Factors influencing nurse participation in continuing professional development activities: Survey results from the Netherlands

Background Professionals are individually responsible for planning and carrying out continuing professional development (CPD) activities, ensuring their relevance to current practice and career development. The key factors that encourage nurses to undertake CPD activities are not yet clear. Several studies have investigated motives of nurses to participate in CPD programmes (“Motives”), the importance they attach to CPD (“Importance”), the conditions they consider necessary for participation (“Conditions”), and their actual participation in CPD activities (“Pursued”). The relationships among these variables, however, have neither been investigated nor reported to date. Objectives The aim of this study is to investigate the nature of the relationships among those factors that influence nurse participation in CPD in the Netherlands. Design An exploratory cross-sectional study was carried out using quantitative data collected with the previously validated Questionnaire Professional Development of Nurses (Q-PDN). Settings and Participants A convenience sample of 5500 registered nurses working at one Dutch university hospital and several general hospitals was addressed. Methods A descriptive study using a survey was undertaken. The questionnaire was completed and returned by 1226 nurses. Correlation analyses were conducted to determine which factors were related to nurses undertaking CPD activities. Structural equation modelling was deployed to determine the relationships among the variables. Results “Conditions” was found to be moderately related to “Motives”, which itself was strongly related to “Importance”, which itself was very strongly related to “CPD activities pursued”. If nurses considered a CPD activity important they were highly likely to pursue it; however, the importance attached to specific CPD activities was influenced by the presence of particular motives, which depended in part on the way CPD conditions were perceived. Conclusions The key factor influencing CPD participation of nurses is how important they deem particular CPD activities; the latter is a function of their CPD motives and of their perceptions that the right conditions for participation are in place. Implications are discussed. Keywords: Continuing professional development, CPD, Nurses, Survey, the Netherlands, Motives for participation in CP

Psychometric evaluation of instruments measuring the work environment of healthcare professionals in hospitals

_Purpose:_ Research shows that the professional healthcare working environment influences the quality of care, safety climate, productivity, and motivation, happiness, and health of staff. The purpose of this systematic literature review was to assess instruments that provide valid, reliable and succinct measures of health care professionals’ work environment (WE) in hospitals. _Data sources:_ Embase, Medline Ovid, Web of Science, Cochrane CENTRAL, CINAHL EBSCOhost and Google Scholar were systematically searched from inception through December 2018. Study selection: Pre-defined eligibility criteria (written in English, original work-environment instrument for healthcare professionals and not a translation, describing psychometric properties as construct validity and reliability) were used to detect studies describing instruments developed to measure the working environment. _Data extraction:_ After screening 6397 titles and abstracts, we included 37 papers. Two reviewers independently assessed the 37 instruments on content and psychometric quality following the COSMIN guideline. _Results of data synthesis:_ Our paper analysis revealed a diversity of items measured. The items were mapped into 48 elements on aspects of the healthcare professional’s WE. Quality assess

Interprofessionele teamsamenwerking: SUPPORTT project

Veelvuldig internationaal onderzoek toon aan dat een positieve professionele werkomgeving een positief effect heeft op de patiënt, de medewerker en organisatie-uitkomsten. In Nederland wordt het meten van de werkomgeving binnen teams nog niet gedaan. Dit komt enerzijds door onvoldoende kennis over het concept ‘werkomgeving’. Anderzijds omdat nog onduidelijk is welk instrument geschikt is om dit te meten. Doel van dit project over teamsamenwerking was het identificeren van een passend, valide, betrouwbaar en efficiënt meetinstrument voor het in kaart brengen van een (positieve, professionele) werkomgeving. Ziekenhuizen kunnen dit meetinstrument inzetten om essentiële aspecten van een werkomgeving te meten. Daarnaast om te monitoren of interventies leiden tot een meer positieve professionele werkomgeving. Een dergelijk meetinstrument verschaft bestuurders, lijnmanagers en zorgprofessionals belangrijke stuurinformatie over de werkomgeving van medewerkers in ziekenhuizen