| Nursing professional development educators (NPDEs) are professional nurses who possess not only basic nursing skills but also teaching and learning skills. With their unique skill set, NPDEs ensure continual professional nurse competency. However, with no formal structured learning paths and no relevant literature about NPDE learning, it is not clear how they learn and acquire competency. Hence, the research problem was the need to understand how NPDEs learn and develop competency. This study aims at understanding how NPDEs learn and develop competency. The Conscious Competency Learning Model, Professional Model of Professional Competency model, and reviewed literature formed the conceptual framework for this basic qualitative study as well as the development of secondary research questions and the study interview guide. Eight experienced NPDEs from across the United States were interviewed using a semi-structured interview guide. Thematic data analysis revealed that participants learned and developed their competencies through non-formal, informal, self-directed, and self-regulated learning. A revised model for competency learning and development also emerged from the data analysis that adds to the theoretical understanding of competency. This study contributes to the nursing education literature by providing a preliminary understanding of how NPDEs learn and develop competency. |
