title: The development of the Older Person's Nurse Fellowship: Education concept to delivery.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  Preparing the nursing workforce to meet the challenges of an ageing population is a priority for many countries. The development of an Older Person's Nurse Fellowship (OPNF) programme for senior clinical nurses is an important innovation.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  This article describes the philosophical development, delivery and early evaluation of the OPNF.
  
  
  METHODS
  In 2014, Health Education England funded 24 senior clinical nurses to participate in the OPNF. The Fellowship was designed to build clinical leadership and innovation capability and develop a network of nurses to influence local and national strategy for older people's care. The Fellows selected were drawn from mental health (n=4), community/primary care (n=9) and acute care (n=11). The twelve month programme consisted of two Masters-level modules, delivered through study days and e-learning. The first cohort (n=12) commenced the course in November 2014 with a module designed to enhance clinical knowledge and skills.
  
  
  METHODS
  Evaluation data were collected from the first cohort using anonymous surveys (n=11) and focus group interviews (n=9). Descriptive statistics are presented for the quantitative data and common themes are described in the qualitative data.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The overall satisfaction with the clinical module was high with a median score of 18/20 (range 17-20). Topics such as comprehensive geriatric assessment, frailty, pharmacology and cognitive assessment were regarded as highly relevant and most likely to result in a change to clinical practice. In the focus group interviews students discussed their learning experience in terms of: module specificity, peer-to-peer learning and using the OPNF as leverage for change.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  The OPNF is a timely innovation and a positive commitment to developing an academic pathway for senior nurses. It marks an important step in the future development of the older person's nursing workforce.
authors.affiliation: Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College London, James Clark Maxwell Building, Waterloo, London SE1 8WA, UK. Electronic address: corina.naughton@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Corina
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Naughton
authors.affiliation: Consultant Nurse for Older People, King's College Hospital NHS Foundation Trust, London, UK. Electronic address: nicky.hayes@nhs.net.
authors.forename: Nicky
authors.initials: N
authors.lastname: Hayes
authors.affiliation: Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College London, James Clark Maxwell Building, Waterloo, London SE1 8WA, UK. Electronic address: zainab.zahran@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Zainab
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Zahran
authors.affiliation: Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College London, James Clark Maxwell Building, Waterloo, London SE1 8WA, UK; Florence Nightingale Foundation of Clinical Nursing Research, Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College London, London, UK. Electronic address: christine.norton@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Christine
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Norton
authors.affiliation: Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College London, James Clark Maxwell Building, Waterloo, London SE1 8WA, UK. Electronic address: gerry.lee@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Geraldine
authors.initials: G
authors.lastname: Lee
authors.affiliation: Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College London, James Clark Maxwell Building, Waterloo, London SE1 8WA, UK. Electronic address: joanne.fitzpatrick@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Joanne M
authors.initials: JM
authors.lastname: Fitzpatrick
authors.affiliation: Florence Nightingale Faculty of Nursing and Midwifery, King's College London, James Clark Maxwell Building, Waterloo, London SE1 8WA, UK. Electronic address: mary.crawford@kcl.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Crawford
authors.affiliation: Faculty of Health and Social Sciences, Bournemouth University, Royal London House, Christchurch Road, Bournemouth BH1 3LT, UK. Electronic address: stee@bournemouth.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Tee
mesh_terms: D003479:Curriculum; D004059:Diffusion of Innovation; D004511:Education, Nursing, Graduate / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005257:Fellowships and Scholarships; D005851:Geriatric Nursing / Q000193:education*; D006801:Humans; D007857:Leadership; D017145:Models, Educational; D016294:Models, Nursing; D016730:Program Development
keywords: Curriculum; Evaluation; Fellowship; Innovation; Nurse Education; Older people