Professional staff education. Quantifying costs and outcomes

Creating a culture of safety by coaching clinicians to competence

Contemporary discussions of nursing knowledge, skill, patient safety and the associated ongoing education are usually combined with the term competence. Ensuring patient safety is considered a fundamental tenet of clinical competence together with the ability to problem solve, think critically and anticipate variables which may impact on patient care outcomes. Nurses are ideally positioned to identify, analyse and act on deteriorating patients, near-misses and potential adverse events. The absence of competency may lead to errors resulting in serious consequences for the patient. Gaining and maintaining competence are especially important in a climate of rapid evidence availability and regular changes in procedures, systems and products. Quality and safety issues predominate highlighting a clear need for closer inter-professional collaboration between education and clinical units. Educators and coaches are ideally placed to role model positive leadership and resilience to develop capability and competence. With contemporary guidance and support from educators and coaches, nurses can participate in life-long learning to create and enhance a culture of safety. The added challenge for nurse educators is to modernise, rationalise and integrate education delivery systems to improve clinical learning. Investing in evidence-based, contemporary education assists in building a capable, resilient and competent workforce focused on patient safety.

Professional development research literature from 1996 to 2006: an integrative review

An integrative review of the professional development research literature, spanning the years 1996 to 2006, was conducted by the National Nurses in Staff Development Organization Research Committee at the request of the organization's Board of Directors. Rigorous research criteria were used to evaluate 949 publications. Results determined that 8 studies met the research criteria. Outcomes are reported and recommendations are suggested for advancement of research in the field.

Return on Investment for a Perioperative Nurse Fellowship

In 1998, Inova Health System, Falls Church, Va, implemented a perioperative nurse fellowship program to train nurses to fill a large number of vacancies in Inova ORs. The educators at Inova did not have data to determine whether the program was cost-effective, so they conducted an analysis of the program's return on investment (ROI). This article reviews the steps they took to ascertain the program's costs and benefits. Computing ROI presented a clear financial rationale for the creation and maintenance of the periopeative nurse fellowship program.

Providing meaningful continuing education in a changing long-term care environment

This article describes the delivery of an innovative continuing education program to all staff in long-term care facilities in Thunder Bay, Ontario. Using techniques ranging from lecture to storytelling, brief 30-minute teaching sessions were developed to facilitate attitude change about depression. The inclusion of all staff encouraged cross discipline learning and a common language of care within the facilities. The format is easy to use and applicable to a variety of continuing education issues.