In-service education and training as experienced by registered nurses

Abstract

Nursing is a dynamic profession that is subject to rapid changes in health care provision, hence the need for inservice training programmes for nurses. Newly employed registered nurses require in-service training in order to update them regarding the latest developments in nursing practice. The researcher noted that some newly appointed registered nurses were not competent in all aspects relating to their tasks. This could have been due to a knowledge deficit relating to either new developments or of the procedure relating to a specific task. In some institutions newly-appointed registered nurses on probation reported not receiving in-service training for six months or longer, yet they were still expected to perform their tasks efficiently. The objectives of the study were to, firstly, explore and describe the experiences of registered nurses regarding in-service training programmes in their institutions and, secondly, to make recommendations to Nursing Service Managers relating to the development of effective inservice training programmes in their institutions. A qualitative, exploratory, descriptive design was implemented. Data was analysed using Tesch’s descriptive approach.