Information for patients
The title of Queen's Nurse (QN) used to be given only to district nurses who had been trained by the Queen's Nursing Institute until 1968.
We no longer train nurses, but we do provide them with professional support and development. The title of Queen's Nurse was reintroduced in 2006 to help promote a shared professional identity and to promote high standards for the benefit of patients.
Today's Queen's Nurses include not only district nurses, but also nurses in GPs practices, school nurses and others, who want to develop their skills. They are all qualified nurses who have had experience of working in people's own homes, in clinics, or in other community settings.
It is important to remember that the Queen's Nurse title is not a qualifaction. It is an indicator of a nurse's commitment to continuous learning for the benefit of patients.
To become a QN, a nurse gives us information about his or her qualifications, employment and training. They also write an essay about how they seek to improve patient care.
The QNI also obtains references from the nurse's employer, and asks for feedback from patients. An assessment panel then decides whether they meet the criteria to receive the QN title.
If you, as a patient, receive care from a community nurse, you might be asked to provide confidential feedback about your nurse (sent directly to us) if he or she has applied for the QN title.
We need this information in order to assess whether a nurse meets the right criteria, so your help is very valuable to us.
If you have any queries please contact us - details are on the 'Contact Us' page of this website.
