Continuous Professional Development in Healthcare : Lifelong learning for nurses in the workplace

As national boarders continue to disappear and technology advances, the needs of society continues to change, lending credence to the idea that healthcare workers require continued development in order to ensure the delivery of safe, quality services. Nurses, as adult learners, are an integral part of the healthcare system. They address a wide variety of patient needs and therefore, are obliged to update their competencies in accordance with current evidence-based practices. One way to develop nurse competence is through continued professional development (CPD) activities. This thesis is a part of a research project being conducted at one higher education institution located in Helsinki, Finland. The aim of this study is to investigate the benefits, motives, participation and existing barriers of CPD activities. This is a qualitative study using a deductive approach for the review of literature. The theoretical framework used was, Bandura's Social Cognitive Theory. Results show that there exist personal and organizational benefits when employees participate in routine CPD activities. They are, increased job satisfaction, job retention, professional growth and the provision of high quality patient care. According to the literature, the motivating factors for CPD include an increase in the following: clinical competency, job security, health promotion and the enhancement of well-being at the workplace. Thus, to facilitate continuous education (CE) activities for health care personnel, the perceived barriers or gaps, such as, the lack of; time, funding, employer`s support, and work overload are to be addressed. Through this investigation, it seems clear that the pursuit of lifelong learning requires participation and commitment on different levels. Additional research could focus on identifying the specific factors represented in smaller clusters within healthcare organizations throughout Finland