In the United Kingdom, there is an urgent need to reshape the National Health Service (NHS) workforce to equip it to meet the changing demands of the population it serves and deliver the vision set out in the Next Steps on the NHS Five Year Forward View (2017) and recently published NHS Plan (2019). One of the key elements to this is the continuing development, support and utilisation of Advanced Clinical Practice (ACP) roles.

Advanced Clinical Practitioners are educated to Masters Level in clinical practice and assessed as competent in practice using their expert clinical knowledge and skills. They have the freedom and authority to act, making their own decisions in the assessment, diagnosis and treatment of patients.

Although the level of education and assessment of competence are common for ACPs working in all areas, training and supervision varies between primary and secondary care, specialties and sites.

The proposed research will explore ACP experiences of how they develop clinical competence and their opinions on role identity, specifically:

• Factors that have influenced their clinical competency achievements.
• Training experience (clinical and external education opportunities)
• Experience of educational/ clinical supervision and its benefits.
• Self-identified knowledge gaps, with a focus on mental health.
• Future ACP role identity

Inclusion Criteria:

• Qualified ACP or trainee ACP who has completed at least 1 years (FTE) of ACP clinical training
• Currently working in this role within either Primary or Secondary Care and based in South Yorkshire and Bassetlaw.

Exclusion Criteria:

• Unable to communicate in English

The participants will be NHS staff working in the Yorkshire and Bassetlaw region as ACPs (qualified or in training).