Background Culture is not about individuals but about the social contexts that influence the way people behave and the social norms that are accepted and expected (Manley et al., 2011). Culture is widely understood as ‘how things are done around here’ (Drennan, 1992). Anthony (1994) argues that corporate culture reflects what is espoused, what the organisation wants to portray rather than the actual culture that is experienced. Nursing practice is significantly impacted by the constantly evolving societal, environmental and organisational context in which nurses work (Keyko, 2014; McCormack et al., 2013). The dominant NHS approach in recent years has been described as ‘pace-setter’ (King’s Fund, 2012), a command and control culture with little delegation or collaboration, which is primarily driven by top down targets (Riley, 2014). The present health care environment is paternalistic (Newton, 2000) and predominantly task orientated which can lead to fundamental care falling short (Shannon & Peelo-Kilroe, 2012; Francis, 2010). Emancipatory practice development is the product of critical social theory (Shaw, 2013; Fairbrother et al., 2015), action orientated (McCormack et al., 1999) and transformational. It relies on the development and maintenance of critical and progressive clinical practice cultures which drive change and growth in health care practice (Manley et al., 2013; Fairbrother et al., 2015).

Aims Understand the perception of culture

Engage staff with their beliefs of self and culture.

Methods Using creative emancipatory practice development methodologies to explore questions about culture in a less confrontational way.

Conclusion Practice development and person-centred care aim to establish workplace cultures that enable everyone to flourish (Manley et al., 2014). Working collaboratively and enabling staff to contribute to the future success of the organisation provides them with a voice and creating shared governance contributes to an atmosphere of respect for staff (Boyer, 2005).