2024 and beyond – Where we are going?
The three working groups have made significant progress in addressing their priority action items. We will continue to build on this dynamic plan over the next 3 years and will ensure we remain responsive to changing priorities and challenges.
Our Goal: To elevate the identity, contribution and value of our RCH nurses
Strengthening our professional identity and advocacy
Our collective nursing voice is contributing, inspiring and leading
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- Develop and implement a nursing professional governance model – representative of our nursing profile.
- Design and implement a RCH Nursing communication platform.
- Broaden awareness and accessibility to nursing awards, scholarships, local recognition initiatives, and significant dates of celebration.
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Growing a dynamic paediatric nursing workforce
Our nursing workforce is engaged, progressive and future focused
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- Build foundational paediatric nursing practice by implementing clinical rotations within the first two years of practice.
- Design and implement a nursing workforce dashboard to inform and support the management of our workforce.
- Design and implement a pre-registration pathway to support and attract nurses to paediatric practice.
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Valuing our exceptional nursing practice
Our nursing practice is excellent, innovative and collaborative
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- Document and implement the principles of standard nursing workflows.
- Mapping scope of practice required for role and clinical specialty.
- Establish Nurse Practitioner candidate pathway, structure and governance.
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