Conference on retention in the North West

The Workforce Training and Education Directorate in the North West recently held a conference on retention that was attended by over 170 people.

Attendees included ICS leaders, chief nurses, heads of school from local higher education institutes, practice education facilitators and pre-reg leadership students.

The event – Reducing Pre-Registration Attrition & Improving Retention (RePAIR) Conference – follows on from £500,000 that NHSE funded across 30 projects to support learner and early career retention across the region.

The full day conference was used to showcase innovation and best practice around career literacy, preceptorship, work and clinical skills, and student health and wellbeing.

It also included plenary and breakout sessions with representation from professional groups and project teams across nursing, midwifery, and allied health professionals (AHPs).

The morning session consisted of a welcome keynote speech followed by presentations from the RePAIR fellows, the NHSE Quality Improvement team and North West Nursing and Midwifery Student Council members.

The afternoon was split into five separate themes: Career literacy, Restorative clinical skills, Learner support resources and interventions, Preceptorship, and Learner’s physical and mental health.

Feedback from attendees was positive with 92 percent saying they learned something new to take into practice and an overwhelming number of delegates saying there is a need for more face-to-face events to share best practice. For more information email england.nw.nursing@nhs.net.