Continuing Education for Haitian Nurses: Evidence from Qualitative and Quantitative Inquiry

BACKGROUND: There is increasing evidence that to improve nursing practice, nurses must embrace lifelong learning. Research indicates that engagement in lifelong learning positively affects the quality of nursing care, improves patient outcomes, and increases nurses’ job satisfaction. Both lack of standardized initial education and nurses’ limited opportunities for lifelong learning are challenges in Haiti. It is crucial to ensure adequate continuing education in order to support the professional growth and development of Haiti’s existing nursing workforce. OBJECTIVES: The objectives of this study were to: 1) assess the continuing education nursing needs and desires of practicing Haitian nurses and 2) contribute to the body of knowledge about nursing in Haiti to help inform practice and policy. METHODS: A multimodal needs assessment approach was used, with semi-structured focus groups and written surveys. The results were analyzed, and common themes were identified. FINDINGS: The results were analyzed from 100 surveys and four focus groups (n = 33). Overwhelmingly, Haitian nurses desire continuing nursing education. Major themes include: recognition that continuing education is necessary to provide high quality patient care, continuing education saves lives, and more consistent and standardized initial nursing education is needed. Barriers to participation in continuing education opportunities were also identified. CONCLUSIONS: This study was one of the first formal studies that addressed continuing education needs of Haitian nurses. By identifying the barriers to important resources, we hope to continue to collaborate with our Haitian nursing colleagues to build curriculum and improve education programs. We also hope that this research will ensure that Haitian nurses voices are heard and will serve to foster change within the Haitian nursing education system. These results were shared with our nurse colleagues in Haiti.