Nursing Learning & Development 

Background

This programme of work was developed to help make a case for effective investment in nurses continued learning and development in order to ensure the workforce is best able to meet the needs of the population, and to support career progression and retention.

Design

This work evolved over the period of the SRA programme as early work provided a building block for identifying and commencing further work. The final design consisted of the following elements:

• A scoping review (with Professor Kim Manley and Carrie Jackson) asking the question “What are the factors that enable or optimise CPD impact for learning, development and improvement in the workplace at the individual, team, organisation and system level?”

• The Impact of Leadership Training (TILT study). A two phase, mixed methods study focused on understanding the outcomes and impact of a form of nursing CPD (the RCN leadership programmes) that crosscut the four fields, the four nations and hospital and community settings. [NB Phase Two of this work is on-going and information here will be updated as the work progresses]

• Secondary data analysis of the nursing data from a UK wide survey dataset looking at the value and utility of doctoral study and qualification for Nurses, Midwives and Allied Health Professionals (NMAHPs)

• A scoping review asking the question “What conditions facilitate or restrict movement of early career nurses into and along a leadership pathway?” 

Key findings

As noted above, some work within this work stream is on-going. The key findings presented below as theme areas therefore represent work from the first scoping review and Phase One of the TILT study. The findings from the NMAHP work can be found in the academic paper identified at the end of this section:

Nurses are best placed to take responsibility for their learning through critical reflection. 

Motivation is enhanced when learning is directly relevant to the role, valued by peers, and practically supported within the immediate clinical team and by the organisation. Aligning learning directly to patient benefit and to organisational priorities can improve motivation by demonstrating relevance. Critical reflection requires time and space, and when this is present it can result in increased confidence, improved listening skills and greater problem solving ability, all vital for leadership.

The workplace is a core context for learning, development and improvement as it enhances knowledge translation

The workplace was identified as a valuable context for learning, development and improvement as it enhances knowledge translation. Team-based learning in the workplace was particularly effective in facilitating workplace transformation as it improved collaborative working and communication. The value of workplace learning needs to be recognised at the organisational level to fully embed learning into clinical settings.

Staff learning can be facilitated by leadership that actively listens and then empowers individuals and teams to become reflexive practitioners

Organisational support plays a vital role in whether learning has an impact within the workplace. There was a strong association between staff learning opportunities and transformational leadership. In moving away from traditional hierarchies, strong nurse leaders are able to empower individual nurses as reflexive practitioners, and empower clinical teams to identify their learning needs, therefore enhancing self-motivation. Attending leadership courses could help develop the confidence and practical skills of transformational leadership. This involved recognising the importance of listening to others in the team, considering all opinions and reaching consensus, recognising the impact of their decisions on others, and an increased interest in service improvement initiatives to benefit patients.

A workplace that fosters respectful relationships, and where knowledge creation and transformation of practice are promoted, is central to effective learning

A workplace that fosters respectful relationships, and where individual and collective knowledge creation and transformation of practice are promoted, is key to effective learning. Workplace cultures that promote academic development and increase job satisfaction make staff more likely to engage with evidence-based practice and aid organisational improvement. A positive workplace culture supports learning through adequate resources of time, staffing, administrative support and finances. A positive workplace culture for learning inspires individual motivation, seeks relevance to practice, provides access to workplace learning opportunities and enables strong leadership.

Publications

King, R., Taylor, B., Talpur, A., Jackson, C., Manley, K., Ashby, N., Tod, A., Ryan, A., Wood, E., Senek, M., Robertson, S. (2021) Factors that optimise the impact of continuing professional development in nursing: a rapid evidence review. Nurse Education Today 98  https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nedt.2020.104652  

Hampshaw, S., Cooke, J., Robertson, S., Woods, E., King, R., Tod. (2022) Understanding the value of a PhD for post-doctoral registered UK nurses: a cross-sectional survey. Journal of Nursing Management 30(4): 1011-1017  https://doi.org/10.1111/jonm.13581  

Robertson, S., Ryan, T., Talpur, A. (2023) Developing a leadership pathway for early career nurses: A rapid review. Nursing Management. 30(5) doi: 10.7748/nm.2023.e2105

Watson, J., Robertson, S., Ryan, T., Wood, E., Cooke, J., Hampshaw, S., & Roddam, H. (2024). Understanding the value of a doctorate for allied health professionals in practice in the UK: a survey. BMC Health Services Research, 24(1), 566. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12913-024-11035-7