An integrative review of the continuing professional development needs for nurse educators

Jamie Smith*, Susanne Kean, Anneli Vauhkonen, Imane Elonen, Simone Campos Silva, Juha Pajari, Maria Cassar, Leandra Martín-Delgado, Dana Zrubcova, Leena Salminen

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalReview articlepeer-review

Abstract / Description of output

Objectives: The study aimed at describing the field of research in continuing professional development for nurse educators and the continuous education and development needs of nurse educators by asking: What research has been done in the field of continuing professional development of nurse educators? What are the continuing education and development needs and requirements reported for and by nurse educators? 

Design: An integrative review of peer-reviewed academic literature following a systematic search design. 

Data sources: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods publications in CINAHL, Cochrane Library, Web of Science, Embase, ERIC, and PubMed. 

Review methods: Search results were screened for full text and assessed for quality using the Mixed Methods Assessment Tool. Full texts were then thematic analysed using an inductive and reflective process. 

Results: The number of published academic articles about the continuing professional development for nurse educators is small (n = 13). The themes produced from the articles identify heterogenous development needs for nurse educators, clustered around four themes: (1) professional competencies (2) management and resources, (3) communication and collaboration, and (4) agency. The findings of this review show that nurse educators have multiple roles which have specific and multiple personal and institutional needs. 

Conclusions: The results of this review show that the continuing professional development needs are heterogenous between nurse educators, yet share commonalities across departmental teams as a whole, and across different countries. This raises the issue of how these needs can or should be, focused on the sustainable development of nurse educators.

Original languageEnglish
Article number105695
JournalNurse Education Today
Volume121
Early online date14 Dec 2022
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Feb 2023

Keywords / Materials (for Non-textual outputs)

  • continuing professional development
  • continuing professional education
  • faculty development
  • nurse educator
  • Nn

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