Nursing on-line for continuing education credit

BACKGROUND: The Internet was evaluated as a source of continuing education credit for RNs. METHOD: Using the search engines Alta Vista, Excite, Magellan, and Infoseek, 600 World Wide Web sites were reviewed for on-line programs that would lead to the receipt of a continuing education (CE) certificate of completion for a varying number of CE hours. RESULTS: Five sites provided CE programs online and one site used e-mail to deliver the program to personal computers. All sites offered certificates and were approved to offer continuing nursing education credit through a state board of nursing or through the agency sponsoring the Internet site. The CE hours were also approved by the American Nurses Credentialing Center's Commission on Accreditation. CONCLUSION: The findings indicate the Internet is a source of CE units (hours) for nurses that may be used to satisfy requirements of state boards of nursing. The sites are easily accessible and eliminate travel and great expenses. The Internet is a rich source of current health-related information not approved for CE units but pertinent to health care professionals.     

AOA continuing medical education

The effects of roxithromycin, a macrolide antibiotic, on neutrophil activities were investigated in six seriously handicapped patients with severe mental retardation. Neutrophil activities were evaluated by flow cytometry using a heparinized blood analysis method. All six patients showed decreased levels of neutrophil phagocytosis, intracellular killing, and CD11b expression. Treatment with roxithromycin in vitro selectively restored the decreased phagocytic and bactericidal activities of neutrophils in these patients. There was no significant restorative effect with cefaclor, ofloxacin, or aztreonam. These results suggest the need to consider therapeutic effects of antibiotics on neutrophil functions in patients at increased risk for bacterial infections due to decreased neutrophil activities.     

How to base continuing medical education (CME) on the concepts of evidence and decision

In order to play its part fully, CME in France must be radically reformed, less in its methods than in its philosophy; it is important to ground CME on objective evaluation, evidence-based medicine and on medical decision making. These notions are often neglected, or even unrecognized, especially in medical education. Asset of actual situation are the recent decision of CME legal obligation, which will require validation of quality criterion in CME, and large network of associations and 'leader-practioners', that would let to most practicing physicians' participation.     

Nurses' experiences of continuing education

This article outlines some of the main findings from a survey into the experiences of nurses with continuing professional education following the introduction of the UKCC's standards for post registration education and practice (PREP). This survey was conducted jointly by the Queen's Nursing Institute and Nursing Times.