Abstract
This study is about the progress of a cohort of students who commenced a Project 2000 pre-registration nurse education course in April 1991. The research was undertaken entirely within one setting - in a College of Healthcare which was one of the 13 Demonstration colleges in England - and was conducted over a period of three years and ten months. The aim of the study was to evaluate what was considered by the nursing profession, government officials and educationalists, to be a radically new and innovative nursing course. A case study research approach of illuminative evaluation was used, within which a three stage framework of observation, further enquiry and evaluation was followed. The emphasis of the research was on the illumination of the processes, perceptions and contingencies which resulted in particular outcomes for the participants. This has enabled a comprehensive understanding of the complex realities which surrounded this innovative course, and the effects that a number of contemporaneous events have had on the findings. A description of these events has been presented, as has a literature review, overviews of both the history which preceded the introduction of Project 2000 and the professional concerns regarding the rapidity with which it was implemented. Multiple data collection methods were used to obtain the required information from the April 1991 cohort, the teachers involved with these students, the practitioners from three health authorities and other members of the College staff. The analyses of the data and the progressive focusing on the findings, have resulted in the identification of numerous positive and negative aspects and outcomes, together with problem areas and particular issues associated with the rapidity of the implementation of the course and the management of change. The placing of the negative and positive findings in a broader explanatory context, demonstrates how they relate to each other and with the research literature, and how the resulting conclusions have been reached. The research demonstrated that there were some very positive aspects and desirable outcomes which arose from the P.2000 programme. However, the concerns are the detrimental effects which arose from the introduction of numerous innovations into a constantly changing environment. The nursing profession had placed great importance on the introduction of P.2000, but insufficient time had been allowed for the application of management of change theories which would have enabled a more successful implementation to take place.