CONTINUING EDUCATION IN NURSING

Introduction: Continuing nursing education is a modern imperative, it must be future- oriented, geared to the facing of new situations and to the making of new responses appropriate for these situations. New knowledge is emerging rapidly in the physical, biological, behavioral and medical sciences, which constitute the foundation of nursing, problems in nursing, must be solved by rational effort based upon systematic inquiry. Continuing nursing education programmes should be developed by nurses and conducted within nursing or in general education system in cooperation with the nurses. DEFINITION: Continuing education of health workers includes the experiences after initial training which helps health care personnel to maintain and improve existing, and acquire new competences relevant to the performances of their responsibilities. Appropriate continuing education should reflect community needs in health and lead to planned improvements in the health of the community. That education which builds on previous education.---Shannon. Continuing education is all the learning activities that occur after an individual has completed his basic education.---Cooper FEATURES OF CONTINUING EDUCATION: Unified approach Relationships with other systems Comprehensiveness Accessibility for women health workers

Internally coordinated Relevance in planning Credibility and economic NEED OF CONTINUING EDUCATION: To ensure safe and effective nursing care, nurses need to keep abreast with interest, knowledge and technical advances. To meet the needs of population and should cater to the needs of service. For career development. To acquire specialized skills of personnel and meet technologic adjuncts. Clinical specialists are needed for direct patient care and for teaching and consultative roles to help the students and staff nurses to reach higher levels of competency. Nurses with research aptitudes and preparation. Nursing functions require a high degree of skill, knowledge, and competence and education preparation. The demand for specialized nursing service is increasing more rapidly. Planned programmes are needed to increase their competence as practitioners. It is needed for the nurses who wish to help shape their own destiny must be aware of the forces at work which will affect their future roles. To provide and prepare faculty who see continuing nursing education as a personal responsibility as well as professional and university responsibility.

FUNCTIONS OF CONTINUING EDUCATION: To meet the health needs and public expectations. To develop the practicing abilities of the nurse. Recruitment function. Recognize gaps in their knowledge. To test ability to do final academic study. To test the participants ability to do formal academic study. To ensure the quality of education. To grant budget for extension studies. To meet educational requirements.

PHILOSOPHY OF CONTINUING EDUCATION IN NURSING EDUCATION: Continuing nursing education is concerned with the development of the nurse as a person, a practitioner and a citizen. These are closely interrelated, but each must be considered in identifying philosophy of education. The philosophies of continuing nursing education recognize important elements such as: 1. LEARNER: Learner is a person, as a nurse and as a citizen. Thus continuing nursing education is seen as a totality, a sound philosophy of education recognizes all three aspects of lifelong learning. Diversity is a part of learning process and contributes to the development of the individual so the teacher has to make the learner to involve in nursing and non-nursing courses. The learner in his life plays many different roles. It aims as self-directing learning. 2. TEACHER/NURSE EDUCATOR:

 He has to accept the concept of life-long learning and his responsibility to encourage nurses to recognize the value of participating in different types of education activities. Teacher should act as a role model. Creative teaching is essential. He has to show interest and concern for every member of his class. The continuing educator has to play multiple roles like Guide and counselor to the learner Motivator and an encourager of students. Evaluator of programmes. Producing instructional materials. Select and evaluate materials prepared by others. Administrative role.

PRINCIPLES OF CONTINUING EDUCATION IN NURSING: Provision for school and nursing faculty involvement in planning and teaching, the continuing nursing education courses tends to maintain high educational standards for the programme. An adequate staff is essential to planning, implementing and evaluating a programme which is based on learning needs and which has an impact on the quality of nursing care provided. Various responsibilities of director of continuing nursing education are: Determination of learning needs of the nurse population. Development and implementation of a programme to meet these needs.

 Evaluation of the results. Staff services are required with sufficient talents and numbers to implement the planned programme. An advisory committee has to be appointed which includes: Faculty members from a variety of areas of nursing. Directors of hospital nursing services. Extended care facilities. Hospital association. Regional medical programme. Continuing nursing education programme may be decentralized or centralized. Decentralization is characterized by programming within each academic department, faculty involved in consultation and surveys with the public interested in their subject field were most knowledgeable about the needs for continuing nursing education. Centralization is characterized by a separate department or extension division. PLANNING FOR CONTINUING EDUCATION IN NURSING: A successful continuing nursing education programme is the result of careful and detailed planning. The various aspects of continuing nursing education planning are: Broad planning by institution and agencies responsible for continuing nursing education. Specific planning by individuals for their own continuing education. Planning is essential to Meet the nursing needs. Use available resources.

 Meet needs at all levels. Avoid duplication and fragmentation of efforts. Help keep at a minimum any gaps in meeting the continuing education needs of the nurses. PLANNING PROCESS: 1. Establishing goals with the purpose or philosophy of the organization. 2. Establishing goals and objectives. 3. Derterming needs and priorities. 4. Assess the available resources for establishing the programme. 5. Plan the budget appropriate for the programme. ORGANISATION: Programming of professional courses in nursing is a joint responsibility of a director of continuing nursing education and a dean of school of nursing. The formal channels of communication make possible the optional use of the nursing faculty to explore the needs of continuing nursing education, to set priorities, to plan courses and to teach them. University faculty may be assigned to continuing education in nursing as a part of the regular teaching load or an extracompensation basis.

REFERENCES: 1.Neeraja KP, Textbook of Nursing Education, year2008, Jaypee publications, page: 386-396. 2. www.continuingeducationinnursing.com