Detailed handbook on the vital role of Professional Nurse Advocate

The Professional Nurse Advocate’s Handbook is the first book to bring together a diverse range of voices and ideas that illustrate how the Professional Nurse Advocate (PNA) role is being applied across different settings. Across eight chapters, this book weaves together short case studies from practice with broader reflections on the origins and purpose of the PNA role.

Written by a team of highly qualified authors working in practice, The Professional Nurse Advocate’s Handbook discusses:

• The A-EQUIP model, nurse identity and belonging, and the leadership frameworks that enable PNAs and the nurses they work with to flourish
• Restorative clinical supervision, which is at the heart of the PNA role
• Listening, supporting, and creating the conditions for reflection and growth
• Building communities of practice, cultivating compassion, and focusing on quality improvement

An essential read for current and aspiring PNAs, The Professional Nurse Advocate’s Handbook also provides a valuable resource for those involved in nursing education and practice looking for strategies to sustain the wellbeing of the nursing workforce and shape a compassionate culture within healthcare.

Liz Lees-Deutsch is a Professor for Nursing Practice based in the Centre for Care Excellence, a collaborative partnership between Coventry University and University Hospitals Coventry and Warwickshire. She led a team of researchers to complete the first national evaluation of the PNA programme in 2022 and an evaluation of the impact of quality improvements led by PNAs in 2025.

Emma Wadey is the Chief Nursing Officer and Deputy Chief Executive at Hertfordshire Partnership University NHS Foundation Trust and Visiting Professor at the University of Surrey. She was formerly the National Deputy Director for Mental Health Nursing at NHS England.

Rosie Kneafsey is Director of the Research Centre for Healthcare and Communities at Coventry University and strategic lead for the Centre for Care Excellence for Nursing, Midwifery and Allied Health.