Stakeholder perceptions of curriculum design, development and delivery for continuing e-learning for nurses.

BACKGROUND: This paper reports the qualitative findings from stage 5 of an action research project which involved the redesign of continuing professional education (CPE) courses in one organisation. AIM: The aim of this study was to explore key stakeholders perceptions of the teaching, learning and outcomes of a new curriculum design for CPE involving e-learning. METHOD: This project used participatory action research, involving stakeholders as participants in a process of inquiry about the change. The study took place in an academic teaching hospital and consisted of three focus group interviews with a total of 20 nurses. Participants included stakeholders who had developed curricula and managers from clinical areas where CPE courses had been undertaken. FINDINGS: Four main themes emerged, revealing staff perceptions on the process of change and their own 'lightbulb moments' experienced during this process. Results also indicate that the change has resulted in learner-focused CPE, with a range of opportunities for continued educational development in future. CONCLUSION: Key stakeholders' experience is seldom reported in studies related to CPE. This study provides an insight into the experiences of key stakeholders in relation to the development and delivery of CPE courses. Stakeholders indicated that they were able to see the benefits of implementing new CPE curricula they had contributed to. They also commented that clinical-pertinent and competence-based courses were more learner focused as a result of combining online content with supported workshops.

Research priorities for children's nursing in Ireland: a Delphi study.

This paper is a report of a study which identified research priorities for children's nursing in an acute care setting in Ireland. A limited number of studies have examined research priorities for children's nursing. This study was undertaken against the backdrop of significant proposed changes to the delivery of children's healthcare. A three round Delphi survey design was used to identify and rate the importance of research priorities for children's nursing. In round I participants were asked to identify five of the most important research priorities for children's nursing. Participants in round II were asked to rate the importance of each research priority on a 7-point Likert scale. In round III participants were presented with the mean score of each research priority from the second questionnaire, and again asked to consider the importance of each topic on a 7-point Likert scale. The aim was to reach consensus on the priorities. The top three priorities identified were recognition and care of the deteriorating child, safe transfer of the critically ill child between acute health care facilities, and the child and family's perceptions of care at end-of life. The wide variation of priorities reflects the scope of care delivery of children's nurses and mirrors many global care concerns in caring for children.