Addressing Challenges to the Development, Delivery, and Evaluation of Continuing Education for Nurses

摘要

Continuing education provides a pathway for professional nurses to stay-up-to date with their clinical KSAs. A very specific set of skills and processes is needed by NPD practitioners to execute successful educational programs. The process starts with performing a gap analysis, which helps focus and drive the development of continuing education topics. An understanding of adult learning principles, learning preferences, and various teaching and learning strategies is crucial in the design and delivery of professional learning opportunities. Fellowship programs, simulation training, and gamification present innovative possibilities to address current barriers to empowering nurses to own their competency and accountability for professional development. Readily available options in educational technology can help NPD prac-titioners find a strategy that supports practice advancement and quality, safe patient care through continuing education. ontinuing education supports a lifelong learning paradigm that nursing as a profes-sion has a responsibility to promote. Continuing education will continue to play a crucial role in sustaining nurses' competence in an ever changing and complex health care environment. Florence Nightingale knew the importance of continuing education, as she is quoted to say, "Let us never consider ourselves finished nurses. We must be learning all of our lives."29 Nurses are uniquely positioned at all levels of practice to ask the burning clinical questions, engage in the advancement of nursing practice through continuing education, and achieve the best possible clinical outcomes.