Aim
To identify the best evidence on the impact of healthcare organizations' supply of nurses and nursing workload on the continuing professional development opportunities of Registered Nurses in the acute care hospital.

Background
To maintain registration and professional competence nurses are expected to participate in continuing professional development. One challenge of recruitment and retention is the Registered Nurse's ability to participate in continuing professional development opportunities.

Design
The integrative review method was used to present Registered Nurses perspectives on this area of professional concern.

Data sources
The review was conducted for the period of 2001–February 2015. Keywords were: nurs*, continuing professional development, continuing education, professional development, supply, shortage, staffing, workload, nurse: patient ratio, barrier and deterrent.

Review methods
The integrative review used a structured approach for literature search and data evaluation, analysis and presentation. Eleven international studies met the inclusion criteria.

Results
Nurses are reluctant or prevented from leaving clinical settings to attend continuing professional development due to lack of relief cover, obtaining paid or unpaid study leave, use of personal time to undertake mandatory training and organizational culture and leadership issues constraining the implementation of learning to benefit patients.

Conclusion
Culture, leadership and workload issues impact nurses' ability to attend continuing professional development. The consequences affect competence to practice, the provision of safe, quality patient care, maintenance of professional registration, job satisfaction, recruitment and retention. Organizational leadership plays an important role in supporting attendance at continuing professional development as an investment for the future.

Organizational impact of nurse supply and workload on nurses continuing professional development opportunities: an integrative review.

Access to and support for continuing professional education amongst Queensland nurses: 2004 and 2007

Aims and objectives.  To explore the relationship between the levels of nurses’ competence and the length of their clinical experience, in order to provide a tentative model of the continuing competence of nurses.

Background.  The professional development of employees has attracted great interest. This interest has led to the development of various models that illustrate how employees develop their competence throughout their careers. However, little is known of how nurses maintain and develop their competence throughout their career pathways.

Design.  A cross-sectional design was used.

Methods.  Using a survey method, five dimensions of self-assessed nursing competence and the length of the nurses’ clinical practice were measured (n = 325). Each dimension of competence was plotted against the length of their clinical experience using locally weighted scatterplot smoothing. Then, the shapes of the plots were analysed by fractional polynomial regression analysis.

Results.  Overall, the relationships between the levels of nursing competence and the length of clinical experience were illustrated by curves with a rapid increase in competence levels at the early stage of the nursing career and a slower increase later. These curves were modelled by either a logarithmic, square-root function or its reciprocal. The results supported the learning curve model.

Conclusions.  The competence development of nurses may be characterised by two distinctive periods: a rapid growth period followed by stable periods. However, the modality of the growth may be different depending on which dimension of nursing competence is in focus.

Relevance to clinical practice.  The level of nursing competence directly affects the quality of care provided to patients. The findings of the study enable healthcare organisations to take proactive approaches to enhance nurses’ competence by identifying when and how to assist nurses.

The relationship between the levels of nurses' competence and the length of their clinical experience: a tentative model for nursing competence development.

severinsson e. & sand a. (2010) Journal of Nursing Management 18, 669–677
Evaluation of the clinical supervision and professional development of student nurses

Aim  The aim of the present study was to evaluate the clinical supervision and professional development of student nurses during their undergraduate education.

Background  Nursing education has undergone radical changes as a result of improvements in the academic-based clinical education required for the Bachelor’s degree.

Methods  The sample consisted of student nurses (n = 147) and data were collected by means of questionnaires.

Results  The results demonstrated that the frequency of sessions and the supervision model employed influence the student nurses’ professional development. Several significant correlations were found, most of which were related to the development of the student nurses’ professional relationships with their supervisors and reflection on the development of their skills. From the patients’ perspective, a high correlation was found between the factors ‘preserving integrity’ and ‘protecting participation by patients and family members’.

Conclusions  Clinical supervision strongly influences the student nurses’ development of a professional identity, enhancing decision-making ability and personal growth. However, development of documentation skills should include a greater level of user involvement.

Implications for nursing management  The findings highlight the need for management and staff nurses to engage in on-going professional development. Transformative leadership, which is value driven, can facilitate and enhance the supervision and development of student nurses.

Evaluation of the clinical supervision and professional development of student nurses.

Australian nurses and midwives are expected to compile a professional development portfolio during their annual registration process. This study aimed to ascertain the current understanding, practice and future continuing professional development (CPD) needs of nurses and midwives employed in a regional area of Queensland, Australia. Perceived barriers and incentives for CPD were also measured. 289 public and private hospital nurses and midwives responded to the survey. Results showed that participants understood the new requirements, valued ongoing learning, preferred education to occur within work hours, and considered their workplaces as accepting of change. Approximately two-thirds of participants believed CPD should be shared between them and their employers. Barriers to undertaking CPD included understaffing, and the concern that CPD would interfere with time outside work. Organisational support positively influenced attitudes to CPD. This study highlights the importance of supportive management in encouraging their workforce to embrace ongoing learning and change.

Continuing professional development in nursing in Australia: current awareness, practice and future directions.

Continuing professional development and the charity paradigm: Interrelated individual, collective and organisational issues about continuing professional development

Kathleen M. Munro

Papers

Continuing professional development and the charity paradigm: Interrelated individual, collective and organisational issues about continuing professional development

Leadership development: a collaborative approach to curriculum development and delivery.

A response to Haigh (2005): where are the keynote debates in nurse education?