Support and access for nursing continuing education in Canadian work environments

Continuing professional education experiences and expectations of nurses in Chinese military hospitals: A quantitative and qualitative study

BACKGROUND

Continuing professional education (CPE) is important for maintaining the competencies of nurses. The evaluation of training needs is necessary for well-organized CPE programs.

OBJECTIVES

To obtain a deeper understanding of the past experiences and future expectations of CPE among nurses in Chinese military hospitals in order to provide empirical support for planning effective CPE programs.

DESIGN

We implemented a two-phase procedure to investigate the experiences and expectations of CPE.

SETTINGS

Twenty one hospitals across China.

PARTICIPANTS

382 nurses in quantitative study, and 20 nurses in qualitative study.

METHODS

Self-designed questionnaire was used to quantitatively measure past experiences, willingness to participate, and future expectations of CPE via a cross-sectional study. Semi-structured interviews were carried out to explore the characteristics of CPE activities among military nurses.

RESULTS

A total of 293 (76.7 %) participants had experience with CPE in the past, and 362 (94.8 %) were willing to take CPE in the future. The top five training items they wanted to learn about in the future were combat casualty care, emergency and critical care, military skills, trauma care in an austere environment, and specialist nursing. We identified the following 5 themes in the qualitative data: military missions, military training content, military medicine training content, training methods, and professional development paths.

CONCLUSIONS

Nursing administrators and educators should consider designing hierarchical, categorized CPE programs to meet the needs of self-development and professional growth among nurses.

Striking a Balance between Work and Play: The Effects of Work-Life Interference and Burnout on Faculty Turnover Intentions and Career Satisfaction

BACKGROUND

The interactions between work and personal life are important for ensuring well-being, especially during COVID-19 where the lines between work and home are blurred. Work-life interference/imbalance can result in work-related burnout, which has been shown to have negative effects on faculty members' physical and psychological health. Although our understanding of burnout has advanced considerably in recent years, little is known about the effects of burnout on nursing faculty turnover intentions and career satisfaction.

OBJECTIVE

To test a hypothesized model examining the effects of work-life interference on nursing faculty burnout (emotional exhaustion and cynicism), turnover intentions and, ultimately, career satisfaction.

DESIGN

A predictive cross-sectional design was used.

SETTINGS

An online national survey of nursing faculty members was administered throughout Canada in summer 2021.

PARTICIPANTS

Nursing faculty who held full-time or part-time positions in Canadian academic settings were invited via email to participate in the study.

METHODS

Data were collected from an anonymous survey housed on Qualtrics. Descriptive statistics and reliability estimates were computed. The hypothesized model was tested using structural equation modeling.

RESULTS

Data suggest that work-life interference significantly increases burnout which contributes to both higher turnover intentions and lower career satisfaction. Turnover intentions, in turn, decrease career satisfaction.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings add to the growing body of literature linking burnout to turnover and dissatisfaction, highlighting key antecedents and/or drivers of burnout among nurse academics. These results provide suggestions for suitable areas for the development of interventions and policies within the organizational structure to reduce the risk of burnout during and post-COVID-19 and improve faculty retention.

Mainstreaming genetics and genomics: a systematic review of the barriers and facilitators for nurses and physicians in secondary and tertiary care

PURPOSE

Genetic and genomic health information increasingly informs routine clinical care and treatment. This systematic review aimed to identify the barriers and facilitators to integrating genetics and genomics into nurses' and physicians' usual practice (mainstreaming).

METHODS

A search of MEDLINE, EMBASE, CINAHL, and PsycINFO generated 7873 articles, of which 48 were included. Using narrative synthesis, barriers and facilitators were mapped to the Theoretical Domains Framework (TDF).

RESULTS

Barriers were limitations to genetics knowledge and skill, low confidence initiating genetics discussions, lack of resources and guidelines, and concerns about discrimination and psychological harm. Facilitators were positive attitudes toward genetics, willingness to participate in discussions upon patient initiation, and intention to engage in genetics education.

CONCLUSION

Nurses and physicians are largely underprepared to integrate genetic and genomic health information into routine clinical care. Ethical, legal, and psychological concerns surrounding genetic information can lead to avoidance of genetics discussions. The knowledge-practice gap could limit patients' and families' access to vital genetic information. Building the capacity of the current and next generation of nurses and physicians to integrate genetics and genomics into usual clinical practice is essential if opportunities afforded by precision medicine are to be fully realized.

Systematic Review of Continuing Education Interventions for Licensed Nurses Working in Psychiatry

Continuing education is an important part of nursing practice. These interventions help maintain clinical competence and are mandated by regulatory bodies. Often, continuing education interventions are created ad hoc and implemented without testing or formal evaluation of learning outcomes. In the current health care context, where resources are limited, educators are pressed to do more with less. Having access to a repository of existing continuing education interventions will facilitate the use of evidence-informed learning strategies and save valuable time by reducing duplication of efforts. Therefore, this systematic review aimed to explore continuing education interventions for licensed nurses working in psychiatry. All standard systematic review procedures were followed, including double screening, data extraction, and quality appraisal. This article presents an inventory of existing interventions, including summaries, as well as the reported effectiveness of each for nursing outcomes. Generally, the continuing education interventions result in positive nurse-related outcomes, such as increased knowledge, confidence, and skills, or improved attitudes; however, more rigorous research is needed to advance science in this area. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2019;50(5):233-240.].