Continuing professional development

Feature

Leadership theories and the development

of nurses in primary health care
PHC332 Taylor R (2009) Leadership theories and the development of nurses in primary health care.
Primary Health Care. 19, 9, 40-45. Date of acceptance: September 8 2009.

Ruth Taylor is associate head

Abstract of school, Robert Gordon
University, Aberdeen
Nurses who work in primary care create, develop, implement, evaluate and critique policy with all the resulting
ramifications for national and local practice development and patient care. Working in partnership with patients
and users of healthcare, governance of practice, advances in roles, and service developments are examples Keywords
of the evolving nature of primary care and raise issues about the leadership capacity. It is therefore essential Leadership, primary care,
that nurses feel equipped to lead practice and feel able to contribute effectively at all levels. By taking a critical partnerships
perspective on the use of leadership theories, those working in primary care can develop their capability and
capacity to move practice forward.
These keywords are based on
the subject headings from the
Aims and intended learning outcomes in primary care (McIntosh and Tolson 2009). In British Nursing Index. This
This article aims to help you explore and evaluate particular, nurses in primary care often work more article has been subject to
leadership theories and to reflect on their value independently than those in hospital and other double-blind review.
in the context of your current and future practice. settings. This is not to say that collaborative working For related articles visit our
After reading this article you should be able to: is not important. Rather, it is worth emphasising the online archive and search
using the keywords
■■ Critique the practice context in which your leadership autonomy of primary care nurses so that consideration
skills are required. can be given to the leadership skills that will enable
■■ Evaluate leadership theories and their relevance for practice development in particular settings.
practice development. Leadership is a complex subject. The literature
■■ Reflect on your leadership potential and determine cites numerous definitions of ‘leadership’ and ‘leader’.
ways in which you can enhance your leadership A useful working definition as a means to explore
capability and capacity. clinical leadership is: ‘Leadership is seen in terms of
unifying people around values and then constructing
Introduction the social world for others around those values and
Leadership is widely discussed in the literature and is helping people to get through change’ (Stanley 2009).
a particular focus for nursing as a means to practice The definition seems to encapsulate core
enhancement (Hewison and Griffiths 2004). New concepts – the implication of a person who has
roles and the development of services in primary care a vision, bringing people together, determining
bring great opportunities for nursing leadership. Many values, facilitation – and emphasises the focus
of these opportunities arise from the policy drivers for change that we encounter in practice. It is,
for primary care and their implications for practice. however, challenging to attribute cause and effect
Nurses engage with policy at several levels to the demonstration of leadership behaviours
including development, implementation (Daiski 2004) and the outcomes of patient care and other
– through critique and the use of planned approaches measures of success in the clinical setting.
– and evaluation. The overarching aim, though, is to The extensive literature on leadership theory
improve patient care and patient outcomes. Effective that has emerged over the years offers a good
leadership in practice is important for successful case for the development of leadership skills
practice development and the enhancement of for practice development, enhancement and
patient care (Fitzsimons et al 2006, McKenna et al governance in practice. Nevertheless, the emphasis
2004) and is part of the role of all nurses working on leadership for the improvement of patient care

