Fitzgerald Cynthia E, Townsend Ryan P
Washington State University College of Nursing, Spokane, Washington 99210, USA.
J Contin Educ Nurs. 2012 Sep;43(9):420-7. doi: 10.3928/00220124-20120615-76. Epub 2012 Jun 22.
Difficulty recruiting and retaining well-qualified nursing staff can frustrate rural hospitals. Collaborative relationships between university nursing programs and rural hospitals may lead to the development of continuing education (CE) programs to enhance clinical competence, patient safety, job satisfaction, and nursing work force retention.
As part of an effort to develop a collaborative relationship between a university nursing program and two rural hospitals, a pilot study was conducted with 27 nurses working at two hospitals to determine needs and preferences for CE topics and delivery.
The pilot study provided important information, furthering the development of a collaborative relationship between the university and rural hospitals and offering insight into barriers preventing rural nurses' participation in CE activities. Using results from the survey, the university and hospital are working together to plan online CE offerings about topics of interest to these rural nurses.
Discussion of this process and the results of the pilot study will be useful for those who are contemplating offering CE programs to nurses in rural regions or are interested in exploring opportunities for the development of collaborative relationships that could result in improved job satisfaction, patient safety, and work force retention.
招募和留住高素质护理人员的困难可能会使农村医院感到沮丧。大学护理项目与农村医院之间的合作关系可能会促进继续教育（CE）项目的发展，以提高临床能力、患者安全、工作满意度和护理人员留存率。
作为在大学护理项目与两家农村医院之间建立合作关系的努力的一部分，对在两家医院工作的27名护士进行了一项试点研究，以确定继续教育主题和授课方式的需求与偏好。
试点研究提供了重要信息，推动了大学与农村医院之间合作关系的发展，并深入了解了阻碍农村护士参与继续教育活动的障碍。利用调查结果，大学和医院正在共同努力，规划针对这些农村护士感兴趣主题的在线继续教育课程。
讨论这一过程和试点研究结果，将对那些考虑为农村地区护士提供继续教育项目的人，或对探索建立合作关系的机会感兴趣的人有用，这种合作关系可能会提高工作满意度、患者安全和护理人员留存率。
