What Skill/Knowledge is Important to a Nursing Professional?

Abstract

This study employed a survey instrument to investigate the knowledge topics that are important to a nursing professional. We asked 491 nursing professionals and managers in Taiwan what they thought about 47 educational topics. For each topic, the authors asked them how much they had learned about a given topic in their formal education, their current knowledge of the topic, and how important the topic has been in their career. Results indicate each knowledge topic’s importance, the amount learned in formal education programs, and the educational knowledge gap. The findings also show the amount currently known, current knowledge gap, and the amount learned (or forgotten) subsequent to education. The survey supports current perceptions about the importance of some topics, but it also highlights topics that are sometimes underemphasized or overemphasized. Efforts to develop nursing curricula or training programs for nursing professionals or students should consider the experience of practitioners in clinics and hospitals. Findings should be useful to hospital training departments and nursing educators in universities and colleges to refine or revise their curriculum design. Nursing professionals and students seeking continuing education will also be able to use the results for selecting courses for career enhancement.