Guidelines for Inservice Education For Registered Nurses

Abstract

The intent of this study is to develop guidelines for inservice education for registered nurses. Through the Delphi Technique, premises in the educational, nursing and hospital literature and suppositions from practitioners were submitted to the respondents for rating of vital statements regarding the organization, planning, implementation and evaluation of inservice education for registered nurses. The respondents were inservice education practitioners in health care delivery systems which met the criteria of hospital accreditation and were used in the clinical experiences for student nurses. The results indicated that premises found in the literature followed the standard theoretical curriculum design in which the emphasis is on programs when dealing with organization and planning, on instructors during implementation, and on learners with regard to evaluation. On the other hand, practitioners found that the emphasis is on the learner regarding organization, planning and implementation, and on programs for evaluation. The general lone of the guidelines found to be vital is toward improved patient care and the consideration of the learner as an adult with specific learning needs related to the work situation. The major weakness of the guidelines is evaluation. Evaluation of knowledge and skill performance can be accomplished, but accountability that such knowledge will be used, or that the skill will continue to be performed, is not provided by the guidelines. This would indicate that cooperative evaluation with the learner's supervisor may be more effective when developing outcome criteria of inservice education programs.