Response to Henderson (2011) Commentary on Williamson GR, Callaghan L, Whittlesea E & Heath V (2011) Improving student support using placement development teams: staff and student perceptions. Journal of Clinical Nursing 20, 1502-1503.

摘要

We thank Henderson (2011) for her considered comments on our work evaluating the establishment of Placement Development Teams (PDTs) for improved student support in our region of the UK. It is particularly pleasing to appreciate that the structures we have developed have resonance and relevance outside the UK context. We are now into our fourth year of PDTs, and so have been able to move beyond the initial (almost 'baseline') findings and aspirations that we discussed in the piece to which Henderson refers (Williamson et al. 2011a). We were always concerned to demonstrate the impact of PDTs, as they represented a considerable departure from our previous systems for student support with our placement partners, health authority and academic staff and there were considerable cost implications in this. We have been able more closely to examine the impact(s) which PDTs have had, and have published two further papers from this programme of work.