Expanding the Reach of Continuing Educational Offerings Through a Web-Based Virtual Network: The Experience of InspireNet.

Virtual platforms using webinars, e-posters, e-newsletters, wikis and blogs connect people who have common interests in new ways. When those individuals are healthcare providers, a professional network that operates on a virtual platform can support their needs for learning, professional development and information currency. The practice of e-learning for continuing professional development is emerging , particularly in nursing where shift work shift inhibits their ability to attend conferences and classes. This article reports the experience of the InspireNet network that provided e-learning models to: 1) provide opportunities for healthcare providers to organize themselves into learning communities through development of electronic communities of practice; 2) support learning on demand; and 3) dramatically increase the reach of educational offerings.

Use of social media and web 2.0 technologies to increase knowledge and skills of british columbia nurses.

Health professionals' use of social media and Web 2.0 technologies are emerging as a new area of research. We present the experiences of a province-wide network in Canada that was developed using such technologies as a means to increase nurses' capacity in nursing health services research. Our network is based on a model of electronic communities of practice (eCoPs). Network evaluation affirms that nurses do respond to social media, as membership has grown to over 1,400 members in two years. Approaches used for network development and implementation are discussed, and the network's eHealth eCoP is presented as a case of network activities and directions.

Nursing diagnosis and nursing theory: exploration of factors inhibiting and supporting simultaneous use.

PURPOSE: To explore the values and philosophies of nursing theories that inhibit the simultaneous use of nursing diagnosis and nursing theory. SOURCES: Published articles, books, book chapters. DATA SYNTHESIS: Four factors in the literature and reflected in practice may have had a negative influence on the use of nursing diagnoses: (a) commitment to the uniqueness of each person, (b) an abandonment of the nursing process, (c) a perspective that nursing care is an evolving interaction, and (d) a belief that theory-derived language is more articulate and precise than standard classifications. PRACTICE IMPLICATIONS: Strategies for combining theory and diagnoses include emphasizing the diagnostic terms as professional shorthand and permitting flexibility in modifying diagnoses as needed; widely disseminating the concept that classification can be used effectively with newer iterations of the nursing process reflecting circular, simultaneous, and intuitive processes; developing classification language based on concepts of hypothesis and perception; and including diagnostic categories associated with theoretical perspectives.