About the PDU Network
A network of Practice Development Units
In 2008, an international network of the best of these units is being created to capture and promote PDUs’ innovations. The goal is to help us all to connect up what works best, to accelerate uptake into practice and to understand future learning and development needs. This network has the potential to contribute to strategic and partnership development, across the range of health and social care organizations involved in caring for patients.
What we are aiming to do
Early objectives for developing a network included the setting up of this website. Accredited PDUs, reaccredited PDUs and those working towards accreditation will be able to use it to share some of their achievements, talk to units at the same stage of development about their current challenges and ideas, and also share the learning they have acquired through their development journey.
Face to face interaction
But the network is not intended only to exist in cyberspace. We know that effective knowledge transfer and further learning needs to involve face to face interaction so a structure of local network meetings is being created around the delivery of master classes – enabling members of re-accredited units to develop their knowledge and skills and reflect the high status and achievement which marks them as re-accredited PDUs.
The Centre for the Development of Healthcare Policy & Practice
The Centre for the Development of Healthcare Policy & Practice at the University of Leeds was launched in 1998, based on the University’s former Institute of Nursing and School of Healthcare. It works with individuals and organisations across the in healthcare across the NHS, not-for-profit and private sector. It is partnered by the Whole Systems Partnership, an innovative group of specialists involved with organisational improvement. For many years, CDHPP has worked with clinical leads, clinical practitioners, senior managers and patients to establish Practice Development Units in Trusts, accredited for their creativity, outstanding practice, optimum performance and efficiency in clinical practice.