Driving a dynamic dual specialist

Dear Editor,

Thank you to the readers who wrote in with their response and opinions to the piece published.

The joint professions statement (HEE, 2017) reaffirms that new solutions are required to deliver healthcare to meet its changing needs and deliver better outcomes for patients. While this programme awards students a master's qualification, it does not detract from any further progression to the role of advanced practitioner—it in fact enables it. The programme and its integrated design enable students to truly see each professional identity, and their flaws. This offers a unique insight into where areas of development can be made.

Innovation can and always will be a challenge to the norm, and with it brings uncertainty. The true ability to listen to the changing needs of health services and employers and provide innovative solutions is at the core of the NHS and is actively encouraged through enterprises such as the NHS Challenge award and NHS Clinical Entrepreneur's programme, as well as other drivers for positive change. Kelly and Young (2017) confirm that successful innovations in healthcare possess two key qualities: desirability and usability. This is further supported by Omachonu and Einspruch (2010) who state important components of innovation as application and intended benefit. The benefits of this professional are clear—not only to the intended employer (as the market research and collaborative development of the programme with stakeholders confirms), but also to the engagement of interested recruiters, which is growing rapidly and is driven by the recognition of its potential to revolutionise patient care. The challenges facing healthcare are ever-increasing and we—and our first cohort—are ready to meet that challenge and embrace this progressive change head on.