Enhancing assertiveness in district nurse specialist practice

Green, Julie

doi:10.12968/bjcn.2016.21.8.400

Enhancing assertiveness in district nurse specialist practice

Green, Julie

Authors

Julie Green j.green@keele.ac.uk

Abstract

District nurse (DN) care delivery has undergone substantial change in recent years due to changing demographics and service delivery demands that have called for a move of care delivery from secondary to primary care. The title District Nurse is recorded with the Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) on completion of the Specialist Practice Qualification in District Nursing (SPQ DN), which purports to be a 'transformational' course that prepares future caseload holders to manage their team and prioritise care delivery effectively. This article explores the need for assertiveness skills in this role in response to Australian research, and outlines the pedagogic interventions implemented during the SPQ DN course to enhance this skill. Assertiveness scores were monitored for the duration of the course and demonstrated a significant increase-a topic that is now the subject of a future, funded study.

Acceptance Date	Jul 1, 2016
Publication Date	Aug 2, 2016
Journal	British Journal of Community Nursing
Print ISSN	1462-4753
Publisher	Mark Allen Healthcare
Pages	400 -403
DOI	https://doi.org/10.12968/bjcn.2016.21.8.400
Keywords	assertiveness, community, district nurse, leadership, management
Publisher URL	http://dx.doi.org/10.12968/bjcn.2016.21.8.400