40 November 2009 | Volume 19 | Number 9 PRIMARY HEALTH CARE


should not be taken in isolation, and the cultural
context needs to be considered and changes made
where required (Hewison and Griffiths 2004).
This article aims to help you evaluate
relevant theory and explore your personal
aptitude for leadership. It challenges you to
reflect on your and others’ practice in the
clinical environment in which you operate.
Leadership and the practice context
Why do we need to reflect on theories of leadership
as primary care nurses? To answer this question,
the context of primary care and the changes that are
taking place are a good starting point. Devolution
has affected the context of health care across the
UK (Peckham 2003). While political differences
exist – and it is important that we understand our
specific policy context – the key issues for emerging
practice are broadly similar (Box 1) (Sines 2009).
Leadership is required to meet the reforms and the
modernisation agenda. Stubbs and Forbes-Burford
(2009) suggest that this requires ‘courage, resilience
and commitment’. It is an exciting time in primary
care, with new roles, new ways of working and
increasing autonomy. As primary care nurses you
may be writing policy, interpreting, implementing
and advancing policy, challenging policy that
seems injudicious, and evaluating policy, all
aspects of the role that require leadership skills.
1 Policy drivers
Time out
Summarise the key policy drivers that
necessitate practice development in
your area of practice. Why do you
think that leadership is necessary in
the development, implementation and
evaluation of these policy drivers?
What has your role been so far?
You may have identified a role in the critique and
development of policy. You may also have thought
about the need to encourage an understanding
and ownership of practice development, the
identification of factors and resources that enhance
practice development, or strategic understanding
of the context in which you operate.
Leadership theories
We are operating in a rapidly evolving environment
where change is an inherent part of professional life.
Leadership is a prerequisite for the development of
practice. There are a number of theories of leadership:
■■ Great man theories.
■■ Trait theories.
PRIMARY HEALTH CARE November 2009 | Volume 19 | Number 9 41
Feature
Box 1 Key issues affecting primary care
■■ Demographic changes including an ageing
population, with the associated health needs
and the impact on the working population.
■■ Increased longer-term disorders
and complex conditions.
■■ Evolving patient/user expectations,
partnerships and empowerment for
users; users as co-producers of care.
■■ Reorientation of health and social care with
the rapid shift towards community care.
■■ Evolving staff skill mix, for example,
assistant practitioners.
■■ Emphasis on the evidence/research-base.
■■ Interprofessional and interagency working.
■■ Emphasis on governance, accountability,
standards.
■■ Ethical issues relating to healthcare advances,
scientific and technological developments.
■■ A focus on health promotion, public health
and tackling inequalities, staying healthy,
prevention of ill health and self-management.
■■ Situational-contingency theories.
■■ Transactional theories.
■■ Transformational theories
(Bolden et al 2003, Wedderburn Tate 2004).
Each of these are summarised to provide a focus for
reflection on leadership in the context of the practice
environment.
Great man theories
According to great man theories, leaders are
born and not made, and will arise when a great
need arises. The theories were based on studies
of great leaders who usually came from the
aristocracy and were male (Bolden et al 2003).
Scholars attempted to identify the characteristics
that made up a great leader. These included
such aspects as class, physical characteristics,
personality type and age (Wedderburn Tate 2004).
In summary, great man theories asserted that:
■■ Leaders were born and not made.
■■ Leaders would arise when there was a great need.
Trait theories
Trait theorists claim that leaders are born with
inherited traits, and that there are particular personality
and behavioural characteristics that are suitable for
leadership (Bolden et al 2003). Studies of successful
leaders have identified almost every positive human trait
as being important for leadership (such as assertiveness,
adaptability, confidence, intelligence, social skills).
 Continuing professional development
Feature

Table 1 Transactional and transformational leadership: comparison
Transactional theories
Builds on people’s need to get a
job done and make a living.
Is preoccupied with power,
position, politics and perks.
Is mired in daily affairs.
Is short-term and hard
data orientated.
Focuses on tactical issues.
Transformational theories
Builds on a people’s need for meaning.
Is preoccupied with purposes and
values, morals and ethics.
Transcends daily affairs.
Is orientated towards long-term
goals without compromising
human values and principles.
Focuses more on missions
circumstances will require different styles of leadership.
For example, in an emergency situation the leader
will be autocratic rather than participative.
Leaders, therefore, may be effective in certain
situations but not in others. There are a number of
models of leadership in the situational-contingency
theories. One of them is that of Tannenbaum
and Schmidt’s leadership continuum (cited in
Bolden et al 2003). The continuum ranges
from autocratic (telling) to persuasive (selling) to
consultative (consulting) to democratic (joining).
2 Four styles

and strategies.
Relies on human relations to Releases human potential identifying
lubricate human interactions. and developing new talent.
Follows and fulfils role expectations Designs and redesigns jobs to make
by striving to work effectively them meaningful and challenging.
within current systems.
Supports structures and systems Aligns internal structures and systems to
that reinforce the bottom reinforce overarching values and goals.
line, maximise efficiency, and
guarantee short-term profits.
(Covey 1992)
Although some literature asserts that there is
a set of particular characteristics that precisely
represents leadership, for example, the use of
emotional intelligence (Goleman et al 2002), there
are others who disagree. Shaw (2007) asserts that
Time out
Think about situations when you would use
the four styles (telling, selling, consulting and
joining) in your clinical practice. Describe
the situations and reflect on which of
the approaches was most appropriate.
You might have thought about: telling in an emergency
situation, selling when you have a plan to implement
a new way of working and need people on board,
or consulting and joining when you have the time
and resources to develop a policy collaboratively.
Situational-contingency theories assert that:
■■ The situational factors, the leader and the followers
are all significant.
■■ Different leadership styles are required for different
situations.
3 Admiration
Time out

