What are the central features of an effective practice development programme in mental health nursing? In the first of a three-part series, John Cutcliffe and four colleagues from the RCN institute, Oxford, discuss the issues from a mental health nursing perspective

This paper, the first in a series of three, focuses on practice development in psychiatric and mental health nursing. New practice development roles are constantly emerging in this and other branches of nursing. However, references to practice development in the mental health nursing literature remain relatively scarce. Given the increased number of development posts, it may be that this situation reflects the fact that the process and results of developmental work are not being disseminated. It is this disparity that warrants investigation, therefore this paper discusses the rudiments of practice development in psychiatric and mental health nursing, attempts to compare and contrast practice development in mental health with other related practices, and considers whether there is any confusion regarding these issues.