Continuing Education and Self-Assessment of Knowledge of Nurse Leaders
Authors: Kvas Andreja , Seljak Janko 
Published: June 2013

How to Obtain Contact Hours by Reading this Issue

Instructions: 1.2
contact hours will be awarded by Villanova University College of Nursing upon successful completion of this activity. A contact hour is a unit of measurement that denotes 60 minutes of an organized learning activity. This is a learner-based activity. Villanova University College of Nursing does not require submission of your answers to the quiz.

A contact hour certificate will be awarded once you register, pay the registration fee, and complete the evaluation form online at
https://villanova.gosignmeup.com
.

In order to obtain contact hours you must:

1.
Read the article, “Continuing Education and Self-Assessment of Knowledge of Nurse Leaders,” found on pages 342–349, carefully noting any tables and other illustrative materials that are included to enhance your knowledge and understanding of the content. Be sure to keep track of the amount of time (number of minutes) you spend reading the article and completing the quiz.

2.
Read and answer each question on the quiz. After completing all of the questions, compare your answers to those provided within this issue. If you have incorrect answers, return to the article for further study.

3.
Go to the Villanova website to register for contact hour credit. You will be asked to provide your name, contact information, and a VISA, MasterCard, or Discover card number for payment of the $20.00 fee. Once you complete the online evaluation, a certificate will be automatically generated.

This activity is valid for continuing education credit until
July 31, 2015.

Contact Hours
This activity is co-provided by Villanova University College of Nursing and SLACK Incorporated.
Villanova University College of Nursing is accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.

Objective

Review the results of a survey of Slovenian nurse leaders that examined total number of continuing education (CE) hours earned, types of content, self-assessment of knowledge, and how CE is distributed among various groups of nurse leaders

Disclosure Statement
Neither the planners nor the authors have any conflicts of interest to disclose.

Background:
The rapid increase in the scope and quality of knowledge in the health care field requires continuing education for nurses, especially nurse leaders.

Methods:
A survey was conducted among 296 nurse leaders from 15 hospitals, accounting for 87% of all hospital nurses in Slovenia.

Results:
The survey showed that participation in continuing education was lowest among younger nurse leaders, those with lower leadership positions, and those employed at medium-sized general hospitals and specialized (nonpsychiatric) hospitals. The total number of continuing education hours did not affect self-assessment of knowledge among nurse leaders.

Conclusion:
Slovenia’s experiences in this area indicate that greater attention must be paid to an equal distribution of continuing education programs among the various groups of nurse leaders. Additionally, it is important to monitor the quality of program implementation.

J Contin Educ Nurs
2013;44(8):342–349.