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Just a reminder of some of the different ways we can use to stay informed of current and new knowledge. This is definitely a good reminder for me. 

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Staying current in your practice of nursing

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Staying current in your practice of nursing

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Published on February 10, 2022
Key takeaways:

Nursing is characterized by constantly changing techniques, guidelines, and technologies.

Nurses must be lifelong learners, who embrace continuing education.

Time is valuable for the practicing nurse. When you focus on developing essential skills, you can target areas that are critical for personal and career growth

adamkaz/E+ via Getty Images

In school, we learn that practicing nursing will require us to be lifelong learners. However, in a constantly changing field, it can be difficult to stay on top of evolving guidelines.

has shown that physicians tend to show a decline in their willingness to adopt new technologies and standards of care as they age. We can generalize this phenomenon to include nurses.

To avoid becoming stale in your practice, you'll need to stay current. Let's explore some skills and strategies to help in your professional development.

Essential skills for nurses

There is an abundance of resources available to help nurses continue their education. But time is valuable and choosing what opportunities to pursue can be overwhelming. For example, if you were to read only primary care journals, it would take you well over 600 hours each month.

Consider focusing on these essential nursing skills:

Adapting to and using technology: Prioritize technology, which changes and advances quickly, as part of your education. Technology includes not only equipment but also things like electronic medical record systems.

Developing critical thinking and reasoning: The ability to adapt to changing situations and unique patient presentations, while assessing and evaluating the whole picture, allows nurses to combine new information with previous situations to make complex decisions.

Communicating effectively: Learn to be an effective listener, as well as a good communicator.

Keeping up to date: Study new procedures and recognize areas where you may need to bolster your skills.

Preparing for the unexpected: Learn how to use coping skills to address job and life stressors.

Seeing the big picture: Rather than just focusing on a patient's disease, consider how the patient and their family's lifestyles, as well as their financial and social resources, impact decision-making and outcomes.

If you target these areas for continuing education, you will advance your skills in a meaningful way.

Strategies to stay current

With so many opportunities available to nurses seeking continuing education, one key strategy is identifying how you learn best. For example, are you more engaged when attending a conference or do you prefer reading at home? In addition, you'll want to choose a learning environment that stimulates you intellectually, while tailoring learning toward specific areas of interest. You'll feel more motivated by content that helps you pursue what you are passionate about.

Consider the following tips for obtaining current information:

Attend local and national educational meetings and conferences.

Join professional organizations.

Listen to podcasts to learn on the go.

Set aside time for learning - even taking 30 minutes once or twice a week to review a case or journal will advance your knowledge base.

Subscribe to publications tailored to your specialty and practice, including newsletters, journals, and journal clubs.

Talk to your colleagues, which will allow you to share knowledge as well as demonstrate your strengths.

Use a clinical decision support system, which uses data to help determine treatment protocol alerts and catch problems, like medication interactions, before they occur.

The bottom line

Effective nursing practice requires continuous learning. Finding the time to fit continuing education into an already busy schedule can be stressful. But, by focusing on essential nursing skills and specialty areas, you can create a process for learning.

Recognizing your unique learning style will also help guide you in finding the most effective resources for quality information.

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Staying Current in Your Practice of Nursing - GoodRx

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Published on February 10, 2022 Key takeaways: Nursing is characterized by constantly changing techniques, guidelines, and technologies. Nurses must be lifelong learners, who embrace continuing education. Time is valuable for the practicing nurse. When you focus on developing essential skills, you can target areas that are critical for personal and career growth In school, we learn that practicing nursing will require us to be lifelong learners .

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Academic-service partnerships in nursing: An integrative review 

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Academic-service partnerships in nursing: An integrative review 

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Academic-Service Partnerships in Nursing An Integrative Review

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Beal, J. A. (2012). Academic-Service partnerships in nursing: An integrative review. Nursing Research and Practice, 2012, 1—9. https://doi.org/10.1155/2012/501564

Fox, L. M., Richter, J. M., & White, N. E. (1996). A multidimensional evaluation of a nursing information-literacy program. Bulletin of the Medical Library Association, 84(2), 182—190.

