A SURVEY OF THE EDUCATIONAL NEEDS OF PEDIATRIC ONCOLOGY NURSES WITH ADVANCED CLINICAL PRACTICE SKILLS.
Contributors: Columbia University. Teachers College.
Published: 1991
Number of pages: 454
Subjects: Education, Adult and Continuing.; Health Sciences, Nursing.
Description: Pediatric Oncology, or cancer in childhood, is a medical subspecialty that is developing rapidly. Changes in treatment as well as new information about the disease process occur continuously. Despite the growing sophistication of treatment and clinical management of children, there has been little effort to evaluate the educational needs of their nurse caretakers.

The purpose of this study was twofold: first, to identify the characteristics of pediatric oncology nurses with advanced clinical practice skills, their perceived needs for continuing education, and their preferences for educational formats; and, second, to recommend ways to improve programs for nurse educators.

A survey was conducted using a questionnaire to collect information about the respondents' background, their perceived educational needs and their preferences for topics.

One hundred and fifty-two questionnaires were mailed and one hundred and twenty were returned. A final sample of 92 was selected, which represents a 74% response rate.

All data collected were analyzed using the SAS statistical software. Descriptive statistics were calculated for all questionnaire variables from all three sections of the questionnaire. This included absolute and relative frequencies of responses and measures of central tendency and dispersion. Comparisons among subgroups were performed using t-test and analysis of variance (ANOVA).

Conclusions revealed the following: (1) Both personally and professionally these nurses are heterogenous in their background characteristics, but are homogeneous in their perceived needs for education. (2) As a group they show marked preferences for clinically relevant information as opposed to conceptual information. (3) Their priority needs are for information about the most recent scientific developments. (4) Their needs are varied and reflect their multifaceted roles. (5) They do not perceive a need for process skills that might help them attain their goals.

Future research needs to be conducted to explore the meaning and explanation(s) for why 43% of the group expressed a desire to make a change professionally.

This study provides statistical summaries of this population's perceived needs. This information alone should not be translated directly into educational programs, but must be considered in the context of educator's normative values and institutional needs.
Notes: Source: Dissertation Abstracts International, Volume: 52-02, Section: A, page: 0392.

Thesis (ED.D.)--COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY TEACHERS COLLEGE, 1991.

School code: 0055.