The implementation and evaluation of the AHP educator career framework

Background: The Long-Term Workforce Plan (NHS, 2023) sets an ambitious target to increase Allied Health Professional (AHP) training places by 25% to over 18,800 by 2031/32, and the Educator Workforce Strategy (NHSE 2023) emphasises that AHP educator development is crucial to this change. The AHP Educator career framework was launched in 2023 by Health Education England in collaboration with the Council of Deans for Health to respond to this need. To facilitate implementation NHS South East sought to i) co-produce a single point of entry access to a learning platform for AHP practice educators and ii) support the implementation of the AHP Educator career framework, which prompted this collaborative project.

Research Methodology: The project was led by Canterbury Christ Church University, University of Winchester and University of Southampton in partnership. Informed by implementation science, a theory of change was collaboratively developed (De Silva et al 2014). Appreciate inquiry methods were used to establish AHP needs, and then formulate the design and content of two key outputs. First, an innovative interactive web-based tool was created, to enable AHPs at any level to navigate their own educator career pathway. Secondly a resource for single point of access to practice educator training was constructed. Evaluative outcomes to measure implementation success were also developed.

Key findings: The key themes from the Appreciate inquiry activity indicated the need for i) rich sources of information, ii) clear visual pathways, iii) lived examples, iv) accessibility, v) celebrating educator development. The interactive AHP educator career framework was built on these principles and launched on 8/10/24 on the NHS Learning Hub, and the FutureNHS Collaboration Platform provides a breadth of resources for practice educators. Early findings from the evaluation implementation will be presented.

Lessons learned: While policy and frameworks are developed, change in practice is slow to respond. It was challenging to find practitioners who had used the framework in a systematic way, with time, organisation structure and funding as key limits to educator development. Ongoing work is needed to continue to grow and sustain the educator workforce.
Why relevant to the healthcare sector: With the emphasis on person-centred care, the clinical pillar of practice has long been prioritised. Recent research and policy have recognised how education, research and leadership pillars must be given equal footing to sustain high quality health and social care. This implementation highlights the continued importance of organisations, managers and individuals to seek and celebrate educator career development opportunities to enable all Allied Health professions to thrive in response to workforce demands.

Ethical approval was obtained through the CCCU Faculty of Medicine, Health and Social Care Ethics Panel ETH2324-0326