Dedicated Education Units: Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology and Canterbury District Health Board (CPIT/CDHB), New Zealand

Abstract

This chapter describes the journey of two organisations—Christchurch Polytechnic Institute of Technology and Canterbury District Health Board—working together to strengthen relationships between nursing education and clinical practice within Canterbury, New Zealand, and to enhance the clinical learning environment for undergraduate nursing students through Dedicated Education Units. The authors focus primarily on the development, implementation, ongoing evaluation and re-innovation of their Dedicated Education Units as action research. They explain the preceptorship clinical education model used prior to 2006, identify issues that needed to be addressed and relate how their organisations discovered the Dedicated Education Unit model, which has become their preferred model. They then describe the new roles and responsibilities for clinicians and academics involved in Dedicated Education Units, the principles underpinning the collaborative partnership between their organisations, implementation of the current Dedicated Education Unit model in different clinical settings, challenges faced and strategies to overcome them, quality maintenance and evaluation. The chapter ends with a brief discussion about possible future directions for Dedicated Education Units.