Usage of any items from the University of Cumbria's institutional repository 'Insight' must conform to the following fair usage guidelines.Any item and its associated metadata held in the University of Cumbria's institutional repository Insight (unless stated otherwise on the metadata record) may be copied, displayed or performed, and stored in line with the JISC fair dealing guidelines (available here) for educational and not-for-profit activities provided that• the authors, title and full bibliographic details of the item are cited clearly when any part of the work is referred to verbally or in the written form The study has implications for all of those concerned with enhancing the academic workplace as a learning environment for lecturers in professional education fields such as nursing. These include the need to recognise and respond to tensions within 2 the workplace and to nurture non-formal collaborative learning.

In line with the Hospice movement's key role in promoting the Liverpool Care Pathway (LCP) across health and social care settings, quarterly link nurse meetings involving care home, community nursing and hospital staff were developed by the Hospice LCP team in 2008. These have been successful in engaging staff from a range of settings, with a current membership of approximately 60.The benefits of the LCP are well documented. However, the challenges of delivering any aspect of end of life (EOL) care requiring co-operation across social and healthcare settings has also been recognised, particularly in terms of the support needed by care home staff. Assumptions can be made about the impact of the group in meeting these support needs. However, as the Hospice education team look to deliver a more comprehensive EOL programme and to expand the remit of the group to reflect this, understanding representatives' perceptions of the group and its future direction seemed important to ensure ongoing engagement.Questionnaires, using Likert scale and open questions to capture participants' perspectives on different aspects of the group's activities and on expanding the its remit, were e mailed to all representatives.A response rate of 63% (n=38) was achieved. Responses are still being analysed but there is emerging evidence of the value placed, particularly by care home staff, on the opportunity to meet with those working in other settings and of perceived educational needs if taking on a wider EOL role.Both the ongoing commitment of the group and the early results of this survey support previous work highlighting the importance of strong cross sector relationships (3,4).When finalised, the Hospice education team will feedback to the link and EOL steering groups to inform the future direction of the link group and education initiatives.

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