Exploring staff nurses' views on professional development
Wood, J.
Nursing Times 102(13): 36-38
2006
ISSN/ISBN: 0954-7762 PMID: 16605150 Document Number: 603755
The aim of this study is to explore senior staff nurses' experiences of continuing professional development. A hermeneutic phenomenological methodology was used with a purposive sample of five participants. Four key themes were identified: the experience is about being opportunistic; the experience is about keeping up to date with ongoing advances in nursing practice; the experience is about experiential learning and meeting the demands of the informant's current role. CPD enabled the nurses who took part in this study to keep up to date with nursing practice. It also illustrates that engaging with this system of skills enhancement helps to reduce work-related stress among nurses, thereby providing further opportunities to enhance confidence and competence as well as developing a workforce that is 'fit for practice' and 'fit for purpose'.