1. Nicola Braid ECCF Cohort 2014
Learning Disability Charge Nurse

2. My ECCF MSc Advancing Nursing Practice at Edinburgh University.
Personal and professional development
Leadership – exploring your potential
Supervised reading – clinical supervision
Health inequalities and public policy
Clinical decision making
Dissertation

3. Dissertation
Background: There has been a shift in care for people with learning disabilities, from an institutional approach to care in the community for the majority. However, there is a continued need for admission to a specialist hospital for a small proportion of people with learning disabilities. This care is provided in Assessment and Treatment Units.
Aims: To explore the experience of admission to an assessment and treatment unit from the perspective of the patient, carer and professional.
Method: A qualitative, Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis will be used to meet the aims of this research. Participants will be interviewed using semi-structured interviews in order to explore their lived experience of the phenomenon.

4. Support and networking
Resilience
Self awareness
Strategic awareness
Shared learning
Professional and developmental support
Learning from other specialties

5. Career Progression
Band 5 Staff Nurse in Assessment and Treatment Unit for adults with learning disabilities
Secondment to joint health and social care service for adults with learning disabilities – Band 5
6 month Band 6 charge nurse secondment in assessment and treatment unit
Part time band 6 ADHD Nurse
Permanent Band 6 Charge Nurse in Assessment and Treatment Unit.

6. In addition…
Completed mentorship preparation in addition to ECCF and MSc
Undertook a 3 week volunteering placement in Romania providing therapeutic intervention and play therapy to children and adults with disabilities
Created a network of support which will be beneficial throughout my career
Lead on implementing Falls Pathway and Frailty Screening Tool within the learning disability service.

7. “As I have watched Nicola progress through the ECCF I have watched her grow in confidence and knowledge. Perhaps more importantly I have watched her grow in her ability to channel her thinking as it relates to her career and career planning. I believe that she now looks at her career through a different and more focussed lens.”

8. “Nicola has continued to develop her nursing knowledge and skills significantly over the time I have known her, throughout her ECCF fellowship she has demonstrated excellent leadership skills, she is enthusiastic and passionate about learning disability care and always places the patients at the heart of her decision making processes.”

9. “Nicola has taken the lead on several service developments and improvements as well as taking the opportunity to expand her practice with a recent secondment to the children’s community ADHD service and a volunteering trip to Romania to provide therapy and support to children and adults with disabilities. I feel all of this demonstrates the way in which Nicola has grown and developed as a practitioner throughout this fellowship”

10. “Throughout my engagement with Nicola, I have watched her grow in confidence, enabling her to set a clear direction for her career pathway. The skills and knowledge she has gained from being part of ECCF are evident in her practice and I'm positive she will continue to build on these in future. It has been a pleasure to support her in this journey and I look forward to continuing to watch her flourish”

11. “Over the past two years I have watched Nicola has grow and develop into a confident and highly motivated practitioner with the ability to motivate, inspire and lead others.
Nicola’s continued personal and professional development has been a key component in maintaining her high level of commitment and motivation to developing and delivering quality care for people with a learning disability”

12. “Accredited study has enhanced Nicola’s analytical, research-based knowledge as well as the organisational and managerial skills to work at the highest standard”