What hurts about CPD/CE?

[guest 6/6/15]

I'm curious, what makes CPD/CE difficult to manage? We know we all have to do it, but why is it something we usually leave to the last minute?

What would make it easier for you?

[MollyJ]

I am assuming we mean continuing ed here. I do sometimes leave it to the end of my relicensure period but frankly managing it is easier than ever with on-line offerings. In the olden days, you had to scurry around to find something you could attend that would give you 6 hours there, 3 hours there. there you would be, as an ED nurse, sitting in a breast feeding update class.

I think a couple of things plague continuing ed. The stuff you must take repetitively that you may or may not get hours for that eats into your continuing ed time and energy budget--like BCLS, ACLS, re-cert stuff. Most of us want to hear high quality speakers talking about content we care about. That can be available but is usually expensive both in real cost and the time it takes to go to it. I am thinking national conventions here. And then there is on-line offerings. I tend to want the same from on-line--high quality information about something I care about. That is getting easier but it is a little didactic.

As a school nurse, I see how public school teachers are flogged to make their educational offerings to students high interest and engaging and stimulating of critical thinking but the on-line format and most lecture format stuff is pretty much fact laden and then the test part (on-line) is feed back facts.

My solution to that is do what you can. everyone should go hear highly engaging speakers in their field when they can. But when all else fails, go find that on-line content and make it as relevant as possible.