title: The National Health Service Knowledge and Skills Framework and its implications for continuing professional development in nursing.
abstract: The National Health Service Knowledge and Skills Framework has been introduced as part of the Agenda for Change Reforms in the United Kingdom to link pay and career progression to competency. The purpose of this paper is to consider the implications for nurses, their managers and the impact on university departments delivering continuing professional development for nurses. The new system has the potential to increase the human resources management aspect of the clinical nurse managers' role and could have legal implications, for example if practitioners perceive that their needs for continuing professional development have been overlooked to the detriment of their pay and career aspirations. The new system also has implications for providers of continuing professional development in the universities and is likely to demand closer liaison between education providers and trust staff who commission education and training. The Knowledge and Skills Framework is of interest to nurses and nurse educators internationally because the system, if effective, could be introduced elsewhere.
authors.affiliation: St. Bartholomew's School of Nursing and Midwifery, 20 St. Bartholomew's Close, City University, London EC1 A7QN, United Kingdom. d.gould@city.ac.uk
authors.forename: Dinah
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Gould
authors.forename: Emma-Jane
authors.initials: EJ
authors.lastname: Berridge
authors.forename: Daniel
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Kelly
mesh_terms: D002322:Career Mobility; D002983:Clinical Competence / Q000592:standards*; D003479:Curriculum; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D004650:Employee Performance Appraisal; D017408:Guidelines as Topic; D018166:Health Care Reform / Q000458:organization & administration; D006801:Humans; D017145:Models, Educational; D020380:Needs Assessment; D009718:Nurse Administrators / Q000458:organization & administration; D024802:Nurse's Role; D015402:Nursing Education Research; D009740:Nursing Staff / Q000193:education* / Q000458:organization & administration; D015397:Program Evaluation; D012456:Salaries and Fringe Benefits; D013192:Staff Development / Q000458:organization & administration*; D013222:State Medicine / Q000458:organization & administration; D014146:Training Support / Q000458:organization & administration; D006113:United Kingdom