The New to Practice programme (formally referred to as the “General Practice Nurse Fellowship Scheme”, a 2-year programme funded by NHS England between 2020-2024) is designed to support registered nurses (RNs) and nurse associates (NAs), who are newly qualified (see Preceptorship) or are new to primary care to transition confidently into professional practice and gain a sense of belonging within the primary care setting.

The aim of the 1- year programme (which is now funded locally by BNSSG TH in collaboration with Avon LMC) is to develop confidence and skills, to support recruitment and retention, to alleviate the feeling of isolation and to support and develop effective leadership.

• Induction and teaching programme a 6-month teaching programme (2-hour session every fortnight which can be attended in person or online; sessions are also recorded).​ The programme restarts in January and July, allowing learners who join part way through to catch up on previous sessions. See “useful documents” for details of the “teaching programme”.
• Mentorship/Clinical Supervision – initial meeting to assess learning needs and formulate a Personal Development Plan (PDP), followed by 3 monthly reviews to review progress and set learning objectives.  These meetings are face-to-face in the learner’s practice.
• Peer Support – with other N2P nurses undertaking the programme.​ Learners are grouped into cohorts with others starting in practice at a similar time.
• Joint Clinics – to support learners in gaining and developing confidence in new skills, completing capability assessments.
• Career Development – support and coaching to plan and map the learner’s primary care career.
• Continued Professional Development (CPD) Funding – 4 hours of CPD time (pro rata) per week which can either be taken within the RN or NA’s contracted hours or in addition to their contracted hours (this is agreed with the practice at the start of the N2PP). CPD time can be used to attend New to Practice sessions, for mentor/review sessions, self-directed study, peer support and visits to other clinical areas to gain experience. See “useful documents” for “Memorandum of Understanding (MOU)” and “CPD time explained”.  Learners are required to log their CPD activities in the “N2PP Workbook” (see “Useful Documents”).

Preceptorship is a structured period of support and guidance provided to newly registered healthcare professionals or those transitioning into new roles, helping them build confidence, competence, and integrate into the workplace. It’s a key component of professional development, particularly for nurses and other healthcare workers, during their initial transition from student to autonomous practitioner.

NMC Principles of Preceptorship

 In 2023, we were awarded the Interim Quality Mark for our Preceptorship Programme.  The programme includes the same components of the N2PP but is focused on ensuring understanding of how to apply the NMC Code in day-to-day practice.  There are also monthly meetings initially for the first 3 months in post to ease the transition from student to registered nurse/nurse associate. Please see “Preceptorship Workbook” and “Preceptorship Guide” in “Useful Documents.”

General Practice Workforce statistics (NHSE, 2025) have highlighted the growing imbalance in the age profile of the GPN workforce, showing that those aged 55 and over accounted for 35% of the GPN numbers in England with only 20% aged between 25-34.

Many practices have been able to recruit newly qualified and new to primary care nurses which was previously not possible due to the time required to train these nurses by already stretched nursing teams.  The N2PP adds additional support (joint clinics, bespoke support and mentoring) with achieving skills required by nurses within general practice.  Encouragingly, 49% of nurses recruited on to the New to Practice Programme (since it started in October 2022) and into GPN and NA roles have been between 25-34 years of age.

To be eligible a person must:

• Hold a substantive GPN or NA role (full or part time) within Bristol, North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Primary Care.
• Be a newly qualified nurse or qualified within last 12 months.
• Have joined Primary Care within the last 12 months from another discipline.

Please complete the EOI form (add MS form with hyperlink – see details required below) if you have a member of staff who would benefit from joining the N2PP. You are welcome to contact us if you are a newly qualified/ new to practice RN or NA, but please discuss this first with your Practice Management team.

If you have any questions please send us an email at legacy.nurses@almc.co.uk  We are happy to answer any questions or queries you may have to support you on the next step of your journey.

Unfortunately, we can only offer places on the New to Practice/Preceptorship Programme to RNs/NAs who have secured substantive posts within BNSSG.  If you are interested in pursuing a career within primary care, please visit Avon LMC/ NHS Jobs for details of vacancies.

If you are looking to start a role in general practice you can undertake a three-month module to gain a better understanding of the role and assist with applications to general practice nursing.

The CNO002 – Discovering a Nursing Career in General Practice module, is:

Fully funded – FREE

• National module (endorsed by Dame Ruth May) available to nurses and nursing associates at all levels from pre-registration through to registered nurses working in different healthcare settings who want to start a career in general practice.
• Can be undertaken non-accredited or accredited version, at level 6 or level 7.
• The three-month module provides an opportunity to gain a better understanding and awareness of primary care and general practice, help nurses and nursing associates to submit a positive application to general practice and help to prepare for interview.
• It covers skills and knowledge such as learning how the role fits within the multi-disciplinary team, developing one to one communications skills and understanding how to operate in a primary care environment.
• The module is currently being rolled out across the country and will be delivered using a variety of learning techniques from face-to-face learning to virtual reality. It is being delivered through seven universities; details are listed below:

• University of Cumbria (national delivery)
• Teesside University (national delivery)
• Northumbria University (national delivery)
• University of Salford
• Sheffield Hallam University
• Birmingham City University
• University of Derby

Careers in practice nursing video

A day in the life of a GP Nurse UK video

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