Think about someone you have previously

the trait approach to leadership is limiting for a
number of reasons not least because the context in
which leadership takes place is not acknowledged.
Additionally, the absence of particular traits does
not necessarily relate to whether someone is an
effective leader. Trait theories assert that:
■■ Leaders are born with particular traits.
■■ Particular personality and behavioural traits are
suitable for leadership.
Situational-contingency theories
Situational-contingency theories relate to the
factors that affect particular situations, and that
the ability to lead is contingent on the situation
in which leadership takes place (Bolden et al
2003). There are three significant areas:
■■ The situation.
■■ The leader.
■■ The follower.
These theories identify that there is no one leadership
approach that is suitable, and that different
admired in a leadership role. Describe why
you admired them and consider whether this
related to charisma or particular traits that
they demonstrated. What are the limitations
of trait theories if more primary care nurses
are to become empowered to lead?
You may have listed the ability to form relationships
and be sociable, to be assertive, to inspire
people or to be confident in different situations.
You may then have gone on to consider that
leadership skills can be developed and nurtured
so as to develop a critical mass of leaders in
primary care for the development of practice.
Transactional theories
According to transactional theories, people
are motivated by rewards and punishment
(Bolden et al 2003). In transactional theories,
leaders sit towards the management end of a
leadership/management continuum. Followers (or

