Advanced Clinical Practitioners (ACP) come from a range of professional backgrounds such as nursing, pharmacy, paramedics, physiotherapy and occupational therapy. They are healthcare professionals educated to Masters Level and have developed the skills and knowledge to allow them to take on expanded roles and scope of practice caring for patients. The ACP role within general practice will vary according to patient needs and the discipline of the registered practitioner.
Training an ACP within your practice should be considered as a viable option for sustainable workforce planning to deliver care that meets your population needs. Growing your own workforce allows the development of specifically trained and skilled primary care clinicians. It provides opportunity for patients to receive timely care and negate unnecessarily delay in receiving treatment, especially with the growing shortage of GPs in primary care. ACPs within primary care enhance effectiveness and service delivery by enabling the practice to offer the right care, to the right patient at the right time.
What investment will I need to make?
- Release your trainee to attend the university face to face taught sessions
- Allocate protected learning time in practice
- Provide clinical mentorship and support to the trainee
Benefits to your practice could include:
- Embed a culture of learning and development
- Improve retention and resilience
- Enhance the skill mix within the practice
- Enhance the multi-professional team and help to provide safe, accessible and high quality care for patients
Form part of a sustainable business model
CHECK LIST: Consider how training your own ACP in your practice could:
- Improve access to care delivery;
- Offer a sustainable solution to some of your succession planning;
- Consider what outcomes you would like to achieve for your practice.