Perception of clinical nurses in a Nigerian tertiary hospital towards continuing professional development programs

Continuing professional development program has become a vital tool to update the knowledge, skills and competence of health professionals worldwide. Nursing in Nigeria under the Nursing and Midwifery Council of Nigeria (NMCN) joined the clique and commenced Mandatory Continuing Professional Development Programme (MCPDP) about a decade ago. This study was set to elicit the perception of clinical nurses in Obafemi Awolowo University Teaching Hospitals Complex, Ile-Ife towards MCPDP. A questionnaire based cross-sectional survey was undertaken among two hundred and seventy-one (271) nurses. The findings of the study revealed that 54.7% had poor perception towards MCPDP. There was a significant relationship between gender (p= 0.040), age, (p= 0.000), current educational qualification (p =0.000), cadre (p =0.000), work experience (p= 0.000), area of practice (p= 0.000) and perception towards MCPDP. However, in the light of these findings it was recommended that the stakeholders in Nigerian Nursing should embrace a more accommodating environment for the delivery of the program and also review the contents to periodically accommodate other specialties tailored to their area of practice.