A collaborative generic curriculum development to support practitioners functioning within enhanced roles

This article considers the development of the Autonomous Health Care Practice course, a generic course offered to a range of health care professionals who are expanding their roles. It considers how the course may meet the needs of the Emergency Nurse Practitioner (ENP), and how it differs from current ENP courses. For the purpose of the article, all professionals practising in similar roles will be referred to as enhanced practitioners. The aim of the Autonomous Health Care Practice course is to enhance knowledge and clinical skills in areas normally considered the province of medicine. At the same time, it provides concurrent opportunities to develop distinct professional roles. To achieve this, practitioners need a repertoire of critical, analytical and reflective skills to use effectively in a wide variety of clinical situations. This enables practitioners to integrate new and existing clinical skills into an appropriate diagnostic and decision making framework with their specific client group to ensure they receive appropriate and effective care. The article outlines how collaboration between the Oxford Radcliffe NHS Trust and Oxford Brookes University resulted in the subsequent curriculum development of this dynamic course.