Preface 

Keep engaged and active in the RCN

As a member-led organisation, we work together with our members to:

• influence governments and other bodies
• improve working conditions
• campaign on issues to raise the profile of the nursing community.

The RCN promotes excellence in practice. We do this by influencing health policy that improves quality in health and social care. We give you the tools and resources needed to support you to deliver high-quality care. We also know that to help you to deliver the best care, you need to have fair employment terms and conditions. Plus, safe and healthy workplaces that protect and promote your continued professional development.

As a nursing union and professional body, the RCN has a unique strength and a strong voice. This voice could be individual support, guidance, and representation when members need it. We are a collective voice influencing for change to nursing practice, policy, or employment practices. Our aim is to increase investment in learning and development and improve health and safety in the workplace.

The RCN is also committed to lifelong learning and the development of our members, whether it be to improve the culture in your workplace, or care provision and experiences. We offer this in several ways including:

• Access to our library and learning platform: RCN Learn
• A range of programmes and services – free and paid-for courses are available
• Publications – covering a range of topics varying from clinical guidance to employment issues to advice on bullying.

These are aimed at enhancing your own skills and development and empowering your team to make service improvements. We can also offer a seal of approval for health care training via our RCN Accreditation scheme. Additionally, the RCN Credentialing service recognises advanced level practice in nursing and is open to nurses who can show that they are working at an advanced level.

Members say they want a visible RCN presence in the workplace. They want a person they can talk to who has the knowledge and skills to support them. As well as a network of organisational expertise to call on, members want the RCN to be at every table, where nursing decisions are made; leading and influencing from the nursing perspective. They also want their own lived experience, views and ideas heard and respected.

The RCN needs to be local and national, personal, and powerful, and it needs to listen and be listened to. It needs to be everywhere you need us to be and that is why active and engaged RCN members are so vital. Active RCN members build relationships in the workplace and professional communities and networks. They nurture understanding between members and employers, sharing what is important to them and ensuring the RCN leads the way in nursing. In a nutshell, it is the members that make it happen.

As a student member, you will have experienced some of the ways in which the RCN supports nurses and nursing. You may have had contact with an RCN student ambassador. They may have shown you our resources or connected you to our professional networks. They may also have work within your university on issues that were important to you. You may have connected with your student committee member and council representative. Who provide leadership and influence on your behalf to shape our work. Student ambassadors are a valued role in a huge network of active RCN members.

Now you are moving into your career as a registered nurse, we would like to show you how you can get active and stay connected. We will help you to find support when you need it, get your voice heard and be more involved as an active member. In this handbook, we will also direct you to key resources and activities. Later, we will set out various RCN roles you may wish to consider stepping into to become more active as a member.