The effects of continuing professional education on the clinical practice of nurses: a review of the literature

Abstract

In recent years, nurse education in the United Kingdom has undergone some major organisational changes, not least the move into higher education institutions. Concurrently, developments in the professionalisation of nursing through the UKCC’s post registration education and practice reforms have led to nurses being required to identify their own educational needs. Having identified their own needs, nurses are then faced with a plethora of post registration education programmes which are aimed to facilitate their learning and, directly or indirectly, improve patient care. However, do these programmes positively influence nursing practice and the standard of care delivered? This paper reviews the literature regarding the effects that continuing professional education (CPE) programmes have upon the clinical practice of nurses. The review draws on papers primarily from North America and the UK and highlights the methodological approaches used to discover if and how nursing practice is influenced. The impact of CPE on nurses as individuals is detailed along with the effects of CPE on the delivery of patient care.