Publications
Achieving consensus on continuing professional development priorities for registered nurses in rural and remote India through Nominal Group Technique
Smith A, Macaden L, Washington M, Mony PK, John V, Dias FS BACKGROUND:
Nurses can often be key frontline healthcare professionals working in remote and rural settings due to resource constraints including an acute shortage of medical practitioners. The provision of regular and appropriate Continuous Professional Development (CPD) to support nurses to be able to provide effective healthcare therefore becomes even more significant in these settings. Engagement and “buy in” from relevant stakeholders at an organizational level is a critical step to ensure CPD provision for nurses.
OBJECTIVES:
The overall aim was to achieve consensus on CPD for registered nurses working in remote and rural settings among key stakeholders using the Nominal Group Technique (NGT). The objectives were to identify stakeholders’ perspectives on the priorities for CPD training for registered nurses; the preferred modes of delivery for CPD and perceived barriers and facilitators for CPD access.
METHODS:
NGT was used as a qualitative method with key organizational stakeholders in several iterative stages in the form of a workshop.
RESULTS:
22 senior healthcare professionals involved in medical and nursing education representing north, northeast, central India and the state of Karnataka in South India participated in the workshop. Three key findings emerged from this study: priorities of CPD; preferred modes of CPD delivery; barriers and facilitators to CPD access.
CONCLUSION:
Engagement with key stakeholders to identify CPD priorities can help facilitate strategic planning and provision of relevant and accessible CPD programmes for nurses working within remote and rural healthcare contexts in India.
