Paper
Saturday, 22 July 2006
This presentation is part of : Implementing Evidence-Based Nursing
How Collaboration in a Primary Care Setting Enhances the Development of Evidence-Based Practice
Linda Dobrzanska, MSc, Dip(N), PGC and Sharon Simpson-Prentis, PhD, BA, MSc. Professional Development Unit, Bradford City Teaching Primary Care Trust, Bradford, United Kingdom
Learning Objective #1: Identify what a Professional Development Unit is.
Learning Objective #2: Understand how the Unit advances evidence-based practice through inter-professional learning.
A competent professional workforce is essential to the operation of any health care organisation. In Great Britain healthcare professionals are required to update their knowledge and skills through a number of approaches.  A primary care organisation in the United Kingdom addressed this by the development of a Professional Development Unit (PDU).
 
The PDU, formed in 2003 to provide a focus for clinical leadership alongside practice development, was aimed initially at community and primary care nurses.  The Unit team comprises of clinical leads from nursing, representatives from the allied health professions and includes administrative support, a research co-ordinator, and a clinical effectiveness lead.  The intention of the Unit is to empower individuals and teams to deliver evidence-based healthcare as set out in national guidelines and policies.  As leaders within their own discipline, each team member is able to deliver education sessions to support the implementation of new policies, organise training events and use clinical audit to measure outcomes. 
 
It is important that the PDU is open to external scrutiny and able to maintain high standards compared to other Units nationally.  To this end, the PDU is undergoing an accreditation process offered by a local University to ensure its continued effectiveness.  The accreditation process will emphasise sustainable practice development, planned systematic improvements, capacity building and professional accountability.  Evaluation of the PDU will form part of the research programme which will ensure valid and robust strategies are in place to provide appropriate support to practitioners. 
 
The presentation will outline and describe the work of the PDU, how the accreditation process will assist in the development of clinical expertise, skill competency development, leadership and work-based learning.  The work of the PDU is easily transferable to all health care organisations, nationally and internationally.

See more of Implementing Evidence-Based Nursing
See more of The 17th International Nursing Research Congress Focusing on Evidence-Based Practice (19-22 July 2006)