This paper reports on the project analysis of nursing and healthcare policy, identifying six core themes
of skills relevant for nursing practice. Furthermore it explores the findings of a series of focus groups with
nursing practitioners and managers identifying priorities for clinical skills in the pre-registration curriculum.
These highlighted a broad range of skills required of newly qualified practitioners, which pose a
challenge for integration within nurse education. How this challenge has been addressed through the
incorporation of these skills themes throughout a new pre-registration curriculum is also examined.