Co-designing a workforce career progression and development framework with Marie Curie UK

Area of Science:

• Healthcare Workforce Development
• Palliative Care
• Organizational Psychology

Background:

• Marie Curie is a leading UK provider of palliative and end-of-life care.
• A 2-year project focused on co-designing a career framework for their specialist workforce.

Purpose of the Study:

• To demonstrate how collaborative co-design facilitates large-scale workforce transformation.
• To create a structured career development and progression pathway for palliative care professionals.

Main Methods:

• Employed a mixed-methods participatory action research design.
• Integrated principles of co-design, appreciative inquiry, and practice development.
• Utilized a collaborative, systematic approach to complex co-design.

Main Results:

• Identified nine core workforce capabilities essential for person-centered palliative care.
• Embedded these capabilities into appraisal processes, enhancing role clarity and professional development.
• Documented lessons learned, enablers, and barriers throughout the framework's development phases.

Conclusions:

• The Marie Curie UK Career Progression and Development framework sets clear expectations for nursing roles and professional development activities.
• Future plans include extending the framework to allied healthcare professionals for integrated palliative care.
• The framework supports national goals for palliative care workforce recruitment, retention, and development.