Evaluation of an Arthritis Continuing Education Program

A knowledge test and chart audit were used to evaluate the way in which a formal continuing education program affected nurse behavior at a visiting nurse association. An experimental (n=13) and a control (n=15) group were randomly selected from a pool of visiting nurses. The experimental group attended a two-part, four-hour continuing education program on arthritis-related problems and interventions. The control group did not attend the program. Three to four weeks after the program was given, three charts of each nurse were randomly selected and examined by trained auditors who counted the number of arthritis problems and interventions recorded two to three weeks post program (n=84 charts audited). It was anticipated that nurses who attended the continuing education program would be more knowledgeable about arthritis and be more likely to utilize new knowledge in patient care. A knowledge test was admin istered to both groups at the end of the training session. A t test revealed that the experimental groups scores were significantly higher (t=3.82, df=23, p=.001) than the control group. It was hypothesized that those who attended the continuing education program would record more interventions. The nonpararaetric test, Mann Whitney U, revealed that the experimental group was significantly more likely to record arthritis interventions (p=.032). Thus, evaluation evidence supported the validity of the continuing education project.