Abstract:Nursing development units (NDUs) are centres where groups of nurses, midwives, public health nurses and health visitors use a comprehensive planned strategy to develop themselves and their practice. Some of the early defining work on NDUs is considered and a brief history is outlined in this article. The strategic approach taken by the Eastern Health Shared Services in Dublin has led to the development of many NDUs in the Dublin area over a five-year period. The NDUs are based on a strategic, supportive approa… Show more
“…The importance of unit leaders is highlighted by other studies using the clinical leader as a focus (see Bowles & Bowles 2000, Flint & Wright 2001, Graham 2003. The expectation that units would develop the clinical leadership role was explored with the Department of Health funded nursing development units (Christian & Norman 1998).…”
Aim. The context of this study is a group of clinical nurse specialists from across a Trust seeking accreditation as a practice development unit. The university was asked to facilitate the accreditation process via 11 2‐hour learning sessions (including a one‐hour focus group). During initial discussions between the university and practice development unit, the overarching research question for this study was set as: ‘what are the main roles and responsibilities of clinical nurse specialists?’
Background. Although there is no known study of a practice development unit based beyond a ward or speciality, the central tenet of the practice development unit literature is that units must demonstrate their worth if they are to survive and harness senior management support in doing so.
Design and methods. Data gleaned from the transcribed audio tape‐recordings of the learning sessions were studied at least three times to ensure transcription accuracy and produce detailed charts. Ethical approval was granted by the appropriate Local Research Ethics Committee and written informed consent obtained from clinical nurse specialists. The study lasted 30 months and ended in October 2004.
Results. The four crucial statements that give meaning to specialist practice are: quality care giver; expert; information giver and initiator of change. Further analysis reveals the area of corporate and political practice as being missing from this and other lists of clinical nurse specialist attributes found in the literature. Clinical nurse specialists characterize their relationship with the Trust in terms of dichotomy – differing agendas and perceptions of value.
Conclusions. The specialist role requires professional development in the areas of corporate and political acumen and professional business management.
Relevance to clinical practice. While the findings of this study relate to one Trust and a group of 16 clinical nurse specialists, with careful application they may be transferable to other settings and groups of senior nurses.
“…The importance of unit leaders is highlighted by other studies using the clinical leader as a focus (see Bowles & Bowles 2000, Flint & Wright 2001, Graham 2003. The expectation that units would develop the clinical leadership role was explored with the Department of Health funded nursing development units (Christian & Norman 1998).…”
Aim. The context of this study is a group of clinical nurse specialists from across a Trust seeking accreditation as a practice development unit. The university was asked to facilitate the accreditation process via 11 2‐hour learning sessions (including a one‐hour focus group). During initial discussions between the university and practice development unit, the overarching research question for this study was set as: ‘what are the main roles and responsibilities of clinical nurse specialists?’
Background. Although there is no known study of a practice development unit based beyond a ward or speciality, the central tenet of the practice development unit literature is that units must demonstrate their worth if they are to survive and harness senior management support in doing so.
Design and methods. Data gleaned from the transcribed audio tape‐recordings of the learning sessions were studied at least three times to ensure transcription accuracy and produce detailed charts. Ethical approval was granted by the appropriate Local Research Ethics Committee and written informed consent obtained from clinical nurse specialists. The study lasted 30 months and ended in October 2004.
Results. The four crucial statements that give meaning to specialist practice are: quality care giver; expert; information giver and initiator of change. Further analysis reveals the area of corporate and political practice as being missing from this and other lists of clinical nurse specialist attributes found in the literature. Clinical nurse specialists characterize their relationship with the Trust in terms of dichotomy – differing agendas and perceptions of value.
Conclusions. The specialist role requires professional development in the areas of corporate and political acumen and professional business management.
Relevance to clinical practice. While the findings of this study relate to one Trust and a group of 16 clinical nurse specialists, with careful application they may be transferable to other settings and groups of senior nurses.
“…This supports the views of Flint and Wright (2001) that the complexity of the NCDU approach makes it difficult to define the concept and present a model for its implementation. However, on completion of the training program, the participants' understanding of what an NCDU was and how it might apply to their clinical area was strengthened.…”
Section: Discussionmentioning
confidence: 52%
“…The concept of an NCDU is broad and no one model has been introduced to define its scope and implementation (Flint & Wright, 2001). While a more specific model and definition might be advantageous in explaining the nature and purpose of the NCDU, the complexity and diversity within the contemporary health care environment makes the indentification of a specific model that could be applicable to a broad variety of health care settings highly unlikely and probably inherently undesirable.…”
mentioning
confidence: 98%
“…Fundamentally, this occurs through basing nursing interventions on the utilisation of relevant research to determine best practice. The following definition was selected as it reflects the overall aims and goals, and the The development of the NCDU program by the CPNRP reflected the desire to achieve the benefits to practice as outlined in the literature, including promotion of nursing leadership, the development and articulation of innovative nursing practice, increased collaboration between academia and practice, and a stronger connection between research and nursing practice (Flint & Wright, 2001;Gerrish & Ferguson, 2000;Greenwood & Kearns, 1996;Greenwood & Parsons, 2002a;Scholes, 1996;Wright, 1989;Wynaden & Rose, 1998).…”
The reluctance of nurses to utilise research findings in their practice has been extensively discussed in the literature. Nursing Clinical Development Units (NCDU) represent one approach to facilitating a greater interaction between research and nursing practice. This paper presents the results of an impact evaluation of an NCDU program operating in Victoria, Australia. In-depth interviews were conducted with participants in the NCDU program (n = 14). The findings suggest an increase in accessing and ultilising research by nurses since the introduction of the program, with an increased focus on evidence-based practice.
“…Nursing Development Units can be described as teams of nurses … in the practice setting, who sustain a range of approaches to develop themselves and excellence in practice … They focus on creative approaches to nursing, and accept change as a way of life. Staff in NDUs research, study and evaluate nursing, and apply sound evidence in striving for best practice (Flint & Wright 2001; p. 40).…”
Nursing Clinical Development Units have become popular as a framework for the facilitation of the professional development of nursing and to contribute to improved outcomes for consumers of health care services. An exploratory evaluation of the Nursing Clinical Development Unit program implemented by the Centre for Psychiatric Nursing Research and Practice was undertaken using a qualitative approach. This paper focuses on the findings relating to outcomes. A number of positive outcomes were identified including: changes within nursing practices; the development of more positive attitudes by nurses, a greater focus on research utilization and evidence-based practice; and an increase in professional development activities, including conference presentations. Despite these positive findings, the need for more structured evaluation and an increased emphasis on dissemination of findings was identified.
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