Community nurses' perceptions and experiences of protected learning time: a focus group study.

Area of Science:

• Primary healthcare education
• Continuing professional development
• Nursing education

Background:

• Protected learning time (PLT) is widely adopted in Scottish primary healthcare teams.
• Previous studies indicate varied professional experiences with PLT.
• Community nurses exhibit low attendance rates at practice-based PLT in NHS Ayrshire and Arran, with reasons unclear.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate community nurses' perceptions and experiences of PLT.
• To identify barriers hindering community nurses' attendance at practice-based PLT.

Main Methods:

• A qualitative study was conducted using four focus groups comprising 37 community nurses.
• Data were collected through focus group interviews, audio-recorded, and transcribed.
• Grounded theory was employed for the data analysis.

Main Results:

• Community nurses often participated in separate, uniprofessional learning events, disconnected from general practice learning.
• Perceived lack of adequate service delivery protection and irrelevant learning topics contributed to low attendance.
• The new contract was seen to negatively impact PLT, while practice managers and team learning were identified as key factors.

Conclusions:

• Enhancing community nurse involvement in PLT planning is essential for relevance and utility.
• Nursing managers should improve service protection to facilitate integrated learning within primary healthcare teams.
• Independent facilitators may be beneficial for organizing effective PLT initiatives.