Transition to Practice Program

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...My confidence since completing is 200% better than where it was when I started. I love primary practice and all that it has to offer me professionally but I also love this aspect of patient care, that I have a real opportunity to make a change in their health journey. I hope one day that I might be able to take on a mentor role, and repay the favour!! Transitioning Nurse: 2020 Program

The Transition to Practice Program provides an evidence-based framework of support over 12 months to nurses who have transitioned to primary health care and feel they would benefit from additional support.

The program will support a maximum of 150 nurses Australia wide, who have recently transitioned to primary health care. There will be four small groups and intakes, over a four year period (2018–2022). Information on previous programs and successful applicants can be found in the documents at the end of this page.

Please note: This program does not match or allocate nurses to a workplace. Nurses must already be working in a primary health care setting (or ensure they are by the time the program starts) to apply. If you don't currently have a job in primary health care, click here to check out the top tips we've prepared for when you're looking for a job in primary health care.

Statement of support and information for workplaces

APNA has developed a one page information sheet for nurses to give to their managers if they are applying for the program, which includes a statement of support to upload with your application (optional for mentors):

Transitioning Nurse: Download the information sheet and statement of support here
Clinical and professional mentor: Download the information sheet and statement of support here

Program overview

All information can be found in this Program Overview document.

Program key dates

Group	Application dates	Application outcome notification	Program Duration	Induction workshop
1	Closed		February 2019 – January 2020	Completed
2	Closed		September 2019 – August 2020	Completed
3	Closed		July 2020 – June 2021	Completed
4	Feb - 16 April 2021	29 April - 7 May 2021	May 2021 – April 2022	21 May 2021*

^{*Dates are indicative only. Please ensure you are available for all of the dates stated, regardless of location. Successful applicants will be advised of confirmed date at the time of notification.}

What's involved?

Program induction training:

Compulsory one-day program induction training for all nurses in the program. Details will be made available closer to each program start date

Education:

View the education provided in the program
APNA has over 150 education activities for nurses to access.
Nurses are expected to complete the 12 core education activities by program end
Education has been divided up as
- Core: education crucial for nurses to know within their first 12 months
- Key: education important for nurses to know within their first 12 months and
- Optional activities: additional education available in or outside of the program

Clinical and professional mentoring (mentors):

An experienced registered primary health care nurse (or nurse practitioner) with four or more years experience in primary health care who will support a maximum of two transitioning nurses over 10 months.
Mentors will focus on their transitioning nurses' skills development, career, and personal skills development and growth.
A minimum of 40 hours of clinical and professional mentoring is to be provided (directly or indirectly)
The mentor is supported by APNA throughout the program
Mentors are provided with $2,400 per transitioning nurse they support

Self-assessment tool:

An online self-assessment tool to assist nurses with prioritising and planning their education needs throughout the program.

Quality improvement:

All participants are required to provide regular feedback about the program to APNA. One such example is the submission of a quarterly report (template provided by APNA).

APNA Program support:

All participants are supported by APNA throughout the program.

Reimbursement note:

Transitioning Nurses are reimbursed for the protected time required (50 hours over 12 months) required to participate in the program ($2,000 ex GST).
Clinical and professional mentors are reimbursed for their time required to participate in the program ($2,400 ex GST per transitioning nurse they mentor)

Who can apply?

APNA is looking for applications from nurses all over Australia, from:

Transitioning nurses and
Experienced nurses working in primary health care who will mentor them

All nurses need to ensure they have adequate professional indemnity insurance that will provide them with cover if they do any offsite visits, i.e. visiting mentor's/mentee's place of work for observation purposes.

Contact

Rebekah Cox: Program Manager

Rosie Oldham: Project Officer

transitiontopractice@apna.asn.au or 1300 303 184

^{Please note this information is subject to change.}

^{The Transition to Practice Program has been funded by the Australian Government Department of Health}

TPP Q&A

Do I have to be an APNA member to apply? No. This program is open to all nurses regardless of APNA membership. We certainly always encourage membership as belonging to your professional association says much about your commitment and contribution to improving the health of all Australians.
Is there any cost for the program? No. This program is funded by the Australian Department of Health. Nurses are not required to pay for the program. The only cost required are the time commitments as described in the program overview.
What documentation will I need when applying? A recent copy of your CV (required for mentors, optional for transitioning nurses). No cover letter required. Workplace statement of support (optional but recommended): Transitioning nurse statement of support from workplace Mentor statement of support from workplace Workplace accreditation expiry date (if your workplace is accredited) Your workplace contact details Your contact details
What is the time and commitment required for the Program?

The program is run over 12 months, with Mentor's being involved for 10 of those months.

The time required to participate will vary from person to person and fluctuate over time. Generally, time is heavily spent in the first 4 months (front-end-loaded) and often tapers off towards the end.

It is expected that both the Transitioning Nurse and Clinical and Professional Mentor participate in the program in their own time, outside of the funding provided. This is estimated to be about 3 hours per week - again this will vary for individuals and will fluctuate over the program.

The program provides requires the below time commitments:

Clinical and Professional Mentor: 40 hours of contact time (direct or indirect) with the Transitioning Nurse (funded) + their own time (estimated around 3 hours a week)

Transitioning Nurse: Receive funding for 50 hours of protected time + your own time (estimated around 3 hours a week)
Is this program a graduate year or count towards any formal qualifications? This program is not known as a graduate year but provides a significant amount of support and education for nurses who are new to primary health care nursing This program provides access to over 30 CPD hours that nurses can use towards their CPD requirements for registration
Will the program match a transitioning nurse with a workplace or a workplace with a transitioning nurse? No. It is not in the scope of the program to provide a job placement service for nurses or workplaces with nurses.
Is there a maximum timeframe that a transitioning nurse is considered ‘new’ for? If you have recently commenced working in primary health care, and you consider yourself to be new to primary health care, you are eligible to apply All transitioning nurses will be matched with clinical and professional mentors who have had four or more years of experience in primary health care nursing.
Can enrolled nurses be a clinical and professional mentor? Enrolled nurses can participate as transitioning nurse but not a clinical and professional mentor. This is due to: The broader professional scope of practice of registered nurses and The professional and clinical mentor may mentor more than one nurse and needs to have the appropriate skills to mentor both registered and enrolled nurses.
If I’ve completed education prior to this program will this be recognised? Education completed prior to the program may be recognised and go towards completion of certain aspects of the program, i.e. immunisation. As a number of education activities have been developed specifically for this program, not all prior education will be able to be recognised for this program.
If I (as a mentor) don’t complete the required 40 hours of mentoring within the 10 months can I continue past the 10 month mark? Yes. This program is designed to provide 10 months of intensive mentoring support. However, If the 40 hours are unable to be completed within the 10 months, the mentoring may continue past the official 10 month mark.
How long will it take me to complete the application? This will depend on how long your answers are, but on average it could take between 30-45 minutes.
Will I get a copy of my application? Your responses will be available in your Mentorloop profile.