42 November 2009 | Volume 19 | Number 9 PRIMARY HEALTH CARE


subordinates) are required to do what they are
told and will be rewarded – through money and
other simple rewards – if the task is achieved.
Conversely, the follower is seen as being fully
responsible for any task that has been delegated
even where adequate resources are not available,
or where the follower does not have the relevant
capability. The environment in which the NHS
operates lends itself to transactional leadership for the
achievement of targets, performance management
and impact of competencies or outcomes.
Transactional theories assert that:
■■ The leader sits towards the management end of a
continuum of leadership/management styles.
■■ The leader is in control.
■■ People are motivated by money and simple rewards
to achieve tasks.
Transformational theories
Transformational leaders see relationships as
being of critical importance – primarily those
between the leader and the follower – thus
taking leadership theory further (and possibly
in a different direction) to previous theories.
There is an emphasis on empowerment and the
development of potential for the achievement of
long-term goals (McNichol 2007, Shaw 2007).
Change is a key focus for transformational
leadership (Bolden et al 2003). Essential features
of transformational leadership include:
■■ Build a shared vision.
■■ See the big picture and deal with complex issues.
■■ Test thinking systematically.
■■ Encourage participation and motivation.
■■ Share information and enable trust through team
working.
■■ Recognise contributions and celebrate achievements.
■■ Create opportunities for continuous learning and
support people’s development, including own.
■■ Flexible and able to deal with unexpected issues.
■■ Role model through behaviours and goal setting.
■■ Network effectively (McNichol 2006, Shaw 2007).
Transactional theories of leadership assert that:
■■ People will follow leaders who are inspirational.
■■ The leader will develop a vision (possibly
collaboratively), sell the vision and lead the way.
4 Empowerment
Time out
To what extent do you think that
there is scope to work in a particular
leadership way in your own practice?
Does one approach seem more direct but
potentially less empowering for others?
PRIMARY HEALTH CARE November 2009 | Volume 19 | Number 9 43
Feature
Box 2 Key leadership elements
■■ Vision and strategic thinking
■■ External awareness
■■ Influence
■■ Motivation
■■ Confidence
■■ Trust
■■ Political skill
■■ Review, change and renewal of self and others
■■ Teamwork, partnerships and alliances
Table 1 may help you to reflect on the strengths
and limitations of transactional and transformational
leadership, and to critique the value of both
approaches in your practice setting. You may
have felt that transactional leadership enables
staff to clearly understand the requirements for
practice development, and to demonstrate their
achievement through particular competencies.
You may then have thought about the scope for
empowerment through transformational leadership,
but questioned the personal investment that is needed
to lead in this way. You may have felt, however,
that transformational leadership skills can enable
empowered practice in a transactional setting.
5 Transformational
Time out
Understanding your own values and goals
through personal insight, and a willingness
to reflect carefully on your working
relationships with others are two factors
that are necessary should you wish to
develop your transformational leadership
approach. To what extent are you equipped
to work in a more transformational way?
Shaw (2007) provides a comprehensive and
succinct list of key leadership elements which you
may have reflected on for Time out 5 (Box 2).
You can see from this list, and from the activities
that you have undertaken so far, that leadership is
made up of a complex range of elements comprising
skills, characteristics, context and people.
Challenges of leadership
Pearson et al’s (2007) comprehensive systematic
review on developing and sustaining nursing leadership
identifies the importance of supportive, empowering
organisational structures for good leadership and a
positive, healthy work environment. For leadership
to impact on practice in a positive way, the
conditions have to be right to support leadership.
 Continuing professional development
Feature
6 Reflection
Time out
Reflect on your area of clinical practice.
How can you create (or have you created)
the conditions that support leadership
and enhance practice? For example,
have those in leadership roles helped to
create contexts in which you have the
freedom and encouragement to lead?
You may feel that you wish to discuss
this activity with your colleagues.
If you discussed your environment with your
colleagues, you may have identified areas such as
job and role satisfaction, recruitment and retention
rates, absence levels, and others as indicators of
whether your environment nurtures leadership for
the enhancement of practice. For example, you may
have identified that you and your colleagues are in a
position to undertake relevant leadership development
as a means to grow personally and professionally.
You may feel that your environment is conducive
for leadership, or that small changes could make
a high impact on the support of leadership and
the enhancement of practice. If you have identified
potential areas for improvement, keep these in mind
as you complete the final activities in the article.
Now you should be ready to focus on your
own leadership potential. The next section asks
you to reflect on where you are now, where
you want to be, and how you plan to develop
your capability and capacity as a leader.
Developing leadership potential
Organisations often develop their own principles
or frameworks for leadership and it is through this
process – rather than the development of the principles
themselves – that organisations find ways in which
the development of the culture and the approaches
to leadership will enhance their practice. A good
example is the NHS Leadership Qualities Framework
(NHS Institute for Innovation and Improvement
2005). It identifies three broad areas for development
with the ultimate aim of improving services:
■■ The development of personal qualities – self
belief, self awareness, self management, drive for
improvement.
■■ Setting the direction – political astuteness, drive
for results, seizing the future, intellectual flexibility,
broad scanning.
■■ Delivering the service – leading change through
people, holding to account, empowering others,
effective and strategic influencing, collaborative
working.
The website – www.nhsleadershipqualities.nhs.
44 November 2009 | Volume 19 | Number 9 PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
uk – is a useful resource. You will recognise some of
the aspects of leadership that the NHS Leadership
Centre value in the theories of leadership that you have
explored so far. There are, of course, other opportunities
for leadership development available from a variety
of organisations that you may wish to explore.
You have now had the opportunity to critique
your area of practice and your own leadership in
the contemporary context of your practice.
7 Key skills
Time out
Think about one aspect of your practice that
is to be taken forward and for which you
can take the lead. Identify the key leadership
skills that you will employ (even if you
feel that you still need to develop some of
these). Think about how you can develop
your leadership capability and capacity.
There are many ways in which you could develop
your leadership potential. For example, you
may have considered some of the following:
■■ Undertake a literature search and summarise the key
findings as they apply to your practice.
■■ Identify a leadership programme or training/
professional education opportunity that you can
access locally.
■■ Work with a mentor or coach to reflect on, and
develop, your leadership skills.
■■ Produce a proposal to enhance an area of practice
for which you will take the lead.
Leadership and the future
You have now completed almost all the activities and
should be able to discuss the merits, or otherwise,
of leadership theories and approaches. You have
considered them in relation to your own practice,
identified the policy drivers that require leadership, and
thought about ways in which you can achieve your
leadership potential in at least one area of your practice.
Many thinkers in leadership theory advocate
a transformational approach in organisations to
enable people (and organisations) to achieve their
fullest potential. Daniel Goleman is a leading
author in the field of emotional intelligence as a
valuable competency that engenders enthusiasm
for an energetic organisation (Goleman 2002).
Senge et al (2005) provide a detailed view
of contemporary theory on creating change in an
ethical way that serves individuals, groups and
societies. However, caution should be exercised
in taking on transformational leadership theory
wholesale given the context in which primary care
nurses operate. It is possible to use transformational
 Feature

leadership skills within a transactional setting.

