Community of Inquiry-Guided Design of Asynchronous Online Continuing Professional Development for Pediatric Nurses.

Abstract

Background: Nurses play a pivotal role in the provision of health care for children across Africa. With limited pediatric nursing content in undergraduate nursing programs and few available pediatric postgraduate nursing programs, there is a need for additional continuing professional development opportunities to prepare nurses with the knowledge, skills, and confidence needed to care for children.

Method: To address this need, and mindful of the unique profile of potential participants, the Children's Nursing Development Unit at the University of Cape Town developed a suite of asynchronous short online courses. Course design was grounded in the Community of Inquiry framework, a widely adopted and researched framework that integrates cognitive, social, and teaching presences for optimal online learning.

Results: This article illustrates how the three Community of Inquiry presences were integrated into the courses.

Conclusion: As evidenced by the examples, nurse educators effectively used the Community of Inquiry framework to create deep and meaningful learning experiences in an asynchronous online professional development program for pediatric nurses. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2025;56(2):63-69.].