Continuing education programs have been on-going in the United States for some time now. In this respect, it is important to appreciate the fact that there is also a shortage of nurses in the country. In the same context, the medical discipline is evolving fast and requires competent medical personnel. This makes the use of continuing education for registered nurses (RN) a better alternative. Nonetheless, it is important to note that some of RNs have large age disparities that may render continuing education programs ineffective. In this context, it is important to design an effective continuing education program that is able to accommodate professionals aged 22-70 years.
According to Bastable (2008), an example of an effective continuing education program for RNs with such age disparities can be based on the following. First, the program should encourage the use of RNs personal inadequacy reports. This means that for continuing education to be important the RNs should undergo basic clinical skills. This offers all RNs with a chance to master basic skills required by any medic. As a result, the RNs are able to perceive their actions as a determinant factor in their future profession.
The second step that should be emphasized is the use of residency programs. These programs exert pressure on RNs, thus making them resilient to environmental pressures once in full practice. Residency programs can be introduced in RNs first year of clinical experience. As RNs advance to an advanced level, an advanced program of the same can be used. This should be introduced as the RN is in second and third year of training. As the nurse in training progresses into the fourth year of experience, an introduction to nurse managerial leadership is important. This section of the program is important in imparting leadership skills into a nurse. Another important aspect introduced at this stage is the use of modern technology in medicine and nursing. Example of such technologies is the use of communication devices, equipments and research techniques. Nonetheless, such continuing education program’s main focus is to ensure RNs have a smooth transition in the changing work dynamics.
For a RN who has been assigned to train a multigenerational medical team, various challenges will arise. For example, there are traditional nursing procedures that may have shifted over time. In such a scenario, the RN should anticipate a cultural clash among the mutigenerational team. For some of the trainees, they may have initially learnt the same procedure in a different manner. Problems actually arise, when one generation is stronger in numbers than others, it will be difficult to integrate such kind of generation to agree on one thing. It is also probable that the multigenerational team may have problems with communication and attitudes. For example, the younger generation may have attitude problems and may probably undermine older generation. The style and skills in communication between generations is also another problem to be expected by the trainer.
The most evident challenge in a multigenerational medical team is technology knowledge. The use of technology in medicine evolves very fast. In this case, the various trainees also have a diverse knowledge on medical technology. Most importantly, the older knowledge is not technologically savvy compared to younger generation. Nonetheless, this diversification of a medical team can also render opportunities to the team in terms of knowledge and experience.
Reference
Bastable, S., B. (2008). Nurse as educator: Principles of teaching and learning for nursing practice. Sudbury, MA: Jones & Bartlett.