Participation In Continuing Education Activities Research Articles

Assessment of Continuing Education Needs Among Critical Care Nurses in Remote Québec, Canada.

This study analyzed the needs of critical care nurses in remote regions of Québec regarding continuing education (CE). A web-based cross-sectional survey was conducted between May and June 2018. A total of 78 nurses completed the survey and reported their CE needs were not being met. Only 21.9% of participants reported a satisfaction level ≥ 6 on a scale of 1 to 10 regarding the offering of CE activities in their region. The most common factors identified as barriers to participation in CE activities were working hours (68.2%), distance and travel time (68.2%), released time to attend CE activities (65.2%), costs of CE activities (57.6%), and financial support (51.5%). This study provides insights into CE needs among critical care nurses. Shortcomings could be addressed by increasing CE activities in remote regions as well as the proportion of critical care-specific CE activities. Moreover, time and expense coverage should be offered by employers. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2020;51(7):322-330.].

Factors Influencing Participation in Continuing Professional Development: A Focus on Motivation Among Pharmacists.

The interest in continuing education (CE) for pharmacists has increased because of patient safety issues, advancing science and the quick changes in the profession. Therefore, contemporary pharmaceutical care requires an effective and sustainable system for pharmacists to maintain and improve competencies. Although motivation plays an important role both as a facilitator (desire to learn) and a barrier (lack of motivation), there is little investigated about this specific factor. The aim of the study was to explore what factors influence pharmacists' participation in CE with a focus on motivation. The theoretical framework was self-determination theory (SDT), which describes autonomous motivation (AM) representing motivation from an internal locus of causality, controlled motivation (CM) originating from an external locus of causality, and relative autonomous motivation (RAM) that measures the AM in an individual after correcting for the CM. The relationship between pharmacists' characteristics, especially their motivation (AM, CM and RAM) in CE, and their participation in CE activities was explored using the AMS-questionnaire and the Dutch online portfolio system. RAM was positively correlated with CE participation of pharmacists and explained 7.8% of the variance. The correlations between the independent variables AM and CM and CE hours were negative (-0.301 and -0.476, respectively). Other factors influencing CE participation were pharmacy school (6.8%), traineeship (10.9%), and work experience (7.8%). Pharmacists participated for 27.0 hours on average in CE during 11 months and preferred face-to-face-learning (85.5%) above e-learning (13.8%). Our findings show a positive relationship between RAM and CE participation. The current CE system is probably not conducive to stimulation of AM. Further research is needed to understand the factors that stimulate pharmacists' motivation and participation in CE.

Assessing the Continuing Education Needs and Preferences of Rural Nurses

BACKGROUND Difficulty recruiting and retaining well-qualified nursing staff can frustrate rural hospitals. Collaborative relationships between university nursing programs and rural hospitals may lead to the development of continuing education (CE) programs to enhance clinical competence, patient safety, job satisfaction, and nursing work force retention. METHODS As part of an effort to develop a collaborative relationship between a university nursing program and two rural hospitals, a pilot study was conducted with 27 nurses working at two hospitals to determine needs and preferences for CE topics and delivery. RESULTS The pilot study provided important information, furthering the development of a collaborative relationship between the university and rural hospitals and offering insight into barriers preventing rural nurses' participation in CE activities. Using results from the survey, the university and hospital are working together to plan online CE offerings about topics of interest to these rural nurses. CONCLUSION Discussion of this process and the results of the pilot study will be useful for those who are contemplating offering CE programs to nurses in rural regions or are interested in exploring opportunities for the development of collaborative relationships that could result in improved job satisfaction, patient safety, and work force retention.

Assessing the Continuing Education Needs and Preferences of Rural Nurses

Difficulty recruiting and retaining well-qualified nursing staff can frustrate rural hospitals. Collaborative relationships between university nursing programs and rural hospitals may lead to the development of continuing education (CE) programs to enhance clinical competence, patient safety, job satisfaction, and nursing work force retention. As part of an effort to develop a collaborative relationship between a university nursing program and two rural hospitals, a pilot study was conducted with 27 nurses working at two hospitals to determine needs and preferences for CE topics and delivery. The pilot study provided important information, furthering the development of a collaborative relationship between the university and rural hospitals and offering insight into barriers preventing rural nurses' participation in CE activities. Using results from the survey, the university and hospital are working together to plan online CE offerings about topics of interest to these rural nurses. Discussion of this process and the results of the pilot study will be useful for those who are contemplating offering CE programs to nurses in rural regions or are interested in exploring opportunities for the development of collaborative relationships that could result in improved job satisfaction, patient safety, and work force retention.

The influence of library manager styles on continuing education of university library practitioners in Vietnam

PurposeThis paper aims to examine and then discuss the positive and negative influences of library manager styles on the engagement of Vietnamese university library staff in continuing education (CE) activities to improve their work performance.Design/methodology/approachBased on the relevant literature, a preliminary contextual model of factors affecting CE for university library practitioners in Vietnam was developed. Using the model as a framework to guide the data gathering, 17 focus group interviews were held with operational staff and ten individual semi‐structured interviews were conducted with library managers at ten public university libraries across Vietnam.FindingsThree main managerial styles were identified, i.e. directive, decisive and formalistic styles, each of which affected academic library staff CE in different ways. These styles were reflected in the ways the managers operated their libraries and assessed their staff, as well as in the ways they dealt with and coordinated CE activities.Research limitations/implicationsThis research focused only on public university library staff and managers in Vietnam.Originality/valueThe paper demonstrates that different managerial styles influence the engagement of Vietnamese university library staff in CE activities in different ways, and recommendations are provided to help academic library managers, regardless of their location, establish strategies to support the development of their staff through participation in CE activities.

A Targeted Audience's View of Continuing Education: School Library Media Specialists as Continuing Education Consumers

Providers of continuing education (CE), including schools of library and information science, need to understand the behavior and attitudes of their targeted audiences as well as the incentives and constraints perceived by those audiences. This study of one potential consumer group, school library media specialists in Oklahoma, found statistically significant connections between attitudes and participation in CE activities. The study also examined relationships between specific incentives and constraints and participation in CE as well as delivery format preferences of the audience. Such analysis is necessary before CE providers can effectively target a specific audience.

Attitudes and policies about continuing education among Wisconsin hospital pharmacy directors

Pharmacy directors in Wisconsin hospitals were surveyed to determine their attitudes toward continuing professional education and to assess the status of policies and procedures regarding continuing education (CE) and funding for CE activities. A two-page questionnaire was sent to all pharmacy directors in the state. A total of 151 questionnaires were delivered and 103 (68.2%) usable responses were returned. Written policies and procedures regarding CE were available in 47.6% of pharmacy departments. Most directors (84.5%) had formal mechanisms for documenting staff participation in CE activities but few (19.6%) reported having criteria for determining who would attend CE programs. Only 64% of directors used a formal system of budgeting for CE activities, although 88% provide financial support for CE activities outside the institution. The types of CE activities considered to be most desirable were programs sponsored by pharmacy organizations, programs sponsored by schools of pharmacy, and journal reading. Many directors (72.8%) believed that CE is necessary if pharmacists are to remain competent, but few (5.9%) believed that their budgets were adequate to meet the costs of all CE activities in which their pharmacists might be interested, and few expected their budgets to increase. Based on this survey, Wisconsin pharmacy directors in both small and large hospitals believe that CE is important and that the pharmacy department should support it.