work based learning
‘…the findings and recommendations are applicable to
the use of job rotation schemes in any organisation’
This website provides concept papers and research studies from a long-term emancipatory action research project, which was set up by a large health community in London to recruit and retain staff in ‘hard to staff’ areas.
In accordance with the underpinning philosophy of this approach to organisational leadership and change, as much evidence as possible from the project and from the research studies has been provided.
Where policy makers and leaders within organisations are currently using or considering using Job Rotation and/or Work Based Learning the evidence provided here will help them to make informed business decisions.
Whilst job rotation, in one form or another, has been used widely as a human resources tool and discussed anecdotally, there is little evidence based on research that describes and interprets its nature or usefulness. A key aim of this project was to evaluate and share the learning that emerged from the project, and thus research studies were funded by key stakeholders and undertaken. The full research reports are provided here in order to demonstrate both the adequacy of the research approach and methods, and to provide detailed evidence for the conclusions and recommendations drawn. The detailed and wide ranging evidence will also be a unique resource for a potentially highly diverse group of decision makers.
The following studies were carried out in large organisations; specifically mental health nurses in health organisations. However the findings and recommendations are applicable to the use of job rotation schemes in any organisation.
Ethics committee approval for the studies was given by Chelsea and Westminster Research Ethics Committee. The studies are registered with The National Research Register, publication IDs N0195088213, N0195088214 and N0195088212.
In the spirit of action research this website is a ‘dynamic learning space’ where from time to time new evidence will appear, which we hope will be augmented by comments from readers.
Final drafts:
It should be noted that some of the studies presented here are as ‘final drafts’, and are here so that members of the stakeholder community can read and comment to the authors on one final occasion before completion. This method of presentation, which is in keeping with the action research approach, allows the diverse group of stakeholders to easily access the reports.
Archive material:
We have included the material from the first website for additional information to illustrate the key issues that were important at the inception of the project. This information helped to establish and to sustain the project through it four cohorts of the junior staff rotation scheme, and facilitated the establishment of the spin-off experienced nurse project. It also helped to put together a wider community of job rotation scheme leaders, who were able to share emerging experiential and research knowledge about models of job rotation and the leadership and managment of them.
Acknowledgements:
We want to acknowledge the leadership and extensive support of the many stakeholders involved with this project. It goes without saying that we are completely indebted to those nurses who chose to take up posts in the job rotation schemes, together with their managers and supervisors who were our partners in this project. As key stakeholders in the successful establishment of this project we need to mention Peter Walsh, Luella Dixon, Lynne Hunt, John Batts, Enda Kelly, Paula Crouch, Adrian Nelson, Katherine Rounce, Alan Beadsmoore, Prof. James Buchan and Jane Ball. A large number of organisational and professional leaders have supported the ongoing development of this project, and the learning that has been achieved from it. It should be noted that without the strident professional leadership of the above extensive stakeholder group, this project would not have been completed, and the learning that has been gained from it via the research process would not have been secured and shared with others; a wasteful phenomenon that is only too common in large organisations.
Finally we need to thank Chris Lucock for his development of this website.
Dr. Ricky Lucock — [these links only work with javascript enabled]
Patrick Coyne — [these links only work with javascript enabled]
For further information, assistance or consultancy support please contact us at the above email addresses.
Experienced Nurse Rotation Scheme: Phase One
Nurse Rotation Scheme at CNWL/WLMHT
Experienced Nurse Rotation Scheme: Phase two evaluation
Nurse Job Rotation Scheme: Perceptions of a sample of cohort four rotation nurses
Nurse Job Rotation Scheme: Perceptions of a group of supervisors