Exemplar Health Care’s very first Trainee Nursing Associates start courses
24 October 2019
To help attract, inspire and retain our most passionate and caring people, Exemplar Health Care is embracing a new and exciting role for care colleagues to develop into a nurse support role.
The government-backed Nursing Associate role aims to bridge the gap between care colleagues and registered nurses.
Last week, nine Trainee Nursing Associates (TNAs), who currently work in frontline support roles in four Exemplar care homes, started the two-year apprenticeships at the University of Sheffield.
The nine TNAs, who work at care homes in Barnsley, Rotherham, and Sheffield will do on-the-job clinical training in their homes - mixed with classroom-based theory at the University.
Learn and earn
“When I heard that Exemplar were offering an opportunity to boost my skills in care, I jumped at the chance,” said Gemma Walker, a Trainee Nursing Associate who works at one of Exemplar’s Barnsley homes, Dearnevale.
“I’ve got a mortgage and a family to support. I’d never be able to train as a qualified nurse by taking three years out of work to be at Uni. So, training as a Nursing Associate while staying in my role means I can learn and earn – which is key for me.”
Early next year, Exemplar will roll out TNA opportunities across Exemplar’s care homes across the Humber, North West and Midlands regions.
Growing our own
Exemplar’s Head of Learning, Development and Talent, Claire Fretwell, says adopting the role will help grow talent from within, support retention of our care colleagues and offer service users continuity of care .
“Many health care providers continue fishing from the same pond of qualified nurses,” said Claire. “Unfortunately, the current talent pool doesn’t offer enough qualified registrants to keep providing the best quality, safe and effective care.”
“It’s vital to have an agile, flexible workforce that can deliver continuing care for the complex needs of our service users, so growing our own talent within the care workforce seemed a no-brainer.”