The need for more nurses in clinical director roles

In July I was honoured to be asked to participate in an NHS Clinical Commissioners (NHSCC) panel for an event on the launch of their report ‘Primary Care Networks – One Year On’ (NHSCC, 2020).

The question posed to me was ‘How important is it to have a range of clinical professionals in the clinical director role?’ This was a fabulous opportunity to speak about the challenges for nurses with ambitions to become primary care network (PCN) clinical directors—a subject that myself and colleagues at the Queen's Nursing Institute (QNI) are frequently asked about by the practice nurses in our QNI networks. The following was my answer:

‘It is vital that we have PCN clinical directors from a wide range of clinical backgrounds, bringing different skills and perspectives to the role. I am a registered nurse, so I am going to say a few words about the potential for nurses to be successful PCN clinical directors. And what PCNs—and our communities—are missing by not taking advantage of their skills.