Abstract
There is a growing consensus that pre-registration nursing education is just the start of learning that continues throughout a nursing career. Within the context of rapidly changing patient care continuing professional development (CPD) is crucial. The increased emphasis on CPD coincides with an ageing workforce. More than 30% of the
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Dutch nurses are 50 years and over. A challenge for managers and educators is to develop CPD approaches geared towards the needs of nurses of different ages. Although the knowledge about CPD is growing, few studies have focused on CPD of older nurses and age differences in CPD.We lack knowledge on whether and how professional development strategies employed by nurses change with ageing.
To contribute in filling this knowledge gap, five studies were carried out combining insights from CPD and lifespan development theories, and using a multi-method approach. First, in a focus group study with four groups (n = 32) we examined nurses’ and managers’ perceptions of the concept of CPD, and their perceptions of differences in CPD of younger and older nurses. Second, we reviewed the literature examining whether and how CPD differs across age groups. We applied a framework with five perspectives on age to distinguish factors contributing to these age differences. In the third study biographical interviews (n =21) were held. The focus was on similarities and differences in CPD strategies used by three age groups, and on exploring the relationship between life, work, and learning. In the fourth study, we examined relationships between CPD motives and CPD activities that we had noticed in the data of our third study by using a framework based on a literature review of CPD motives and activities. Finally, engagement in CPD across the career was investigated in a survey (n = 728) by examining the influence of age, tenure, and home situation on nurses’ CPD motives and learning activities.
The findings show that professional development is more than engagement in formal learning activities as organised by others. Daily practice on hospital wards is an important trigger and source for learning too. Nurses were found to have various motives to engage in both formal and informal – initiated by professionals themselves and embedded in daily practice - learning activities. Of these motives, to enhance professional knowledge, compliance with authority and professional advancement were the most important. The findings offer support for theoretical claims that employees act strategically with regard to their professional development.
By investigating different types of learning activities and motives, this thesis also provides a nuanced picture of professional development across a nursing career. It challenges stereotypical views that older workers are not motivated to learn. The studies show that nurses keep learning throughout their career, but their motives and learning activities change and learning becomes less intensive.The findings illustrate that it is not so much chronological age, but rather, several changes that take place when getting older that affect CPD strategies. The findings offer support for an age-related shift in goals as proposed by lifespan theories.
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