Measurement Issues in Promoting Continued Competence

PURPOSE

Promoting continued competence in nursing practice has always been of concern to staff development and continuing education educators. Recently it has reached new levels of significance. As a result of the proposals made by the Pew Commission Taskforce on Health Care Workforce Regulation and the National Council of State Boards of Nursing, the profession is re-examining the question, "How do we promote and assure continued competence?" The purpose of this article is to examine the measurement issues related to answering this question.

FINDINGS

The nursing literature provides several definitions of competence, but none are operational. To measure a concept it must be operationalized. Mandatory continuing education, peer review, and practice or process audits have been used to assess continued competence. The measurement issues involved in assessing competence include selecting an appropriate measurement paradigm, selecting accurate measurement instruments, and interpreting the measurement data.

IMPLICATIONS

Staff development educators and nurse managers should collaborate in the establishment of standards of practice, the identification of essential competencies specific to the setting, and the development of appropriate methods of measurement of these competencies.

Use of Learning Contracts in a RN-to-BSN Leadership Course

Educating RN-to-BSN students can be challenging and rewarding. The diversity of these students can make designing courses quite difficult. In addition, the RN with experience in nursing practice may resent being put in the traditional role of student. Nominal group process and use of learning contracts in a leadership course in one RN completion program are described as two means of meeting the unique learning preferences of working, adult learners. Houle (1984) identified the learning contract as one means of assisting the adult learner seeking continuing professional education. Accordingly, examples of use of these two strategies in continuing nursing education and staff development are described.

Systematic planning of continuing nursing education

To avoid omissions and to promote efficient use of time, it is important to plan continuing nursing education (CNE) activities systematically. A detailed and comprehensive planning checklist is provided to assist the novice planner to organize and implement a CNE offering competently.

An evaluation of international nursing education using interactive desktop video conferencing

Evolving computer technology has opened the door to unique and previously unavailable educational experiences. The use of one form of distance learning enabled undergraduate nursing students in the United States and England to participate in a short course on women's health issues. The nursing faculty at two universities, one in the United States and the other in England, collaborated on an international nursing education project. The delivery device was interactive desktop video conferencing (DTV). The focus of this article is on the evaluation of the project with recommendations about how best to use DTV in international nursing education.

Answer Changing: A Meta-Analysis of the Prevalence and Patterns

In order to determine the prevalence and patterns of answer-changing behavior, a meta-analysis of 61 studies was conducted. The findings of the individual primary studies were supported, which increased confidence in the conclusion that most students will change answers and this behavior will likely improve test scores. Moreover, neither age, gender, academic ability, personality traits, beliefs about answer changing, nor item characteristics systematically influenced answer-changing behavior. Practitioners of continuing nursing education need to know the effect of answer changing on test scores so that they may appropriately advise nurses who are preparing for objective tests.

A reliable and valid evaluation instrument for continuing nursing education

Practitioners in continuing nursing education must develop reliable and valid evaluation instruments to increase their confidence in the quality and usefulness of the information being gathered. In addition, they should consider the requirements for accreditation or approval of their continuing education activities. This article describes the process used by one provider to accomplish these goals.

Why Do Nurses Participate in Continuing Education? A Meta-Analysis

In order to explain why nurses participate in continuing education, a meta-analysis of 22 studies was conducted. All of the studies examined the relationship between several independent variables from the Urbano and Jahns' model and nurses' participation in continuing nursing education (CNE). This study supported the Urbano and Jahns' proposition that motivational orientation influences participation, while other factors, such as demographics and educational opportunity, may mediate the degree of that influence.

Differentiating Impact Evaluation From Evaluation Research: One Perspective of Implications for Continuing Nursing Education

Practitioners of continuing nursing education need to be able to distinguish between impact evaluation and evaluation research reported in the literature. Failure to do so may lead to invalid conclusions or faulty decision-making. This article defines impact evaluation and evaluation research, compares them across seven dimensions, and describes their strengths and weaknesses.

The Effects of Continuing Education on Nursing Practice: A Meta-Analysis

A meta-analysis of published and unpublished studies was conducted to reconcile the apparent conflicting results in the domain of research designed to determine the effects of continuing education on nursing practice. The overall mean effect size supported the hypothesis that continuing education positively affects nursing practice. Findings related to mediating effects were inconclusive. Suggestions for future research are given.