Measuring the impact of a COVID-19 continuing education program

Area of Science:

• Public Health
• Infectious Diseases
• Medical Education

Background:

• The COVID-19 pandemic necessitated rapid adaptation in healthcare practices.
• Shifting best practices created knowledge and practice gaps among healthcare providers, particularly nurse practitioners (NPs).

Purpose of the Study:

• To describe a continuing education (CE) program designed to address COVID-19 knowledge gaps in NPs.
• To evaluate changes in knowledge, competence, and confidence among NPs after completing the CE program.

Main Methods:

• A 2.5-2.67 contact hour webinar-based CE program on COVID-19 prevention, diagnosis, and management was delivered in multiple sessions.
• Content was updated between sessions to reflect the evolving pandemic landscape.
• Pre- and post-activity assessments measured changes in knowledge, competence, and confidence in 2,901 participants, predominantly NPs (91.6%).

Main Results:

• Baseline COVID-19 knowledge regarding transmission, diagnosis, and treatment was low among participants.
• Significant improvements were observed post-program, with knowledge, competence, and confidence increasing by 47-73%.
• Learner confidence in identifying at-risk patients and counseling on prevention and transmission markedly increased.

Conclusions:

• The rapidly developed COVID-19 CE program effectively enhanced NP knowledge and confidence in COVID-19 prevention, diagnosis, and management.
• These improvements have potential implications for a substantial number of patient encounters.
• Barriers to the uptake of improved COVID-19 management strategies were identified.