Leadership theory continues to develop
Find out more
with examples of new thinking emerging ■■ RCN Clinical Leadership Programme
from the literature. The ‘leadership compass’ www.rcn.org.uk/development/practice/leadership
(Cook et al 2004) is one example of emerging
theory. Cook et al (2004) represent business, ■■ Centre for the Development of Healthcare
political, spiritual and emotional intelligences as Policy and Practice, Leading an Empowered
points on a compass, each requiring balance in a Organisation (LEO)
leader. You may wish to explore other theories. www.cdhpp.leeds.ac.uk/services/leo.php
Leadership is needed for the development of future
practice. Primary care nurses will play a key role in the ■■ Open University
development of emerging services, such as polyclinics, www.open.ac.uk
outpatient activity in the community, minor and invasive
surgery in local communities (Sines 2009). They ■■ Many universities offer courses/modules on
will continue to have a major role in developing and leadership for clinical practice. One innovative
sustaining strong partnerships with users of services, example is an online Masters in Nursing
and in taking other practice developments forward. (Nurse-Led Practice)
www.rgu.ac.uk/nursing/courses/
Conclusion page.cfm?pge+43417
Leadership theories will enable you to use the
skills required in any given situation through a
process of understanding, critical reflection and
evaluation. This article has highlighted some
of the key issues, and you are encouraged to
explore many of the issues more widely.

8 Practice profile
Time out

Now that you have completed the

article, you may wish to complete a
practice profile. Guidelines to help
you are provided on page 46.

References
Bolden R, Gosling J, Marturano A et al (2003)
A Review of Leadership Theory and Competency
Frameworks. Centre for Leadership Studies,
University of Exeter. http://centres.exeter.ac.uk/
cls/research/abstract.php?id=29 (Last accessed:
September 23 2009.)
Covey S (1992) Principle-centred Leadership.
Simon and Schuster, London.
Cook S, Macauley S, Coldicott H (2004)
Change Management Excellence: Using the
Four Intelligences for Successful Organizational
Change. Kogan Page, London.
Daiski I (2004) Issues and innovations
in nursing practice: Changing nurses’
dis-empowering relationship patterns. Journal
of Advanced Nursing. 48, 1, 43-50.
Fitzsimons D, McCance T, Armstrong N
(2006) Nursing and healthcare management
and policy: Vision, leadership and partnership:
how to enhance the nursing and midwifery
contribution to research and development.
Journal of Advanced Nursing. 55, 6, 748-756.
Goleman D, Boyatzis R, McKee A (2002)
The New Leaders: Transforming the Art of
Leadership into the Science of Results. Little,
Brown, London.
Hewison A, Griffiths M (2004) Leadership
development in health care: a word of
caution. Journal of Health Organization and
Management. 18, 6, 464-473.
McIntosh J, Tolson D (2009) Leadership as part
of the nurse consultant role: banging the drum
for patient care. Journal of Clinical Nursing. 18,
2, 219-227.
McKenna H, Keeney S, Bradley M (2004) Nurse
leadership within primary care: the perceptions
of community nurses, GPs, policy makers and
members of the public. Journal of Nursing
Management. 12, 1, 69-76.
McNichol E (2007) Understanding yourself as a
leader In: McNichol E, Hamer S (Eds) Leadership
and Management: A 3-Dimensional Approach.
Nelson Thornes, Cheltenham.
NHS Institute for Innovation and
Improvement (2005) NHS Leadership Qualities
Framework. www.nhsleadershipqualities.nhs.uk
(Last accessed: September 23 2009.)
Pearson A, Laschinger H, Porritt K et al
(2007) Comprehensive systematic review of
evidence on developing and sustaining
nursing leadership that fosters a healthy work
environment in healthcare. International Journal
of Evidence-based Healthcare. 5, 2, 208-253.
Peckham S (2003) Recent health and social
policy developments, In: Watkins D, Edwards J,
Gastrell P (Eds) Community Health Nursing:
Frameworks for Practice. Baillière Tindall,
Edinburgh.
Senge P, Scharmer C, Jaworski J et al (2005)
Presence: Exploring Profound Change in People,
Organizations and Society. Nicholas Brealey
Publishing, London.
Shaw S (2007) Nursing Leadership. Blackwell
Publishing, Oxford.
Sines D (2009) The context of primary
health care nursing In: Sines D, Saunders M,
Forbes-Burford J (2009) (Eds) Community Health
Care Nursing (Fourth edition). Wiley-Blackwell,
Chichester.
Stanley S (2009) Clinical leadership and the
theory of congruent leadership In: Bishop V
(2009) (ed) Leadership for Nursing and Allied
Health Care Professionals. McGraw Hill,
Berkshire.
Stubbs K, Forbes-Burford J (2009)
Modernisation of primary care: innovation,
leadership and enterprise within the workforce
In: Sines D, Saunders M, Forbes-Burford J (2009)
(Eds) Community Health Care Nursing (Fourth
edition). Wiley-Blackwell, Chichester.
Wedderburn Tate C (2004) Leadership in
Nursing. Churchill Livingstone, London.

