{"id":2511,"date":"2025-07-24T13:57:30","date_gmt":"2025-07-24T12:57:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/?page_id=2511"},"modified":"2026-02-24T16:54:50","modified_gmt":"2026-02-24T16:54:50","slug":"discovering-level","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/discovering-level\/","title":{"rendered":"Discovering Level"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>The <em>Discovering Level<\/em> provides short experiential learning opportunities (ranging from a few hours to two days). It enables staff to step outside their usual role, explore different aspects of the organisation, services and roles.&nbsp; It will involve developing objectives and reflecting on learning with the support of a mentor. Opportunities include:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-group is-nowrap is-layout-flex wp-container-core-group-is-layout-6c531013 wp-block-group-is-layout-flex\">\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li class=\"has-regular-font-size\">clinical shadowing &#8211; another role or department<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-regular-font-size\" style=\"border-style:none;border-width:0px\">succession planning &#8211; meeting with someone in the role you aspire to<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li class=\"has-regular-font-size\">developing organisational understanding &#8211; attending meetings, QI teams, clinical education, research<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>professional practice &#8211; getting involved in a planned activity such as assurance reviews, walk rounds<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Target Group<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>All registered and non-registered nurses and midwives and those under the &#8216;umbrella&#8217; of nursing and midwifery who have been qualified for more than 12 months and have been working in their substantive role for more than 6 months.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Criteria for Application<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>If Registered Nurse\/Midwife, qualified for 12 months<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Substantive post in NHS Lothian, in current role for at least 6 months<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Discussion and agreement by line manager as part of appraisal \/ personal development planning (PDP)<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Mandatory and essential learning has been completed&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>The number of Discovering Level opportunities completed by an individual staff member will be at the discretion of their line manager. &nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Identifying Discovering Level Opportunities<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There are two types of Discovering Level Opportunities:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ol class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Advertised opportunities &#8211; please review the <a href=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/discovering-level-opportunities\/\" data-type=\"page\" data-id=\"2554\">Discovery Level Opportunity Library<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/discovering-level-opportunities-2\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/discovering-level-opportunities-2\/\">Search by Services<\/a> or <a href=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/search-by-role\/\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/search-by-role\/\">Opportunities by Role<\/a><\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Opportunities identified by the applicant &#8211; make contact with an individual or department that you would like to shadow\/visit and ask them to complete a <a href=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2025\/07\/Experiential-Leadership-Academy-Opportunity-Template-June-2025.docx\" data-type=\"attachment\" data-id=\"2529\">Experiential Leadership Academy Opportunity Template<\/a><\/li>\n<\/ol>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>How to Apply<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Check you meet the criteria for application <\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Discuss with your line manager<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>If approved, complete the <a href=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2025\/07\/Experiential-Leadership-Academy-Discovering-Level-Application-and-Reflection-Forum-June-2025.docx\" data-type=\"attachment\" data-id=\"2522\">Discovering Level application form<\/a>, including the objectives you want to achieve. Obtain signature of line manager.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Contact mentor and share application form<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Agree objective, dates and duration of experience<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Confirm with line manager<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>Criteria for Discovering Level Award<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A certificate of Discovery Level Award will be issued when the following criteria are met:<\/p>\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"alignright size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"576\" src=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2026\/01\/Discovering-Certificate-1024x576.jpg\" alt=\"Discovering Certificate\" class=\"wp-image-2980\" style=\"aspect-ratio:1.7778000975693746;width:329px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2026\/01\/Discovering-Certificate-1024x576.jpg 1024w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2026\/01\/Discovering-Certificate-300x169.jpg 300w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2026\/01\/Discovering-Certificate-768x432.jpg 768w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2026\/01\/Discovering-Certificate.jpg 1280w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Evidence of completion of the full Discovering Opportunity<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Completion of <a href=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2026\/02\/Discovering-Reflection-and-Sign-Off-Form-Feb-2026.docx\" data-type=\"attachment\" data-id=\"3092\">reflection document<\/a>, including three identified learning points<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Sign off by mentor and line manager<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Registration of completion via Microsoft Form. Follow this <a href=\"https:\/\/forms.office.com\/Pages\/ResponsePage.aspx?id=veDvEDCgykuAnLXmdF5JmgDZkT-B8OdMpCSDyKEsBxZUMEpaMUlaWUNRQlBXOU45MUY3VEVUQ0pGOCQlQCN0PWcu\" data-type=\"link\" data-id=\"https:\/\/forms.office.com\/Pages\/ResponsePage.aspx?id=veDvEDCgykuAnLXmdF5JmgDZkT-B8OdMpCSDyKEsBxZUMEpaMUlaWUNRQlBXOU45MUY3VEVUQ0pGOCQlQCN0PWcu\">link<\/a> or scan QR code below<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>An evaluation survey will be issued at a later stage<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n<div class=\"gb-container gb-container-08a513a4\">\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-large is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1024\" height=\"1024\" src=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2026\/01\/Candidate-Experience-QR-Code-1024x1024.png\" alt=\"Candidate Experience QR Code\" class=\"wp-image-2976\" style=\"width:213px;height:auto\" srcset=\"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2026\/01\/Candidate-Experience-QR-Code-1024x1024.png 1024w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2026\/01\/Candidate-Experience-QR-Code-300x300.png 300w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2026\/01\/Candidate-Experience-QR-Code-150x150.png 150w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2026\/01\/Candidate-Experience-QR-Code-768x768.png 768w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2026\/01\/Candidate-Experience-QR-Code-1536x1536.png 1536w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2026\/01\/Candidate-Experience-QR-Code-1140x1140.png 1140w, https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/123\/2026\/01\/Candidate-Experience-QR-Code.png 1890w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 1024px) 100vw, 1024px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The Discovering Level provides short experiential learning opportunities (ranging from a few hours to two days). It enables staff to step outside their usual role, explore different aspects of the organisation, services and roles.&nbsp; It will involve developing objectives and reflecting on learning with the support of a mentor. Opportunities include: Target Group All registered<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":78,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"page-templates\/widewidth.php","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[],"class_list":["post-2511","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"rttpg_featured_image_url":null,"rttpg_author":{"display_name":"julietmacarthur","author_link":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/author\/julietmacarthur\/"},"rttpg_comment":0,"rttpg_category":false,"rttpg_excerpt":"The Discovering Level provides short experiential learning opportunities (ranging from a few hours to two days). It enables staff to step outside their usual role, explore different aspects of the organisation, services and roles.&nbsp; It will involve developing objectives and reflecting on learning with the support of a mentor. Opportunities include: Target Group All registered","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2511","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/78"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2511"}],"version-history":[{"count":23,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2511\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3093,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/2511\/revisions\/3093"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2511"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/services.nhslothian.scot\/nursingandmidwifery\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2511"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}