Influences Shaping Nurses’ Continuing Professional Education Choices and Learning Pathways: An Exploratory Case Study

Abstract

Background

Nurses engage in continuing professional education (CPE) to remain current in their knowledge and competencies, and to learn in ways that help them navigate an increasingly complex healthcare system. Recent trends indicate that CPE has shifted away from nurses’ education to be more directed toward organizational and regulatory needs, which impacts nurses’ professional learning.

Purpose

The purpose of this research was to understand the influences that shape nurses’ CPE choices and professional learning pathways, and the ways in which nurses learn.

Methods

This was an exploratory case study of later career nurses in Nova Scotia, Canada, that analyzed data from semi-structured interviews, participant artifacts, and government and regulatory policy documents. Critical and post-structural feminist lenses were applied to the data analysis.

Results

Three themes encompassing the key influences on nurses’ CPE choices and learning pathways were identified: sociocultural context, structural/systems context, and shifting knowledge forms. The findings suggest that educational discourse embedded in the broader regulatory, government, and employer policy worked to direct the participants into CPE for employment and regulatory requirements, shaping nursing knowledge that reflects organizational needs.

Conclusion

This study revealed sources of influence on nurses’ CPE choices and professional learning pathways, such as sociocultural expectations for women to assume most family responsibilities. Structural influences within healthcare and regulation exert considerable influence on nurses’ CPE and learning pathways to align with system needs. This study highlighted the limitations of these influences and the need for CPE programs and learning for nurses that enable rather than constrain their continued professional development.