Updated RCN resources for band 5 nurses

In case you missed it, the review is your opportunity to get proper recognition through fair pay and banding for the job that you are required to do today.

The review is open to band 5 nurses across all fields of practice, specialties and settings and there is no qualifying period for eligibility.

We are in no doubt that this is an excellent opportunity for band 5 nurses. But we have had feedback in the months since the review opened, that the questionnaire you are required to complete and submit is too long and time consuming, requiring lots of repetitive information.

This prompted us to take another look at the questionnaire, as well as reviewing our questionnaire guidance document and all available support materials, to map out what a member’s journey through the review looks like.

The result of this work is refreshed RCN guidance which we are launching today (15 January). 

The key changes are:

• Inclusion of information about national profiles and what they mean to the review
• Information about how staff doing the same job submit a grouped application
• Focus on using matched job reports (the existing assessment for posts) to tailor which questions need to be answered
• A checklist of actions to help guide members through the process

We expect that following our guidance will reduce the number of questions many of you will need to complete to around 20-25, so I’m sure you’ll agree this makes the application much more manageable. 

I’d also urge you to think about the quality of your answers. A concise answer relevant to the guidance with a short example will suffice in most situations and make the job of the assessors much easier.

Look out in the coming weeks for information on our website about band 5 nursing roles roadshows we are currently planning. These will take us to many different workplaces across Scotland, visiting all health boards.