Child Protection Nurse Specialist 1

Job/Role Summary

• Standard setting
• Child protection focus groups
• Risk assessment and management in child protection cases
• Child protection supervision to community nurses, health visitors, school nurses and community children’s nurses
• Auditing and monitoring child protection practice
• Participation in local, regional and national child protection forums
• Provide a resource to nurse managers on issues of child protection
• Prepare, attend and debrief staff at court/ case conferences
• Participate and develop training at a multi-disciplinary level
• Policy development
• Participate in case management reviews
• Development of communication within multi-disciplinary, multi-agency setting

Specific qualifications and experience required

• Registered general nurse
• Registered Health Visitor with 5 years experience
• Experience in child protection issues

Career Milestones

After qualifying as a registered sick children’s nurse I gathered a range of experience in working with children who were ill and their families. During my years as a Health Visitor I found myself working with a number of ‘high level’ vulnerable families and collaborating with other disciplines and agencies in order to achieve a good outcome for the families involved. Having gained a BSc (Hons) in Professional Development In Nursing I worked part time as a temporary lecturer in Community children’s nursing where I gained an insight into working within an academic institution and assessing competence to practice. The experience I gained in establishing, in partnership with both statutory and voluntary agencies, a local ‘Homestart’ scheme proved invaluable and I continue to be a member of the management committee where I am learning new skills in dealing with employment issues, bidding for funds, and training volunteers. A number of development opportunities have influenced me during my career such as, the Clinical Nurse Leadership Programme, the RCN leadership programme and winning the Florence Nightingale Foundation travel Scholarship which allowed me to travel to England where I visited an innovative new service dealing with ‘looked after’ children.

What attracted you to this job?

• Keen interest in child protection issues and experience in this area
• A desire to become involved in leadership in this area of practice and develop expertise
• A desire to become involved in strategic planning, training and support for staff working in this field of practice
• A desire to develop innovative practice within the area of child protection
• Career step – higher grade of position

Enjoyable aspects of the job/role

• Working with a wide range of professionals and voluntary staff
• Working at a more strategic level
• Making a difference to children and their families and the lives they lead

Important success factors

• Informal mentoring and role-modelling by the predecessor of my post
• Being accepted and viewed as credible by those I support
• Having a high level of experience in child protection during my years as a Health Visitor and continuing with my professional development on an ongoing basis

Advice for those considering the type of job/role?

This post requires a high level of communication skills particularly: confrontational skills, negotiating skills, conflict resolution and objectivity. You are often required to make decisions under pressure.You must have the ability to recognize and manage risk. Close collaborative working and networking with other agencies is crucial to the role. There can be high levels of stress but you will find the job rewarding in challenging situations. You have a high level of accountability; however you will find it rewarding to develop expertise within one specialist area.The job opens up opportunities to work with peers across the province and at DHSSPS level.You will need to continue to constantly develop yourself professionally.

Key skills that can be gained within this job/role?

• Leadership skills
• Negotiation and confrontation skills
• Conflict resolution
• Ability to work under pressure
• Networking skills
• Project management
• Change management
• Ability to represent nursing at various levels
• Skills in development of policy and procedures
• Clinical and social care governance skills
• Motivational skills
• Recruitment and selection skills

Career Profiles