Given the current healthcare landscape and the focus of government policy, the way nurses are prepared for working in people’s homes needs reconsidering. The standards for pre-registration nurse education (Nursing and Midwifery Council [NMC], 2010) do prepare nurses to work in the community at initial registration. However, staff nurses at this point of their career, or those that move from the acute sector to the community, do need to work under the supervision of a qualified district nurse during this transition.

Heather Bain, Course Leader Masters Portfolio, Robert Gordon University, Aberdeen