Sharpening Your Nursing Skills with Online CE

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The nursing workforce is expected to grow by 6% over the next decade, and with an aging population, nurses are in higher demand than ever. Shifts that are 12 hours or more are common today, which is why 30% report exhaustion and 90% experience burnout at some point in their career.

For many, the thought of adding continuing education and building their nursing skills just adds to the stress. Taking the 20-30 required CE credits to maintain a license is an additional burden that nearly every nurse bears, and fitting in these requirements in person often means time off of work and long days of training.

Fortunately, nurses now have access to high-quality CE options online that make fulfilling professional obligations much more flexible and convenient. The top providers even offer unlimited nursing CE subscriptions that give you full access to libraries of courses on topics like mandatory DEA MATE training, pharmacology, and many other critical areas.

By giving yourself a chance to access all the CE resources you need online, you can stay on top of trends and build your career without complicating your busy schedule. Here’s how to keep your nursing skills sharp with online CE.

Nursing Skills You Can Develop with Online CE

Continuing education translates directly to better care for patients, and it’s vital for maintaining industry standards and advancing new research and best practices. Strong nursing skills allow healthcare professionals to make informed decisions, effectively manage complex situations, and leverage interprofessional care strategies.

Skills like critical thinking, communication, teamwork, and many others all contribute to a positive healthcare experience for patients. Well-designed nursing CE helps develop all of these areas and supports nurses with the knowledge and techniques they need to take action.

Clinical Skills

While some nurses might want to take hands-on CE on topics like Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) in person, online coursework has evolved to deliver excellent ACLS training that’s ideal for recertification. In fact, online content is highly effective for many skills-based clinical procedures such as physical assessments, managing medications, and wound care—all of which support nurses in their daily roles and responsibilities.

Online learning can also offer insight into physiology and how your patients will be supported by critical nursing interventions, including tips and tricks to make things like routine nursing physical assessments more efficient and effective. The top course developers deliver research-based content that’s created by industry experts to reflect the most up-to-date standards and practices so you’re always on top of the latest trends.

Critical Thinking

Critical thinking is undoubtedly one of the most important nursing skills to have in your toolbox, but it’s often one of the most challenging to master. Critical thinking includes elements of problem-solving, the ability to assess patient conditions quickly to make informed decisions, and appreciating the need to seek out additional resources in the best interest of your patient.

Online CE supports the development of critical thinking skills both through active learning and the content it contains. The best courses include interactive activities and assessments that help users master the material and reinforce key thought processes. Formats that support a variety of learning styles—including audio options for convenient engagement—promote multiple paths to success.

Finally, required coursework on implicit biases helps nurses avoid experiences that exacerbate serious health problems and marginalize patient populations. And by emphasizing the value of interprofessional collaboration, nurses learn to leverage their entire care team when they run out of answers.

Communication

Communication is one of the most foundational nursing skills, and every role requires strong verbal and non-verbal proficiency to successfully maintain a culture of safety. Communication gaps can result in important information being lost quickly with catastrophic effects on health and safety.

Nurses are constantly relaying patient information through a variety of verbal, hand-written, and digital formats to other members of their care team, and accuracy and clarity are vital for avoiding costly mistakes. CE courses on preventing medical errors help nurses support their colleagues with clear spoken and written communication to prevent accidents and oversights.

Empathy and Compassion

Empathy and compassion are fundamental qualities nurses need to embrace when providing care to others. Manifesting empathy toward your patients can significantly improve the patient experience and treatment outcomes while fostering trust in the healthcare system at large. Conversely, a lack of empathy will negatively impact the patient experience and their willingness to partner with you for care and treatment plans.

Online CE focused on empathy and compassion provides actionable insights and nursing skills for managing interactions like weight stigma and LGBTQIA+ community engagement. These valuable concepts can help busy nurses make an immediate and rewarding health impact on a variety of marginalized and stigmatized populations.

Sharpen Your Nursing Skills with Online CE

These are just a few of the many skills that can be enhanced through online learning and continuing education, and with unlimited access to a provider’s full range of courses, nurses will always have the answers they need at their fingertips. Premiere is committed to enhancing your nursing skills and practice with resources like the Unlimited Nursing CE Subscription. With access to Premiere’s full library of 100+ courses, nurses in any state have a full year of access to all their renewal requirements in addition to a wide range of ANCC-accredited courses that develop invaluable nursing skills.

All of Premiere’s courses are created by industry experts, reflect the most up-to-date research and best practices, and many are ANCC and IPCE accredited. Start exploring Premiere’s course library today to find out how to keep your nursing skills sharp no matter where your career takes you.