Perceptions of registered nurses in four state health insititutions on continuing formal education

Abstract

This study investigated registered nurses in four selected state health institutions’perceptions with regard to continuing formal education. The relevance of continuing formal education is being emphasised globally by the increasing quest for quality assurance and quality management systems within an ethos of continuous improvement.According to Tlholoe (2006:5), it is important to be committed to continual learning, as people’s knowledge become less relevant because skills gained early in a career are insufficient to avoid costly mistakes made through ignorance. Continuing formal education in nursing is a key element to the maintenance of quality in health care delivery. The study described:<p> </p><ul><li>registered nurses’ views on continuing formal</li><li>education registered nurses’ perceived barriers to continuing formal education</li></ul><p>A quantitative descriptive survey design was chosen using a questionnaire for data collection. The sample consisted of 40 registered nurses working at four state health institutions in the Western Cape Province, South Africa. Convenience sampling was selected to include registered nurses who were on duty on the days during which there searcher visited the health institutions to distribute the questionnaires. The questionnaire contained mainly closed-ended and a few open-ended questions. Content validity of the instrument was ensured by doing a thorough literature review before construction of items and a pretest. Reliability was established by the pretest and providing the same information to all respondents before completion of the questionnaires.The ethical considerations of informed consent, anonymity and confidentiality were adhered to and consent to conduct the study was obtained from relevant authorities. Descriptive statistics, based on calculations using the Microsoft (MS)Excel (for Windows 2000) programme, were used to summarise and describe the research results. The research results indicated that most registered nurses perceive continuing formal education as beneficial to their personal and professional growth and that it could lead towards improving the quality of patient/client care, but barrier sexist which prevent or deter them from undertaking continuing formal education programmes. The main structural barriers included lack of funding and lack of coherent staff development planning and physical barriers including job and family responsibilities.</p

Continuing Formal Education for Nurses in Ghana: The Perception of Non-Professional Nurses

“…The non-professional nurses conceived that by engaging in continuing formal education, they would be abreast with contemporary nursing skills and techniques which they would, in turn, impart on t h e i r colleagues and nursing students (Nsemo et al 2013;Perfetto, 2015;Ni et al, 2014;Richards & Potgieter, 2010). This perception is paramount as most non-professional nurses' work in remote villages where there are an inadequate n u m b e r o f nurses.…”

“…The acquisition of a higher educational qualification is perceived by non-professional nurses as an essential factor a s t o why they would engage in continuing education (Richards & Potgieter, 2010). There is the need for non-professional nurses to be encouraged to pursue continuing formal education as t h e majority of the study participants who had either completed or were engaged in continuing formal education could only boast of their highest academic qualification as a certificate.…”

“…The desire to deliver quality health services to their clients in order for them to enjoy a shorter stay in the hospital and to avoid developing complications is another perception that non-professional nurses discerned that continuing formal education can provide (Lerner et al, 2010;Nsemo et al 2013;Richards & Potgieter, 2010). The non-professional nurses conceived that by engaging in continuing formal education, they would be abreast with contemporary nursing skills and techniques which they would, in turn, impart on t h e i r colleagues and nursing students (Nsemo et al 2013;Perfetto, 2015;Ni et al, 2014;Richards & Potgieter, 2010).…”

“…The initial training received by nurses at school becomes obsolete with time; therefore non-professional nurses perceive continuing education as beneficial, as they hope to build on their basic knowledge in the nursing profession (Richards & Potgieter, 2010;Shahhosseini & Hamzehgardeshi, 2015). The acquisition of a higher educational qualification is perceived by non-professional nurses as an essential factor a s t o why they would engage in continuing education (Richards & Potgieter, 2010).…”

“…Nurses perceive engaging in continuing education as valuable and of great importance, as the knowledge that they obtain from school enhances their professional skills and competencies (Baxter et al, 2013;Govranos & Newton, 2014;Ni et al, 2014;Nsemo et al, 2013). Continuing education is also perceived by t h e nurses as b ein g beneficial to their personal and professional growth, as well as augmenting the quality of care delivered to patients (Richards & Potgieter, 2010). Studies corroborate that nurses hold the perception that by engaging in continuing education, they can acquire knowledge that will improve their caregiving skills and increase their job satisfaction (Lerner et al, 2010).…”