On a journey to excellence

One of Ruth May's key priorities as chief nursing officer for England (CNO) is to empower nurses, midwives and care staff to be involved in shared decision-making, and collective leadership. As part of this strategy, NHS England (2019) and NHS Improvement (NHSI) are supporting the first national cohort of organisations to apply to join the global Pathway to Excellence^® accreditation.

The American Nurses Credentialing Centre (ANCC) Pathway to Excellence programme is a ‘nursing excellence’ framework, aiming to create a positive practice environment for nursing staff that improves nurse satisfaction and retention (ANCC, 2019). The programme aligns closely with the CNO's national vision to establish an England-wide collective leadership model with a focus on transformational leadership, research and innovation.

The Pathway to Excellence programme was developed into a national scheme in 2007, having started out as a US regional scheme to improve nurse retention. Against the backdrop of the UK's recruitment and retention needs, many nurse leaders, including myself, have put ourselves forward to join the NHSI collaborative to experience the benefits of a real focus on our practice environments. The ANCC describe the Pathway standards as strongly associated with the following: