Research Article Continuing Education: Improving Perceived Competence in School Nurses

ABSTRACT: An investigator-designed survey was used to determine if attendance at specific con-tinuing education programs increased the perceived competence of school nurses who enrolled and completed the programs. Respondents were queried about the general content of six courses offered by the Missouri Department of Health and Senior Services in conjunction with the Uni-versity of Missouri—Columbia Sinclair School of Nursing. Specific content areas were mental health concerns, suicide prevention, diabetes management, asthma management, seizure disor-ders, and developing clinical skills as they pertained to school-age children. Comparing a sample of school nurses who had attended the programs with a group whom had not, a statistically significant difference was found in the participant group who reported higher self-perceived com-petence than the nonparticipant group in all content areas. Results of the study suggest that school nurses who attend specific continuing education programs feel more competent in practice than nurses who do not attend. KEY WORDS: continuing education, children with special health care needs, competence in practice, school nursin