Development and evaluation of competency-based curriculum for continuing professional development among military nurses: a mixed methods study

BACKGROUND: Continuing professional development (CPD) is essential for career progression and maintaining military nursing competency. A well-designed CPD programme can improve the effectiveness of transforming knowledge and skills in healthcare organisations. This study aimed to develop a competency-based CPD curriculum for military nurses in China and evaluate its effectiveness from a developmental pilot study. METHODS: In phase one, a two-round Delphi was conducted to design a competency-based curriculum of CPD based on a clinical ladder model among military nurses. In phase two, the curriculum of one CPD programme was redesigned, and a pilot quasi-experiment was conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of this programme. RESULTS: A competency-based curriculum was developed for primary, intermediate, and senior titles, respectively. The trainees’ overall satisfaction with the redesigned CPD programme was 100%. The four themes in the qualitative data were: 1) learning motivation and learning barriers; 2) professional growth; 3) role model promoted career planning; 4) learning environment mattered. CONCLUSION: This study developed a competency-based curriculum for continuing professional development among military nurses that can be used in designing CPD programmes. Competency-based curriculum can be utilised in the CPD activities to facilitate the improvement of nursing competency. SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: The online version contains supplementary material available at 10.1186/s12909-022-03846-1.