Developing organisational conditions for nurses’ participation in a master’s programme for working professionals: an action learning-inspired preparatory process

Healthcare organisations increasingly seek to strengthen clinical expertise while maintaining workforce capacity and service delivery. Supporting registered nurses (RNs) undertaking postgraduate education alongside clinical employment requires strengthened organisational conditions. However, little is known about how such conditions are developed during programme preparation. The aim was to explore how action learning-inspired processes were used during the preparatory phase to develop organisational conditions supporting RNs commencing a master's programme for working professionals. An interpretive qualitative design was used to analyse practice-based materials generated during a preparatory phase of a research programme conducted between September 2022 and September 2023. Data included meeting summaries, planning documents, and reflective notes produced through collaboration among hospital leaders, academic partners, and researchers. Analysis was thematic and interpretive, informed by Marquardt's six components of action learning. Through collaborative inquiry, reflection, and negotiation, stakeholders developed organisational, managerial, and relational support structures. A key outcome was a Shared Guideline that evolved through iterative discussions. Functioning as a boundary object, the guideline facilitated coordination, alignment, local adaptation, and collective ownership across organisational and professional groups. The findings suggest that action learning-inspired processes can support the collaborative development of context-sensitive organisational conditions for nurses undertaking master’s-level education while remaining in clinical practice.