Chris Betts and Elaine Lawrence describe how a project to set and audit standards enabled a group of paediatric nurses to learn from each other

Standard setting in paediatric nursing in South West Thames began in 1987 when a group of paediatric nurses from a variety of units began to meet This was the first time that paediatric nurses from education, management and clinical environments in the region had worked collaboratively. Aside from what seemed to be a laborious process of learning, the benefit of the exercise in terms of networking and sharing experiences was quickly recognised.