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Health Education and Improvement Wales (HEIW) is strengthening Wales’ Primary and Community Care nursing workforce through a developing pipeline of learning opportunities, beginning with high quality student placements in general practice and wider community settings.
Partnering with health boards, Higher Education Institutions (HEIs) and GP practices, the development of community nursing pipelines is an essential part of HEIW’s commitment to delivering Community by Design. This work is further strengthening how Primary and Community Care teams learn and collaborate, ensuring students experience models of care that reflect the evolving needs of communities across Wales.
Placements give student nurses meaningful, real world experience while helping them build confidence, understand community based care, and explore the breadth of nursing roles available outside hospital environments. Through strong collaboration between HEIW, GP practices, health boards and universities, placements offer valuable early exposure to Primary and Community Care and form the first stage of HEIW’s wider workforce pipeline.
General Practice Nurses play an essential role in delivering person centred, preventative care across Wales. Placements offer student nurses first hand experience of this varied environment, supporting people at different stages of their lives and contributing to long term condition management, prevention and early intervention.
By linking academic study with supervised clinical practice, placements help students deepen their understanding of the complexity and importance of community based nursing, while strengthening their confidence to apply their learning in real settings.
Insights gathered through HEIW’s work with health boards and GP practices highlight several positive themes from recent cohorts:
Opportunities for learners: 259 student nurses have now completed a full General Practice Nurse (GPN) placement between January 2024 – March 2026 - supported by a network of GP surgeries providing high quality learning environments.
Positive learner experiences: Students consistently report high levels of support (96%) and valuable learning (98%). Many also say the experience has helped shape their interest in pursuing a career as a GPN (76%).
Strong supervision and support: More than 300 GPNs are trained as Practice Assessors and/or Practice Supervisors, strengthening support for learners across Primary and Community Care. These teams create supportive, multi-professional learning environments that help students build confidence safely.
These placements also open the door to rich interprofessional learning. Innovative models, such as shared placements between General Practice Nurses and Newport’s Place Based Care Team, give students a rare, immersive view of collaborative, multiagency care with patients and communities at the centre. Ninety-eight percent of students reported spending time with health/social care professionals other than nurses during their placement with a GPN.
Placements provide structured opportunities for students to develop clinical, communication and decision making skills in a safe and supported environment. Learners gain hands on experience in areas such as wound care, immunisation, venepuncture, chronic disease management, health education and multidisciplinary working.
For patients and communities, this means student nurses are building essential skills in real clinical settings, supported by experienced GPNs who help nurture safe, confident and capable future practitioners.
Student placements form the first step in HEIW’s Primary and Community Care workforce pipeline. Early exposure helps students understand the realities of community based nursing and inspires many to consider careers in community services including general practice after registration.
Together, these early learning experiences create a clearer pathway into Primary and Community Care - beginning with student placements and continuing, for those entering general practice, through structured development opportunities once registered.
For registered nurses joining general practice, HEIW provides early career development through the General Practice Nursing (GPN) Foundation Programme - a nine-month programme for nurses employed by GP practices.
Two recently qualified GPNs - Eve Grant and Florence Edwards - have shared their experiences of developing confidence, autonomy and capability through the GPN Foundation Programme.
Eve’s experience: confidence and clarity
Eve’s journey shows how hands on learning can support a developing interest in Primary and Community Care.
Eve Grant, General Practice Nurse, Meddygfa Lansdowne Surgery, said: “The programme helped me become a more confident, autonomous practitioner. I enjoy supporting patients through screening, health education, immunisation and both acute and chronic health needs. Primary care brings together everything I value in nursing.”
Having previously worked in general practice, Eve saw the Foundation Programme as an opportunity to return to the environment she enjoyed. Over nine months, she progressed from observing clinics to running her own with mentor support, balancing practice learning with structured study time.
She strengthened her clinical judgement and developed skills in wound care, chronic disease management and immunisation. Peer support and collaborative learning were highlights, alongside training that directly supported her day-to-day work.
Florence’s experience: autonomy and clinical expertise
Florence’s story reflects similar themes: confidence, responsibility and a growing sense of belonging in primary care.
Florence Edwards, General Practice Nurse, Brynderwen Surgery said: “The programme gave me the knowledge, skills and confidence I needed to thrive. Helping patients manage chronic conditions, building relationships and making a visible difference in their daily lives is incredibly rewarding. The Foundation Programme was the ideal start to my career in general practice.”
Her placement began with shadowing colleagues across the practice team before gradually taking on her own clinics - from B12 injections and wound care to hypertension reviews and prescribing pathways.
Remaining in the same practice after the programme helped her consolidate learning and transition confidently into her role, reinforcing her sense of belonging in Primary and Community Care
These placement experiences are delivered through close collaboration between HEIW, GP practices, Health Boards and universities. They help ensure students and nurses, who are new to general practice, develop the skills and confidence needed to provide safe, effective and person-centred care in Primary and Community Care settings. The reflections shared by recent trainees demonstrate how these learning opportunities already benefit patients and communities by supporting a skilled and confident future workforce.
Read more about Eve and Florence’s trainee experiences here.
To learn more about the programme, you can find more information here: GPN Programme - HEIW