Access to Continuing Education for Critical Care Nurses in Rural or Remote Settings

Abstract

Caring for the critically ill does not occur solely in large medical centers or urban areas. Nurses practicing in rural or remote settings practice as nurse generalists, caring for a wide range of patients, including those needing critical care. As a nurse generalist, the need for a wide variety of skill sets challenges nurses in rural areas to maintain current practice through continuing education across many content areas. They also may not come in contact with critically ill patients or emergent situations as often as their urban counterparts, which can make remaining comfortable with more advanced skills difficult. Because nurses working in rural or remote areas may care for critically ill patients less often, the need to remain vigilant in pursuit of continuing education is increased; however, access to continuing education can be problematic because of geographic isolation, difficulty getting time off from work, limited financial resources, and perceived lack of applicable topics. With advances in technology, critical care nurses working in rural areas have more options for continuing education, which is crucial for maintaining a skilled nursing workforce in rural health care facilities. This article addresses challenges critical care nurses working in remote or rural areas face in pursuing continuing education and provides information about available educational opportunities.

Health science student teachers' perceptions of teacher competence: A qualitative study

“…Continuous education is vital as it ensures that professionals can adequately monitor their own professional development to provide safe and efficient services (Directive 2005/36/EC and EFN Strategic & Operational lobby plan 2014-2020, revised 2016; National league for Nursing, 2019). Other researchers have suggested that continuous education is crucial to maintaining the skills and competences that are needed to operate in a practical environment (Hendrickx and Winters, 2017) and that it significantly impacts the attendee's knowledge, skills, attitudes and behaviors (Harden et al, 2017).…”

Nurses’ Attitudes toward, and Needs for Online Learning: Differences between Rural and Urban Hospitals in Shanghai, East China

“…However, traditional continuing learning methods that usually use face-to-face classes as the major approach can be difficult for nurses to attend. Heavy workloads, time or energy constraints, geographic distance, learning costs, and lack of learning opportunities or support from supervisors were the key barriers to nurses’ participation in continuing education programs [ 11 , 12 ], especially for those working in rural and remote healthcare settings [ 13 , 14 , 15 ].…”

Communication tools and sources of education and information: a national survey of rural and remote nurses

“…Although taking part in web conferences generally requires little more than Internet access in terms of technology, it is also essential for participation that users have adequate time, adequate workspace, and a reliable Internet connection. Communication technology can reduce the professional and social isolation of rural nurses [31], address the challenges of travel to access urban-based in-person education [53], and support skill development through online learning [25], but these tools must first be accessible to nurses in their workplaces.…”

“…To ensure that rural nurses have the capacity to provide safe and effective care, and to maintain competence, it is important that they have opportunities to update their clinical knowledge and skills through continuing education programs [25]. Rural nurses require education that is relevant to their practice and patient population [19, 25]. Relevant continuing education has been shown to increase self-reported confidence, competence, and job satisfaction among rural nurses and to expand their range of practice [26].…”

“…Urban-based learning opportunities pose geographical barriers for rural nurses that require organizational support and resources to be overcome, such as paid time, funding, relief staff, and formal requirements or incentives for continuing education [24, 27–30]. Although distance-based learning with synchronous and asynchronous webinars and virtual classrooms reduces the expense and time of travel [25, 31], organizations must still provide support (e.g., paid time or position coverage and back-up). Moreover, some rural communities in North America have lower access to high-speed Internet than urban centers [32, 33], making distance-based learning challenging [9, 11].…”