Primary care in the A & E department: meeting the challenge--a workshop series for A & E nurses

Accident and emergency (A & E) departments lie at the interface between primary and secondary care. Patients who attend the accident and emergency department with primary care needs have traditionally been seen as 'inappropriate' and labelled in pejorative terms. Over the past few years, however, new models of care have emerged through research and practice development for meeting the needs of this group of patients in A & E. For effective service development there is a need to challenge and change the traditional A & E culture. This paper describes an educational approach towards changing clinical practice, by disseminating research and practice development initiatives through a workshop series. It aimed to disseminate research in a relevant manner to practitioners and to develop the primary care orientation of a number of A & E departments in England and Scotland. The workshop series sought to influence clinical practice by sharing the experience of researchers and practitioners in a supportive learning environment. The use of this approach offered a means of bridging the gap between research and practice development. The paper outlines the rationale for the workshop series, its structure, aims and objectives, and the reported progress in relation to change management and service provision identified by the participants. The workshop series proved to be an effective means of disseminating experience of research, practice development and change management.