Hitherto practice referring to the assessment, prevention and management of pressure ulcers developed by community nurses and care staff was underpinned by partnership and effective communication. Community nurses relied both on carers imminent relationship established with residents and their ability to report back any concerns regarding patients’ skin integrity. In return – community nurses carried out monthly, holistic assessments considering indicators such as MUST, Waterlow, performing thorough, visual check of patients’ skin, evaluating and ordering pressure relieving equipment. 

Pandemic outbreak of COVID19 ceased the current practice. Most care homes have been closed to visitors since the lockdown began to prevent the spread of Covid-19 and protect their vulnerable residents. The number of health professionals entering facilities has been limited to GPs and paramedics. Community nurses were called to assist the group of the most complex patients (palliative, complex wound care, catheterised patients). The reality of lockdown utterly deconstructed the mode of communication and ways of care delivery putting more responsibilities, including wound management and assessment, onto caring staff. Community nurses offered help and support by coaching senior carers in delivering basic, safe wound care including pressure ulcers prevention and treatment. The task was delegated to myself – the Nursing Associate - within the scope of the new role outlined in The NMC Code,  NMC Standards of Proficiency for Nursing Associates and Nursing Associate Curriculum Framework.

The multileveled complexity of delivering proficient coaching sessions to the group of coachees without specific, nursing knowledge will be debated in the first section of the analytical part of the essay. Foremost, the principles of coaching and various coaching strategies will be taken into consideration. The implementation of one of them will be validated to facilitate effective learning for the chosen group. Having scrutinized the existing, evidence-based literature and after recognizing  learning needs along with  the learners’ profile, I am inclined to implement a developmental model of group coaching (Wageman 2005, Grant 2010) taking coachees on the journey from “out-of sync” toward “full aligned” phases of their development as committed and upskilled care workers.   

In “Getting to know your coachees” section of the essay, there will be learning profiles of participants outlined and their coaching needs identified according to evidence-based literature. At a starting point I am going to elaborate on challenges and opportunities associated with adult learning such as strong motivation, self-directness alongside with possible limited capabilities, longstanding habits or coercion of additional responsibilities. It will be followed by an attempt to explore pre-existing knowledge underpinned by the care certificate and experience in caring. In portraying the learners, I am going to utilise their imminent relationships established with the home’s residents and continuity of care they provide. I am going to recognize possible disabilities and limitations preventing participants from being fully engaged or benefiting from the sessions.  Gathered that way details about the group will aid me to develop various resources and means which will be utilised in the process of coaching.

 According to Gamester (2015) constructive feedback is at the heart of the faultless relationship established between the group and its coach. It is about supporting the group to achieve a better outcome and it requires from all parties involved in learning process to put aside their interests, acknowledge differences in styles and focus on what will help the group in question. Whilst delivering feedback, I am going to focus on its constructive attributes, which can be achieved by highlighting things that have gone well, exploring areas for improvement, and providing tips on how to be even more successful in the future. Delivery of the feedback will be underpinned by using appropriate, composed vocabulary and body language free from judgemental or adverse tones. It will facilitate constructive interaction, create safe environment and climate of trust and openness. In this paragraph, I am going also to consider how distance coaching might influence the effectiveness of constructive feedback and what techniques to use to put it forward.

In “ A continuous, caring relationship” section of the analytical piece, ramification of care provision will be debated upon and continuity of seamless care will be identified as one of the most desirable outcomes from the sessions. The expectation is that upskilled, confident senior staff will collate newly acquired knowledge with imminent, long standing relationship with patients under their care. It will provide patients with safe, prompt, seamless assessment delivered by the person they trust. This kind of alignment is the most desirable in lockdown environment when physical comorbidities of an individual are affiliated with anxiety, a sense of isolation and loneliness.

The first group of Nursing Associates entered the NMC registration a year ago. The role bridges the gap between healthcare assistants and registered nurses, contributing to the delivery of better, safer care for people across England in a variety of health and social care settings. Being accountable, registered professionals, Nursing Associates are bonded by the legacy of The NMC Code. In “Share your skills, knowledge and experience…” section of analytical part of the critic essay, I am going to relate learning outcomes applicable for this assessment to the documents underpinning Nursing Associates role such as: notations form section 9 of Practise effectively paragraph of The Code, standards presented on Platform 4 Working in teams Standards of Proficiency for Nursing Associates.

In the last paragraph of the critical essay I am going to reflect on the impact of coaching process on myself as a coaching facilitator. According to collected feedback from the learners, I am going to evaluate effectiveness of communication with the group, functionality of used resources and approaches used in future to redesign the structure of coaching.

In this section, I am going to elaborate on the leadership potential (or lack thereof) revealed during the episodes of coaching. I will attempt to recognise strong points and weaknesses prominent whilst teaching and bring them forward as a background for further professional development.