Transition to Practice Program

The Transition to Practice Program (TPP) provides an evidence-based framework of support over 12 months to nurses who have recently transitioned to primary health care (recently graduated or experienced nurses moving from another setting).

Please contact APNA if you are a PHN looking to sponsor additional places

Applications for Group 1 are now closed.
All applicants will be advised of the outcome of their application 25 January 2019
Applications for Group 2 will re-open in April 2019.

Before you apply, please review the below important information:

1. Program and Application Overview document
2. TPP Program Summary
3. Program Key Dates
4. Program Q&A

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.

TPP Program Summary

All important information can be found in the program and application overview document. The program will support a maximum of 150 nurses who have recently transitioned to primary health care, in a series of four small groups over a four year period (2018 – 2022). Below is a brief overview of the TPP program;

Who can apply?
APNA is looking for applications from transitioning nurses and mentors who wish to support them.

Transitioning Nurses: Must be a registered or enrolled nurse who has recently transitioned to primary health care and is currently working (or will be by program start) in a primary health care setting for a minimum of 14 hours per week. There is no cut off date for having transitioned. If you feel you need assistance, you are able to apply.

Clinical and professional mentors: Must be a registered nurse (or a Nurse Practitioner) who has worked for four or more years in a primary health care environment. Will receive $2,400 per transitioning nurse they mentor

Primary Health Care Settings/Workplaces: Must be accredited with an appropriate organisation i.e. RACGP Standards for General Practice, ACHS Evaluation and Quality Improvement Program or other. Will receive $2,000 to use for each transitioning nurse to participate in the program. Can be any setting outside of acute care. This may include (but is not limited to):

Aboriginal and/or Torres Strait Islander Health Care
Correctional/Justice health
Community care
General practice and many more.

Program Components:

Introductory workshop - All nurses need to be available for a 1-day introductory program workshop. APNA pays for all travel and expenses related to this workshop
Education - Click here to view all education provided in the program. The 12 core education activities are to be completed by program end. All education is specific to primary health care nursing (PHC) i.e. immunisation, ear irrigation and more.
Clinical and professional mentoring -This will be provided by an experienced primary health care nurse (10 month period) who has been matched to the Transitioning Nurse by APNA. Minimum of 40 hours to be provided.
Self-assessment tool - APNA has developed a self-assessment framework specifically for the program to assist in CPD planning and prioritisation of education needs
Quarterly reporting - All participants are required to submit a quarterly report to APNA
Program support - Continual support will be provided by APNA for all participants

Time required to participate: The program requires the workplace to provide a minimum of 50 hours of protected time for the Transitioning Nurse to participate in the program. It is also expected that the Transitioning nurse and Mentors will need to participate in the program in their own time.

Key program milestones can be found here

Program Key Dates:

As the program has multiple groups starting on different dates, applications for each group will re-open closer to their respective start dates.

Group 1: February 2019 - January 2020 (applications closed)
Group 2: September 2019 - August 2020 (applications open April 2019)
Group 3: July 2020 - June 2021
Group 4: May 2021 - April 2022

Group 1 Key Dates:

Activity	Date
Application period	October 2018 – 3 December 2018
Notification of successful and unsuccessful applicants Contracts signed	25 January 2019
Program induction workshop
Group 1: Date and location TBA

^{*Participant location and matched dates are indicative only. Please ensure you are available for either of these two dates regardless of location. Final decision pending successful applicants’ locations. Successful applicants will be advised of final location and date.}

Contact

transitiontopractice@apna.asn.au or 1300 303 184

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

TPPP 2016-2018 Overview

TPPP 2016-2018 Overview The 2016-2018 APNA Transition program is now completed. Overall, the program has delivered and evaluated an accessible and structured 12 month transition program over two tranches. The aim was to increase the confidence, skills and knowledge of nurses, commencing work in primary health care settings to aid in the recruitment and retention of primary health care nurses¹ The program was delivered in two tranches with nurses who have recently commenced work in primary health care. The timeframes for each tranche are: Tranche 1: April 2016 to March 2017 – Completed Tranche 2: April 2017 to March 2018 – Completed Program elements Over 50 Transitioning Nurses were selected to participate in the Transition to Practice Pilot Program over both tranches Each Transitioning Nurse is supported by at least one experienced registered nurse, who is their Clinical and Professional Mentor for the duration of the program (see the TPPP Overview Poster at the end of the page for more detail) APNA support, which includes APNA providing funding to the Transitioning Nurse's: - Workplace and - Clinical and Professional Mentor A self-assessment framework to help the Transitioning Nurse identify, prioritise and plan their needs throughout the program Education to complete Involvement in program evaluation For more information about these programs, please see the below documents. Supporting Nurses moving into primary health care: PT Spring 2016 Transitioning into Primary Health Care - A new opportunity for nurses: PT Autumn 2016 Primary Times Article: The hidden cost of not supporting nurses Enabling Nurses to Work at Full Capacity and Work Within Scope: Primary Times Article, Winter 2017 Supporting nurses moving into primary health care- PT_Spring_2016.pdf Transitioning into Primary Health Care - A new opportunity for nurses PT_Autumn_2016-2.pdf TPP 2015-2018 Overview Poster Tranche 2 Participants Tranche 1 Participants TPPPCommunique#1 TPPPCommunique#2 TPPPCommunique#3 TPPP Update 4 February 2017 Communique TPPP Update 15 March 2017 Communique TPPP May 2017 Communique Update ^{1 For the purposes of the APNA Transition to Practice program, primary health care settings are considered to be workplaces outside of the acute health care setting – including aged care, correctional health, community care and general practice.}