Implementing a hosting model in general practice for adult nursing

The demand for nurses working in general practice settings is rapidly outstripping supply. This article outlines an initiative aimed at hosting students in general practice. Workforce shortages in primary care are widely recognised and reported. Increasing student nurses in primary care is seen as a key strategy for encouraging nursing students to opt for a career in primary care. However the organisation of placements generally means that adult nursing students are hosted by secondary care in acute NHS Trusts. Consequently, the majority of placements occur within the acute Trust and while adult nursing students may undertake placements in primary care, these are usually one-off rotational, elective or spoke placements. As a consequence completing students are far more likely to take up a post in secondary care, usually within their host Trust. This paper reports on a project which aimed to introduce general practice as a host organisation and in so doing ‘flipping’ the placement pattern allowing students to spend the majority of their placement time in primary care placements.