A Survey of Educational Needs for Certified Nurse Specialists and Certified Nurses in Kagoshima Prefecture / 日本農村医学会雑誌

ABSTRACT

  Although the nurse certification system was established by the Japanese Nursing Association in 1994, there are currently no educational institutions in Kagoshima Prefecture for certified nurse specialists (CNS) and certified nurses (CN). The aim of this study was to sound out generalist nurses working in hospitals in Kagoshima Prefecture on CNS and CN educational needs in order to determine methods of supporting those aspirational nurses in the development of their careers. A (self-administered) questionnaire survey was conducted on 1,800 nurses working at 40 hospitals in Kagoshima Prefecture in September 2008. Responses came from 1,258 (69.9%) nurses, of which 999 (79.4%) were valid. Of the respondents, 40.9% indicated they would like to obtain a CNS license, while 56.5% indicated they would like to obtain a CN license. Regarding the CNS license, most respondents wanted to obtain CNS qualification in cancer nursing, followed by acute/critical care nursing. Regarding the CN license, CN qualification in emergency nursing came to the top followed by palliative care nursing. As Kagoshima Prefecture is comprised of remote islands and remote rural areas, it is a disadvatage for many nurses geographically to staisfy their education needs. These results suggest that in order to support nurses' career development, it is necessary to establish an individual consultation system for career development and develop a flexible educational curriculum.