Clinical Leadership in Women's Health

Clinical leadership is a key element of providing high quality care across health and social care. This resource is designed to help and support those with a leadership role in gynaecology and women's health. Women deserve to be cared for by the right health care professional, with the right knowledge and skills to meet the unique needs of these women. This leads to greater patient satisfaction and improves the patient journey and experience.

Intelligence gathering suggested that there were challenges for gynaecology matrons in their efforts to fulfil this critically important role. This can be related to the support needed to action competing priorities in the practice area. It is also related to the changing service configurations in Women's services and gynaecology wards in recent years. Reports included concerns that some gynaecology wards have been integrated to other service areas, where some women needing inpatient care in gynaecology may be placed in different wards across a busy acute trust. 

It is essential that nurses are enabled to provide the specialist nursing care and support these women require though the leadership of their matrons.

In order to support this aim, a group, The Matron Network, had been convened to support matrons working in gynaecology. Good practice could be shared, such as job descriptions, business cases and areas of good practice.

Since the formation of the network, this has expanded to include members in other clinical leadership roles such as clinical nurse specialists, lead nurses, nurse sonographers, heads of nursing and directors in all areas of gynaecology and women's health.

The Leadership Network

The Leadership Network is a virtual network to provide help and support, and if you would like to join the network please contact Belinda Champion or Emma Ayling.

The network aims to meet virtually about every 8 weeks to discuss ideas, issues and provide help and peer support including the opportunity to hear from expert speakers.

This group is a valuable networking resource for clinical leaders to learn from each other, looking at the issues and challenges being faced and discussing the good practice that happens within gynaecology and women’s health across the UK. An example of this can be seen with a sample job description for a Band 6 gynaecology nurse who covers the gynaecology patients who are placed on different wards to ensure their needs are met.

If you have a particular question, query or idea to ask the network, then please contact Emma Ayling.

• do you have a new way of working?
• do you have competencies?
• or are you looking at developing them? 

We plan to develop a bank of examples that you can use, which an be accessed via the network, including:

• gynaecology ward
• gynaecology outpatients – HCA and RN 
• vaginal speculum competencies 
• endometrial biopsy 
• bimanual examination 
• nurse administration of methotrexate
• assisting in Gynaecology assessment
• nurse assessment skills
• pregnancy loss management
• insertion of vaginal pessaries
• hysteroscopy clinic 
• colposcopy clinic 
• administration PV misoprostol
• late miscarriage and TOP
• removal of vaginal packs supporting female examination, testing and treatment UHS
• enhanced Recovery Guideline and Local Safety Standards for Invasive Procedures  (LocSSip)
• Advanced Nurse Practitioner (ANP) hysteroscopy job descriptions.

New way of working for gynaecology nurses

When there is no ward but women are spread throughout the hospital, gynaecology nurses see the women on any ward to ensure that they get the best care possible and advice that they need, see: Sample job description band 6 inpatient nurse.

Please note membership of the RCN or the RCN Women’s Health Forum is not a prerequisite of joining this group, however if you wish to explore membership of the RCN, please see: Join the RCN.

RCN Women’s Health Forum 

To find out more about the forums activities, see: Our work.

The RCN's Women's Health Forum has also developed a range of resources, see: Women's health.