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Nursing Times Research
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A concept analysis of practice development

Rob Garbett, MSc, BN, RN

RCN Institute, Radcliffe Infirmary

Brendan McCormark, DPhil, BSc, RMN, RGN, PGCEA

Royal Hospitals NHS Trust and University of Ulster, Belfast

The term 'practice development' is widely but inconsistently used in British nursing, addressing a broad range of educational, research, and audit activity, but there appears to be little consensus as to what practice development actually involves. Such lack of clarity means that the increasing number of nurses whose work involves addressing practice development issues can have difficulty in focusing their efforts.

To try to clarify the concept of practice development and to describe the focuses of practice development work and the approaches used, a concept analysis was conducted. Both primary and secondary data were gathered and analysed in the study. One hundred and seventy seven items of published literature were gathered and analysed. Focus group interviews were carried out involving 60 practice developers. In addition, 25 clinical nurses were interviewed about their experiences of being involved in practice development.

This paper describes the identified purposes, attributes and outcomes of practice development. Practice development activities are described as addressing the effectiveness of care through the transformation of care practices and cultures. Practice development is described as a systematic, rigorous activity underpinned by facilitation processes. The outcomes of practice development can be described in terms of changes in the behaviours, values and beliefs of staff involved. Parallels between practice development and current policy imperatives are outlined.

Key Words: Practice development • Professional development • Organisational change • Facilitation

Nursing Times Research, Vol. 7, No. 2, 87-100 (2002)
DOI: 10.1177/136140960200700203
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Home page
 Journal of Research in NursingHome page
B. McCormack
Knowing and acting -- A strategic practitioner-focused approach to nursing research and practice development
Journal of Research in Nursing, March 1, 2003; 8(2): 86 - 100.
[Abstract] [PDF]