Authors: Atsuko Watanabe, Mami Onishi, Katsuya Kanda.
Background: Continuing education is essential for developing professional competencies. Nurse educators are expected to provide continuing education programs catered to the needs of nurses with validated effectiveness. However, the quality and content of continuing education programs differ among Japanese hospitals. This study aimed to examine the current state of continuing education systems in Japanese hospitals and identify the contents of education required for nurse educators to enhance their skills, as perceived by certified nurse administrators.
Methods: A cross-sectional survey was conducted among 228 Japanese certified nurse administrators who were randomly selected. A questionnaire was developed based on the standards of continuing education and group interviews. Simple tabulation was performed, and free descriptions were coded and categorized according to meaning in order to identify educational contents required for nurse educators.
Results: A total of 101 certified nurses responded to the questionnaire. Of these, roughly 60% indicated that their hospitals had full-time nurse educators. Most hospitals with <200 beds had concurrent nurse educators. Roughly 70% of head nurses were involved in planning, implementing, and evaluating continuing education programs. The contents of special education required for nurse educators were categorized into nine items: communication, self-
development, building personal relationships, management, human resource development and career development, planning and practical skills, analysis and evaluation, education (general and nursing), and nurse educator development seminars.
Conclusion: Many hospitals had continuing education programs without full-time nurse educators, with head nurses mainly assuming the role of concurrent nurse educator. The demands were high for nurse educators, who were expected to demonstrate enhanced competencies and improve not only practical skills for organizing continuous education programs but also self-development skills and social skills. Support systems are needed for hospitals and nurse educators to provide opportunities for all nurses to develop their professional competencies, as this will ultimately lead to improved quality of nursing care.
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