Credential gateway criteria –

Explanatory note

The Centre’s gateway criteria are used to gauge whether a particular area of workforce development is potentially suitable for supported development as a credential specification (for which Centre endorsement could then be pursued). The criteria focus on whether and how an area   

• Relates to a specific area of practice for which there is value in devising a structured, standardised component of learning and assessment to address a defined population, patient, service delivery and workforce development need. 
• Would be feasible to develop and deliver as a credential, providing a return on investment in how it would meet the workforce development/service delivery need and deliver population/patient benefit.
• Relates to a specific, multi-professional workforce development need that aligns with the ‘generic’ advanced practice capabilities defined by Health Education England in 2017; seeMulti-professional Advanced Practice Framework.  

The Centre provides a template to support engagement with the gateway criteria. This is designed to inform and structure critical thinking (including via group discussion and securing broader expert input) on the nature of a particular workforce development need and whether and how this need might be met through the supported development of a multi-professional advanced practice credential specification. 

1. A potential credential specification would address a high-priority area of population, patient care and service delivery need for which there is value in defining a structured, standardised component of learning and assessment to support advanced-level practice workforce development and deployment. 

1.1 It relates to a defined, understood workforce development need relating to at least one of the following: 

• The needs of a particular population or patient group (e.g. older adults, or individuals with a particular condition or need). 
• Population/patient care needs in a particular environment (e.g. primary or emergency care). 
• Population/patient needs in a particular area of clinical practice, whether defined from the perspective of a clinical specialty, sub-specialty or service delivery requirements (e.g. acute medicine, neonatal care, community rehabilitation, or mental health services). 

1.2 It relates to a high-priority workforce development need that is defined by at least one of the following: 

• Current healthcare policy and strategy at a national or international level. 
• Current or new service delivery plans, commissioning guidance or contract specifications for national roll-out, including those relating to new models of care. 
• Recently published research findings, evidence-based guidance, dataset or other statement of evidence of population/patient need from a credible, authoritative source. 

1.3 It would meet needs by doing at least one of the following: 

• Develop advanced practice workforce capability and capacity to meet either newly emerging or increasing population/patient care needs in a specific area of practice. 
• Integrate developments (e.g. technological, or arising from research) into advanced practice capability and capacity to meet population/patient care needs more effectively or efficiently and to achieve sustainability. 
• Develop the required advanced practice workforce capability and capacity to meet population/patient needs through a new model of care or mode of service delivery (e.g. in a different environment, through a different medium, or enacting a new or more structured approach to the risk stratification of patients within a specific area of care or service delivery). 
• Progress a new approach to multi-disciplinary team-working to increase workforce capacity and mobility in response to population/patient need. 
• Address an identified risk to providing safe, effective and timely care to a specific population/patient group. 

1.4 It relates to a workforce development need that is not currently addressed by one of the following: 

• An existing Centre-endorsed credential specification. 
• A credential specification that is currently in development and that is due to be considered for Centre endorsement. 
• Established advanced-level practice learning and development provision that either already exists at scale or has the potential for further development and rollout. 

1.5 It relates to developing workforce capability and capacity on a multi-professional basis, in all the following ways:  

• Meeting population, patient care and service delivery needs safely, effectively and efficiently, including in ways that address health inequalities.
• Developing advanced-level practice capability within specified regulated professions. 
• Demonstrating attention to equality, diversity and inclusivity issues in its approach to workforce development.  

1.6 It would contribute to local clinical governance arrangements to uphold and enhance safe, effective and efficient workforce development and deployment, including by addressing at least one of the following needs: 

• Strengthening arrangements for assuring the safety, efficacy and effectiveness of deploying advanced-level practice workforce capability and capacity.  
• Addressing an identified system-level need to deploy the workforce differently, including by strengthening assurance of, and confidence in, advanced practice workforce capacity and capability. 
• Strengthening arrangements for enabling workforce mobility across different services and teams by providing assurance of advanced practice workforce capability. 
• Supporting the delivery of a new model of care at scale by building and enhancing advanced practice workforce capability and capacity. 
• Addressing a current or projected risk to service delivery and workforce supply that could impact on the quality of patient experience and outcomes.

2. The potential credential specification would be feasible to develop and deliver and provide a return on investment for patient care, service delivery and workforce development.

2.1 It would be possible to develop a credential specification effectively and efficiently, including from the following perspectives:                                                           

• It could be developed within a reasonable, defined timeframe in response to the defined workforce development and deployment need. 
• Its development would be informed by an appropriate body of expertise, including in terms of the evidence base relating to need and safe, effective responses to this. 
• There is sufficient interest and engagement in contributing to its development, including to secure the required breadth and depth of perspectives and to achieve an inclusive, collaborative approach. 

2.2 It would be feasible to implement, including in terms of available resources, capacity and capability to deliver it and interest in taking it up.  

2.3 It would meet workforce development need that exists at scale in at least one of the following ways: 

• Across integrated care pathways. 
• Across geographies; i.e. the need does not just exist in one locality.
• At a system level; i.e. the need does not just relate to one specific service delivery model or, if the case, the need for the model exists at a system level. 

2.4 It would have the prospect of fulfilling all the following requirements:

• Be suitable for integration within higher education institutions’ advanced-level practice education provision.
• Be suitable for delivery on a free-standing basis to be undertaken by practitioners who have already successfully completed an advanced practice Master’s degree or demonstrated educational equivalence with this (e.g. to meet the needs of advanced-level practitioners moving specialty or job role and/or responding to changing service delivery needs).  
• Be suitable for delivery by multiple education providers.
• Enable flexible engagement and take-up, including from an equality, diversity and inclusion perspective and in ways that respond to the needs of practitioners from different professions, job roles, practice environments and geographies.  

3. The potential credential specification would address specific advanced-level practice workforce development needs.

3.1 It would reflect the nature and demands of advanced-level practice and learning and development at academic level 7.
3.2 It would relate to advanced-level practice within which specific capabilities can usefully and meaningfully be articulated.
3.3 It would define distinctive area-specific advanced-level capabilities that align with the capabilities set out in Multi-professional Advanced Practice Framework.
3.4 It would define a standardised component of learning and assessment (curriculum framework) that would do all the following:

• Address a high-risk/-stakes/-volume workforce development need.
• Form a safe, effective and efficient way to address the identified advanced-level practice workforce development needs.
• Support sufficient flexibility to be responsive to and inclusive of workforce development needs, including in the context of change.
• Form a proportionate solution to meeting the defined workforce development needs.