Beaumont Hospital
Beaumont Hospital


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Nurse Practice Development Unit

Philosophy

  • We, the Nursing Practice Development Team, are a body of nurses who bring with us our own individual unique attitudes, knowledge and experiences.
  • We believe each individual is unique and has the potential for growth and development with a right to justice, equity, dignity and respect.
  • We work in partnership, promoting democratic inclusive decision making processes and we accept and value all contributions.
  • We commit ourselves to facilitate the growth of the student nurse on their journey to become qualified, competent, reflective practitioners.
  • We endeavour to be a support for students and clinical staff in the co-ordination of the nursing degree programme in partnership with D.C.U.
  • We recognise that the field of health care is constantly changing and we commit ourselves to reflecting, developing and implementing evidence based practice for the welfare of the patient.
  • When required we lead, support, facilitate, enable, participate or co-ordinate the development of nursing practice in partnership with our clinical colleagues.
  • We incorporate evaluation into our practice to enable us to continually improve the quality of our service.

Team Profile

  • Nursing Practice Development Coordinator (Team Leader)
  • Clerical Support Staff
  • Clinical Placement Coordinators
  • Tissue Viability Nurses
  • Continuing Education Coordinator
  • Clinical Practice Support Nurses
  • Student Allocation Liaison Officer
  • Clinical Practice Development Nurse 

Role

The function of the Nursing Practice Development Unit is to enhance and develop nursing practice with the aim of providing a quality patient service.

Practice Development is a term used to describe a collection of processes which enable individuals and teams within Beaumont Hospital incorporating St Josephs Hospital and Rockfield Unit, to improve healthcare by sharing good practices across the organisation, to the benefit of patients and staff.

As a dedicated team, we work to promote a consistent and cohesive approach to nursing care by:

  • Developing and disseminating best practice guidelines and policies
  • Organising, facilitating, and supporting practice development programmes
  • Support the sharing of best practices
  • Encourage the networking of nurses

Tissue Viability Service

Tissue Viability is an umbrella term for preservation of skin or tissue.
The department provides a service for all multidisciplinary staff to refer in patients with pressure ulcer issues or difficult wounds.

Tissue Viability Aims:

  • To provide a valuable service for the patient / client with potential tissue damage as well as advice on current wounds.
  • To reduce Incidence and Prevalence of hospital acquired pressure ulcers.
  • To ensure all staff are trained in understanding Physiology and management of pressure ulcers/ difficult wounds.
  • To ensure staff are trained and competent in carrying out Risk Assessment of Pressure ulcers/difficult wounds.
  • To ensure staff are competent in assessment and management of wound dressing selection.

Clinical Practice Support Nurses

The role of the Clinical Support Nurse arose as a result of the findings of a survey which was conducted within the Dublin Academic Teaching Hospitals (DATHS) in October and November 1999. We work closely with Clinical Practice Support Nurses and the Practice Development Nurse who cover the following clinical areas in Beaumont Hospital:

  • St Josephs Hospital
  • Medical Division
  • Surgical Division
  • Renal/ Haematology
  • General Intensive Care
  • Neurosciences Intensive Care
  • Neurosciences and Paediatrics
  • Dialysis
  • Renal Unit

BSc General Nurses Programme

The clinical Placement Co-ordinators, Student Allocation Officer and Nursing Practice Development Co – ordinator support nearly 300 undergraduate BSc general students and student nurses from other services while on Clinical Placement here in Beaumont Hospital. We work in Partnership with D.C.U. in developing and supporting this programme. We work closely with the clinical staff to ensure the provision of an optimal learning experience and environment for these student nurses.

Clinical Placement Co-ordinators

Clinical Placement Coordinators are a team of dedicated staff who work in partnership with Dublin City University.  They are committed to facilitate the growth of student nurses on their journey to becoming qualified and competent practitioners thereby ensuring optimum standards of care delivered to our clients/patients.  They also coordinate, guide and support pre-registration student nurses during their clinical placement as per requirements and standards set by An Bord Altranais.  Other role functions are:

  • Act as a resource and guidance for student nurses and support registered nursing staff in their clinical teaching of undergraduate student nurses. 
  • Facilitate the establishment, maintenance and development of the quality clinical learning environment.
  • Development of policies, procedures and guidelines based on evidence based practice to support clinical practice, in collaboration with other members of NPDU and multidisciplinary team.

Contacts

  • Nurse Practice Development Manager: (01) 809 2864
  • Clinical Placement Coordinators: (01) 809 3957
  • Student Allocation Officer: (01) 809 2770 / 2132
  • Tissue Viability Service: (01) 809 2533 or (01) 809 3000 and ask for bleep 818
  • Nursing Clerical Support: (01) 809 2131