An evaluation of nursing development in a community NHS trust

This study sets out to evaluate the contribution of the Nursing Development Officer (NDO) on nursing developments within a local UK NHS Trust.

Qualified nursing staff are an essential, although expensive resource and it is suggested that the contribution of professional employees should be continually assessed and developed in order to ensure that they are meeting the aims of the organization. Consequently a significant amount of resources has been focussed on the development of this staff group.

Following a review of the literature the researcher collected two sets of data. Firstly quantitative data via a questionnaire from fieldstaff, and secondly qualitative data from semi-structured interviews with the nurse managers. Data were analysed manually by the researcher.

The main theme to emerge was the potential scope of the NDO role within the organization. The NDO was frequently consulted by nursing staff for advice and help, particularly for information on courses. Managers identified a range of themes which were the personal qualities of the NDO, the scope of service provided by the NDO, the qualities of the training and development department, the needs of nurses within the Trust and, finally, a range of corporate and external issues which impact on nursing development.

This study has evaluated the contribution of the NDO on nursing development and further highlighted the complementary systems that are necessary to enhance nursing within a healthcare organization.