Southampton senior Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioner alumni pass on valuable career advice

Since specialist Advanced Neonatal Nurse Practitioner (ANNP) training was first pioneered in 1992 by the University of Southampton over 350 qualified ANNPs, who trained here, are now working in neonatal units across the UK.

Southampton remains the major training centre for ANNPs and attracts students from all over the British Isles and as far away as Switzerland.

Recently a group of Southampton alumni ANNPs returned to the University to speak with the current set of trainee ANNPs, who are part of the Health Sciences’ largest ever cohort.

The aim of the session was to provide the current students with a unique insight into the many opportunities there are for the ANNP role to be developed further following clinical consolidation.

The alumni provided excellent examples of how they have continued to build on their clinical expertise, further develop their leadership skills, deliver education to medical and nursing colleagues, participate in research and be actively involved in neonatal clinical professional development on a national level.

The careers of our ANNP alumni include working as a Neonatal Nurse Consultant, working at one of the few ANNP led neonatal units in the country, working at a senior medical level on the London Neonatal Transport Service, working on the medical middle tier rota in Southampton, and undertaking a PhD.

MSc Advanced Clinical Practice (Neonatal Pathway) leader, Susan Smith, said: “This was such a beneficial experience for our current ANNP cohort to be able to see the many opportunities there are for career development from this unique training pathway. We are very fortunate to have such a wealth of expertise and such a loyal alumni group.”