REACH: An exploration of nursing development

Authors

Chris White, Sydney Children's Hospitals Network
Kelly Kornman, University of Sydney, Children's Hospital, Westmead
Valerie J. Wilson, University of WollongongFollow

RIS ID

117416

Publication Details

White, C., Kornman, K. & Wilson, V. (2014). REACH: An exploration of nursing development. Nursing Management, 45 (11), 32-37.

Abstract

REACH is an international research collaboration between The Royal Hospitals in Belfast, Northern Ireland, and the Sydney Children's Hospitals Network and the Prince of Wales Hospital in Sydney, Australia. It's an integrated professional and practice development (PD) program for individual nurses that focuses on work-based learning, which helps transform care by creating the basis of developing self-knowledge and awareness through structured reflection about the impact of our actions on others in our workplace. Developmental processes and frameworks are beneficial to nurses in a number of facets, including accountability, cost-effectiveness, and quality improvement. We analyze the experiences of nurses in the Sydney Children's Hospital Network who were in the preliminary stages of implementing REACH at the time of evaluation. The program commenced in 2005 and is being rigorously and systematically evaluated both locally and internationally, using a realistic evaluation framework.