Innovation in nursing management: professional, management and methodological considerations

There are many changes occurring in the National Health Service (NHS) at this time, not just to economic and funding policies, but also at the very heart of nursing delivery. The introduction of "managerialism" into the senior clinical grades of nursing, midwifery and other professional staff has characterized the past few years. Against this backdrop is the increasing belief that NHS organizations must find improved ways of delivering patient care and other services. This has inexorably led to the consideration of diffusing innovation into practice as a way to improve performance and competitiveness. While there have been a number of clinical attempts at understanding this process, there has been very little written about innovation from the perspective of the nurse (or midwifery) clinical manager. This paper discusses some of the issues surrounding management innovation including the planning of interventions aimed at introducing innovation, and some of the methodological difficulties of studying complex organizations. The wider issues of innovation, nursing management and professional staff are also discussed.