Continuing education program evaluation for course improvement, participant effect and utilization in clinical practice

An evaluation of a single continuing education (CE) program was conducted by the presenter to assess impact of the offering and gather information for course improvement. The purpose of this evaluation was to document if and to what extent the learners attained the program's objectives and also to systematically examine the program to see how it might be improved. The third purpose was to document if participants' interest was stimulated by the program and if they actually used the information in clinical practice or at least found it helpful. Fifty-five nurses participated in completing a pretest and posttest, reactionnaire at the conclusion of the program and follow-up questionnaire. Participants made significantly (p less than .05) better scores on the posttests as compared to the pretest. On the evaluation form, 98% of the nurses responded that they had learned new facts, and 75% indicated that information was moderately new. In addition, a slight majority (58%) responded that they changed their beliefs about assertiveness. Of returned follow-up questionnaires, 95% told others about the program, and 59% read articles. All nurses indicated they had found the information useful, and 87% had actually used the information in clinical practice. This study documents a method for CE administrators and educators to evaluate the impact of CE and provide information for course improvement. The evaluation supports the program's worth. Participants benefited in terms of knowledge and interest. In addition, program strengths/weaknesses were identified.