An investigation into the needs and motivations of the nursing staff regarding continuing education

Abstract

Introduction: Continuing Education is essential in Nursing Science so that nurses can properly respond to their multiple and varied roles. Needs and motivations are the factors that regulate their participation in such programs.
Purpose: The purpose of the study was to investigate the needs and motivations of the nursing staff of the Primary Health Care of Western Macedonia, regarding continuing education.
Material and Method: The population of the study was the permanent nursing staff (n=90), who serve in the Health Centers of Western Macedonia. Two appropriately translated and weighted questionnaires were used, the "Training Needs Analysis" (TNA) and the “Participation Reason's Scale-P.R.S” The study was conducted in June and July 2024. 106 questionnaires were distributed and the response rate was 84.9%. The two-sided level of statistical significance was set equal to 0.05. Data analysis was performed with IBM SPSS 21.0 (Statistical Package for Social Sciences).
Results: 55.1% said they were very satisfied with the knowledge and skills they possess to provide quality care and 40.4% very satisfied. Women had a significantly higher score on the ‘current performance in the mentioned activities’ factor than men (p=0.007), health professionals who recognized a higher criticality of the mentioned activities in the factor ‘criticality of the mentioned activities in the successful performance of the work’, recognized a higher degree of ‘importance in the reasons of personal benefits and occupational safety’ (p=0.002). Nursing assistants had a higher score in the factors ‘importance in the reasons for professional development and improvement’ (p=0.008), ‘in the reasons for providing nursing services’ (p=0.003) and ‘reasons for professional interest and reflection’(p=0.047) compared to the Supervisors, Directors, Heads of Departments, Managers or Nurses.
Conclusions: The training needs are not the same in all categories of staff as there are particularities depending on the level of education and the position of responsibility. Factors influencing staff participation in such programs are gender, job level, and the personal and professional benefits they perceive that can derive from them. The majority of participants reported feeling adequate in their knowledge and skills to provide quality care.