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Workplace continuing education for nurses caring for hospitalised older people
Author(s) -
Baumbusch Jennifer,
Shaw Maureen,
Leblanc MarieEve,
Kjorven Mary,
Kwon JaeYung,
Blackburn Lorraine,
Lawrie Barb,
Shamatutu Marilyn,
Wolff Angela C.
Publication year - 2017
Publication title -
international journal of older people nursing
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.707
H-Index - 29
eISSN - 1748-3743
pISSN - 1748-3735
DOI - 10.1111/opn.12161
Subject(s) - thematic analysis , nursing , focus group , qualitative research , context (archaeology) , qualitative property , medicine , population , content analysis , relevance (law) , continuing education , perception , nurse education , psychology , medical education , paleontology , social science , environmental health , marketing , machine learning , neuroscience , sociology , computer science , political science , law , business , biology
Aims and objectives To develop, implement and evaluate a workplace continuing education programme about nursing care of hospitalised older people. Background The healthcare system cannot rely solely upon nurses’ prelicensure education to prepare them to meet the evolving needs of hospitalised older patients. Over the past decade, there has been a dramatic rise in the proportion of older people in hospitals, yet many nurses do not have specialised knowledge about the unique care needs of this population. Design A multimethod pre‐to post‐design was employed. Methods Between September 2013 and April 2014, data were collected via surveys, focus groups and interviews. Thirty‐two Registered Nurses initially enrolled in the programme of which 22 completed all data points. Three managers also participated in interviews. One‐way repeated‐measures ANOVA s were conducted to evaluate the effect of the programme and change over time. Qualitative data were analysed using thematic analysis. Results Survey results indicated improvements in perceptions about nursing care of older people but no changes in knowledge. Themes generated from the qualitative data focused on participants’ experiences of taking part in the programme and included: (i) relevance of content and delivery mode, (ii) value of participating in the programme and (iii) continuing education in the context of acute care. Conclusions This study illustrated the potential role of workplace continuing education in improving care for hospitalised older people, particularly the potential to change nurses’ perceptions about this population. Nurses prefer learning opportunities that are varied in delivery of educational elder‐focused content and accessible at work. Organisational leaders need to consider strategies that minimise potential barriers to workplace continuing education. Implications for practice Workplace continuing education can play a key role in improving quality of care for hospitalized older adults and ought to be a priority for employers planning education for nurses.