Catalysts for change

Feminist approaches to change and nursing development

In Britain, nursing development units (NDUs) have provided a focus for change and innovation in nursing since the early 1980s. This paper explores the approaches to change in these areas of practice. A review of both the management of change and feminist literature has been conducted. By identifying the similarities between the management of change in NDUs and feminism, it is suggested that feminist philosophies as demonstrated in NDUs may provide the key to successful and sustained, patient-focused changes in practice.

Nursing development units: an opportunity for evaluation

The nursing development unit movement has recently generated a lot of financial and professional interest. This is demonstrated by the large financial investment by the Department of Health, England, and the growing number of papers in the nursing literature. The benefits of these units, however, are not as well documented. This paper seeks to contribute to the debate by: reviewing some of this literature and putting the movement in a historical perspective; discussing the purposes of the units; critically examining the characteristics of such units; evaluating their effectiveness; and suggesting a way forward for the future.