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Competencies for MS specialist services

Victoria Matthews
MS Specialist Nurse Advisor, MS Trust

Way Ahead 2009;13(2):3
Cover of the Competencies document

'Competencies for MS Specialist services'1 is a document that outlines the role of MS specialist nurses and other professionals undertaking MS specialist posts and defines their competencies within the Knowledge and Skills Framework2, and the current structures of the quality based NHS.

Produced in collaboration with the UK MS Specialist Nursing Association and the Royal College of Nursing, it builds on two earlier documents, 'The key elements for developing MS specialist nurse services in the UK'3 and 'Competencies for MS Specialist nurses'.4

What is a competency framework and who are they for?

The new competencies are for MS specialists across all disciplines and define three levels: competent, specialist and highly specialist. They provide a framework to describe the knowledge, skills, experience, characteristics and attitudes required to deliver effective, safe, quality care to people with MS.

For the healthcare professional they are developmental, empowering and aspirational tools to be used for professional/ personal development. For commissioners they inform, together with the commissioning pathway5, on the complexity of the MS specialist role and patient need. For people with MS, the competencies inform on what to expect from someone working at each level ensuring realistic expectations within that working partnership. For colleagues they guide on what to expect from someone working at each level, and encourage confidence in performance with clear guidelines on the remit of any given role.

References

  1. Multiple Sclerosis Trust, Royal College of Nursing, UK MS Specialist Nurse Association.
    Competencies for MS Specialist services.
    Letchworth Garden City: MS Trust; 2009.
  2. Department of Health.
    The NHS knowledge and skills framework and the development review process.
    London: DH; 2004.
  3. MS Trust, UK MS Specialist Nurse Association, Royal College of Nursing.
    Specialist nursing in MS - the way forward: the key elements for developing MS specialist nurse services in the UK.
    Letchworth Garden City: MS Trust; 2001
  4. MS Trust, UK MS Specialist Nurse Association, Royal College of Nursing.
    Competencies for MS Specialist Nurses.
    Letchworth Garden City: MS Trust; 2003
  5. Multiple Sclerosis Trust.
    MS commissioning pathway.
    [cited 2009; February 6]
    Available from: URL: www.mstrust.org.uk/professionals/information/pathway.jsp

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