What influences practice nurses to participate in post-registration education?

There is a need for educated primary health nurses to develop their practice, educational and career pathways in response to opportunities emerging from the Primary Health Care Strategy (PHCS). This study aimed to explore the opportunities and constraints encountered by practice nurses when participating in post-registration education.

This study used exploratory qualitative design, incorporating focus group interviews with 16 practice nurses employed by Pegasus Health, Christchurch. Qualitative thematic analysis used a general inductive approach.

Seven key themes emerged, including motivation to learn, enablers for learning and challenges to accessing education. Practice nurses also described their changing roles with clients and their vision for practice nursing in the future.

This study considered accessibility of post-registration education for practice nurses and the extent to which they are embracing these opportunities in order to meet their practice needs. The PHCS states that primary health care nursing is crucial to its implementation. Successful expansion of primary health care nursing roles rests on the development of educational qualifications and skills, as well as career frameworks. It is envisaged that, with strong leadership and research skills resulting from professional development, practice nurses will be more able to reduce health inequalities. Study findings indicate that practice nurses are rising to the challenge of expanding their roles and engaging in post-registration education. They are more likely to pursue this if constraints are minimised and support increased. Currently practice nurses make significant contributions to primary health care and have the potential for an even greater contribution in the future.