Koehn, P. H., & Uitto, J. I. (2014). Evaluating sustainability education: lessons from international development experience. Higher Education, 67, 621—635. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10734-013-9669-x

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Learning Point #2: Putting Learning to Practice

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Learning Point #2: Putting Learning to Practice

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Even though the institution I work in as a future nurse educator may not have a formal multidimensional approach to curriculum evaluation, I think it may be important to consider other aspects for my own personal learning. I intend to interact with my students to possibly incorporate informal questioning, as Fox et al. (1996) utilized. If I was a clinical instructor, I would like to know if my methods of teaching are supporting and reinforcing what they are learning in didactic.

I think this can be beneficial and relevant if I find myself on a curriculum committee in the future. Even if I may not be implementing a thorough multidimensional evaluation, I believe it is imperative to not view curriculum evaluation as a linear process and consider other aspects that influence the learning experience.

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The conventional method currently appears to lean more towards immediate and quantifiable results, such as number of students graduated (Koehn & Uitto, 2013). However, it would be beneficial to know the other methods that can be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the curriculum to reveal a more holistic view of the students’ learning experience.

Koehn & Uitto (2013) emphasizes that education is influenced by the social, economic, and cultural environment and is ignored when simply a quantifiable approach is used. They propose that qualitative measures, such as ethnographic inquiry, can be included to reveal a deeper perspective. This can also contribute to confirming what standardized testing may have revealed, or other unexpected insights may be gained to provide a more thorough assessment of student growth and level of achievement.

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Learning Point #2: Multidimensional Approach

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Learning Point #2: Multidimensional Approach

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Although the norm in education seems to be utilizing tests to determine the effectiveness of the curriculum in students’ learning, there are other approaches that should be utilized to assess this outcome. In fact, Fox et al. (1996) incorporated a multidimensional approach that includes: informal questioning, pre- and post-program testing, confidence surveys, and graduate follow-up surveys in addition to the formal feedback in the form of grades when evaluating a nursing information-literacy program.

This point resonated with me because I feel that more efforts can be made to assess other aspects of student learning outcomes to provide a more well-rounded picture of the student’s progress. Academic performance only reveals one aspect of growth. This is important when considering revision to the curriculum.

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Learning Point #1: Putting Learning to Practice

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Learning Point #1: Putting Learning to Practice

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As a nurse educator, I intend to try and stay current with the new knowledge that is released regarding clinical practice by subscribing to journal articles and trying to keep myself informed of policy changes. Furthermore, I believe it is also important to observe and be inquisitive of any new innovations or updated ways of performing certain tasks in the hospital setting to be a well-informed educator for my students.

As a future educator, I hope that I can stay committed to being a life-long learner and be aware of the changes that occur, especially as affected by societal changes. For example, during the peak of COVID, it was important for educators to stay updated on the proper precautions for this disease to ensure safety in the clinical setting.

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It would be beneficial to learn more about the different types of strategies to gather feedback from clinical entities, such as hospitals or other healthcare-based organizations, to assess what new changes should be implemented into a nursing program curriculum to address the innovations or new developments that are occurring in clinical practice.

Beal (2012) has emphasized the importance of strategic relationships between educational and clinical practice settings. There are many mutual benefits that can result. As Beal (2012) identified, this creates opportunities for educators to remain current in practice and provides more opportunities for innovations for practicing nurses. Although the typical goal for these alliances is to help increase the workforce capacity, these partnerships have the potential to also inform nurse educators of the realities of what occurs in clinical practice, including any new changes, to help improve the quality of education and develop competent future nurses.

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Learning Point #1: Changes in Clinical Practice

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Learning Point #1: Changes in Clinical Practice

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It is vital for nursing educators to keep in mind that changes in clinical practice should affect one’s approach to developing or revising the curriculum. This will ensure that the quality of education that students receive will be most relevant and effective in preparing them for their future roles as competent nurses in the community.

The political processes that may also affect the profession, which can impact clinical practice, are important to consider as well. I am reminded again of how imperative it is to stay informed of these issues to enact positive change on a larger scale through the education of future nurse leaders and in my own professional pursuits as well.