Implementation of a Critical Care Nurse Career Pathway

The aim of this organisational development project is to put in place an implementable plan for the delivery of a standardised critical care nursing career pathway. The pathway relates to the professional development of critical care nurses at every stage of their career, from new graduate to advanced practitioner. Through standardisation there will be the ability to increase the number of nurses doing accredited education, through implementation of the pathway across the hospital groups. This will be through the establishment of working groups consisting of the key stakeholders to explore and develop methods of implementation. An agreed governance structure for these working groups will ensure standardisation. To understand requirements the annual Critical Care Census will be updated to recognise what is required to ensure that the correct supports are in place to prevent burnout of both the new entry nurses to critical care but also the senior staff. Standardisation of professional development for critical care nurses has been recommended and the pathway represents this. Utilising the HSE change model, the initiation and planning stages are discussed where a shared vision was developed and support of the key stakeholders ensured. An outline of what is required for implementation and mainstreaming of the pathway, through the structure of the newly formed hospital groups is put forward.