We work closely with the Paediatric Research team and engage in a wide range of national and international paediatric critical care research trials.

Our team of Professional Nurse Advocates provide professional and personal support to all our nursing staff, as individuals or in groups.

Education and development

Education, development and training are provided through a structured competency-based development programme.

We run a PCCS accredited PCC L3 specialist course for nursing staff, and we offer ongoing development opportunities to our whole team. 

Senior nurses can also work across the retrieval and outreach team on a roster basis on completion of appropriate competencies.

We support staff to access national and international conferences and postgraduate courses, and we encourage our nursing team to complete projects for presentation or publication.

A variety of clinical and leadership career development pathways are available, and staff wishing to develop their leadership skills have access to a range of workshops and courses through Trust pathways.

What we offer

We offer a well-established Paediatric Critical Care Fundamentals programme that is integrated into the Trust and Children's Preceptorship programmes, designed to support nurses to meet the National Paediatric Critical Care Foundation Competencies.

We are one of the Pilot sites for Digital National Paediatric Critical Care competencies, which will be expanded to other Paediatric Critical Care units during 2025 to 2026.

Once the foundation competencies have been completed, staff have the opportunity to complete a Paediatric Critical Care L3 (ICU) course, which is run internally and accredited by the Paediatric Critical Care Society, allowing further development of careers in PCC.

Following this, we regularly run senior Band 5 leadership development days to support development to Band 6 roles.

Experienced Band 6 and Band 7 nurses have the opportunity to expand their practice even further, undertaking extra training to work within the Critical Care Outreach and Retrieval teams. Additional career opportunities include Clinical Education, Team Leader, Specialist Roles, and Research.

All staff are supported within structured line management teams.

An annual programme of additional specialist courses, team development, and clinical skills training is provided to support individual and team development.

What our staff say

"Being part of the Oxford PCC team has been incredibly rewarding. I've gained valuable experience through quality improvement projects, advanced therapies, and the nationally-recognised in-house PCC Level 3 course. It's a fantastic environment for learning, personal and professional growth, and delivering high-quality care."

"I have worked in PCC for 11 years now and throughout my time here I have been able to progress from a Band 3 Clinical Support Worker to a Band 4 Assistant Practitioner. I had the opportunity recently to do my nursing degree; I am now a nurse and have done all this development through PCC. I had so many opportunities to develop both personally and professionally, and it has been amazing to see how much I have progressed in my career. Working in PCC has been an incredibly rewarding experience, I genuinely love being part of an amazing team that not only values you but also actively supports your growth."

"The excellent teamwork we have on PCC is one of the main reasons I enjoy working here. Every member of the multidisciplinary team is valued and contributes collaboratively towards providing the best care for our patients."