PRIMARY HEALTH CARE November 2009 | Volume 19 | Number 9 45

 Continuing professional development
Practice profile
What do I do now?
■■ Using the information in section 1 to guide
you, write a practice profile of between
750 and 1,000 words – ensuring that you
have related it to the article that you have
studied. See the examples in section 2.
■■ Write ‘Practice Profile’ at the top of
your entry followed by your name, the
title of the article, which is: ‘Leadership
theories and the development of
nurses in primary health care’, and the
article number, which is PHC332.
■■ Complete all of the requirements of
the cut-out form provided and attach it
securely to your practice profile. Failure to
do so will mean that your practice profile
cannot be considered for a certificate.
■■ You are entitled to unlimited free entries.
■■ Using an A4 envelope, send for your free
assessment to: Practice Profile, RCN
Publishing Company, Freepost PAM
10155, Harrow, Middlesex HA1 3BR
by November 2010. Please do not
staple your practice profile and cut-out
slip – paper-clips are recommended.
You can also email practice profiles
to practiceprofile@rcnpublishing.
co.uk. You must also provide the same
information that is requested on the
cut-out form. Type ‘Practice Profile’ in
the email subject field to ensure you are
sent a response confirming receipt.
■■ You will be informed in writing
of your result. A certificate is
Continuing Professional Development: Practice Profile
Please complete this form using a ballpoint
pen and CAPITAL letters only, then cut out
and send it in an envelope no smaller than
9x6 inches to:
Practice Profile
RCN Publishing Company
Freepost PAM 10155
Harrow, Middlesex HA1 3BR
46 November 2009 | Volume 19 | Number 9 PRIMARY HEALTH CARE
awarded for successful completion
of the practice profile.
■■ Feedback is not provided: a certificate
indicates that you have been successful.
■■ Keep a copy of your practice profile
and add this to your professional profile
– copies are not returned to you.
1. Framework for reflection
■■ Study the checklist (section 3).
■■ What have I learnt from this article?
■■ To what extent were the intended
learning outcomes met?
■■ What do I know, or can I do,
now, that I did not/could not
before reading the article?
■■ What can I apply immediately to my
practice or client/patient care?
■■ Is there anything that I did not understand,
need to explore or read about further,
to clarify my understanding?
■■ What else do I need to do/know to extend
my professional development in this area?
■■ What other needs have I identified in
relation to my professional development?
■■ How might I achieve the above needs?
(It might be helpful to convert these
to short/ medium/long-term goals
and draw up an action plan.)
2. Examples of practice profile entries
■■ Example 1 After reading a CPD article
on ‘Communication skills’, Jenny, a
practice nurse, reflects on her own
Full title and date of article:
No. of article:
First name:
Surname:
communication skills and re-arranges
her clinic room so that she will sit next
to her patients when talking to them.
She makes a conscious decision to pay
attention to her own body language,
posture and eye contact, and notices that
communication with patients improves.
This forms the basis of her practice profile.
■■ Example 2 After reading a CPD article
on ‘Wound care’, Amajit, a senior staff
nurse on a surgical ward, approached
the nurse manager about her concerns
about wound infections on the ward.
Following an audit that Amajit undertook,
a protocol for dressing wounds was
established which led to a reduction in
wound infections in her ward and across
the directorate. Amajit used this experience
for her practice profile and is now taking
part in a region-wide research project.
3. Portfolio submission
Checklist for submitting your practice profile
■■ Have you related your practice
profile to the article?
■■ Have you headed your entry with: the title
‘Practice Profile’; your name; the title of
the article; and the article number?
■■ Have you written between 750 and
1,000 words?
■■ Have you kept a copy of the practice
profile for your own portfolio?
■■ Have you completed the cut-out form
and attached it to your entry?
Job title:
Place of work:
Address:
Postcode:
Daytime tel:
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