Motivational forces affecting participation in post-registration degree courses and effects on home and work life: a qualitative study

Motivational forces affecting participation in post-registration degree courses and effects on home and work life: a qualitative study ¶ Over the past decade, pre- and post-registration education for nurses and midwives in the United Kingdom has undergone major change, creating an atmosphere where continuing professional development is a matter of priority for individual health care staff. Against this context of change, and as part of a larger study of continuing education and training in the National Health Service, a cohort of participants in a part-time health studies degree course were interviewed using a semi-structured schedule. Twenty-nine nurses, midwives and allied professional staff described their motives for participation in the course and its effects on their professional and personal lives. Data collected in interviews were analysed using qualitative methods and revealed that participation was encouraged by both professional and personal factors. For many staff participation was prompted by negative feelings about themselves and their professional status. Participation in the course was associated with (largely negative) changes in home and family life and most participants faced additional financial burdens. The findings of the study have implications for policy relating to the funding of continual professional education for nurses and other health care staff. Health care staff are receiving mixed messages about continuing education from policy makers and employers. Dependence on willingness and ability to pay for post-registration degree-level studies is unlikely to be an efficient or equitable means of ensuring lifelong learning for healthcare staff.     

A Cross-Cultural Tool To Identify Continuing Education Needs

Cost-controlled health reforms have created the need for training nurses to provide evidence-based care in new contexts. Planning for nurses' continuing education must thus target the appropriate personnel and simultaneously consider local healthcare needs and training requirements. To plan such educational programmes, a training needs analysis instrument was developed in the UK and used to compare the training needs of nurses in Australia, the USA and the UK. Below, the findings of this survey.     

Effect of Olive and Sunflower Seed Oil on the Adult Skin Barrier: Implications for Neonatal Skin Care

Natural oils are advocated and used throughout the world as part of neonatal skin care, but there is an absence of evidence to support this practice. The goal of the current study was to ascertain the effect of olive oil and sunflower seed oil on the biophysical properties of the skin. Nineteen adult volunteers with and without a history of atopic dermatitis were recruited into two randomized forearm‐controlled mechanistic studies. The first cohort applied six drops of olive oil to one forearm twice daily for 5 weeks. The second cohort applied six drops of olive oil to one forearm and six drops of sunflower seed oil to the other twice daily for 4 weeks. The effect of the treatments was evaluated by determining stratum corneum integrity and cohesion, intercorneocyte cohesion, moisturization, skin‐surface pH, and erythema. Topical application of olive oil for 4 weeks caused a significant reduction in stratum corneum integrity and induced mild erythema in volunteers with and without a history of atopic dermatitis. Sunflower seed oil preserved stratum corneum integrity, did not cause erythema, and improved hydration in the same volunteers. In contrast to sunflower seed oil, topical treatment with olive oil significantly damages the skin barrier, and therefore has the potential to promote the development of, and exacerbate existing, atopic dermatitis. The use of olive oil for the treatment of dry skin and infant massage should therefore be discouraged. These findings challenge the unfounded belief that all natural oils are beneficial for the skin and highlight the need for further research.