Professional development needs of registered nurses in Indonesia: A cross-sectional study

Rapid developments in health care technologies and treatments require nurses to keep abreast of current and best evidence to inform their practice. Continuing professional development is a key component in ensuring knowledge and practice meet contemporary demands and best practice.

To examine professional development needs for registered nurses working in Indonesia.

A cross-sectional survey design using the previously validated Indonesian version of the Hennessy Hicks Training Needs Analysis measurement tool was distributed via digital technologies across thirteen hospitals of one private health care provider in four different regions across Indonesia.

A total of 1355 nurses completed the tool. Nurses rated direct care tasks higher on importance, performance and training need, while supporting tasks rated lowest on performance and training need. Nurses with less than one year of experience reported higher need for training.

Most identified performance development needs were similar to those reported by nurses elsewhere. There is a need for specifically and locally tailored education opportunities for outcomes to motivate learning that are meaningful and applicable to practice needs. Future research should seek to examine training needs for nurses working in other settings such as public hospitals and community health settings.