A STUDY OF THE LIVED EXPERIENCE OF CHANGE DURING A PERIOD OF CURRICULUM AND ORGANIZATIONAL REFORM IN A DEPARTMENT OF NURSE EDUCATION

In this paper an attempt is made to illustrate the experience of lectu rers in a department of nursing preparing to implement the adult branc h component of the pre-registration Higher Education Diploma in Nursin g Studies. The study was conducted in a college of health in England a t a time when the college was only beginning to discuss the possibilit y of closer links with universities. It highlights the grief responses associated with change exhibited by nursing lecturers during a period of organizational upheaval and curriculum change and maps the transit ion through stages of adaptation over a 2-year period. The analysis of the effects of change and the coping strategies adopted by nursing le cturers presented here is most relevant to educational managers who ar e charged with integrating nurse education into higher education.