title: Strategies for continuing professional development among younger, middle-aged, and older nurses: a biographical approach.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A nursing career can last for more than 40 years, during which continuing professional development is essential. Nurses participate in a variety of learning activities that correspond with their developmental motives. Lifespan psychology shows that work-related motives change with age, leading to the expectation that motives for continuing professional development also change. Nevertheless, little is known about nurses' continuing professional development strategies in different age groups.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  To explore continuing professional development strategies among younger, middle-aged, and older nurses.
  
  
  METHODS
  A qualitative study using semi-structured interviews, from a biographical perspective. Data were analysed using a vertical process aimed at creating individual learning biographies, and a horizontal process directed at discovering differences and similarities between age groups.
  
  
  METHODS
  Twenty-one nurses in three age groups from general and academic hospitals in the Netherlands.
  
  
  RESULTS
  In all age groups, daily work was an important trigger for professional development on the ward. Performing extra or new tasks appeared to be an additional trigger for undertaking learning activities external to the ward. Learning experiences in nurses' private lives also contributed to their continuing professional development. Besides these similarities, the data revealed differences in career stages and private lives, which appeared to be related to differences in continuing professional development strategy; 'gaining experience and building a career' held particularly true among younger nurses, 'work-life balance' and 'keeping work interesting and varied' to middle-aged nurses, and 'consistency at work' to older nurses.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Professional development strategies can aim at performing daily patient care, extra tasks and other roles. Age differences in these strategies appear to relate to tenure, perspectives on the future, and situations at home. These insights could help hospitals to orientate continuing professional development approaches toward the needs of all age groups. This should be particularly relevant in the face of present demographic changes in the nursing workforce.
authors.affiliation: UMC Utrecht Academy, University Medical Centre Utrecht, HB 4.05 PO Box 85500, 3508 GA Utrecht The Netherlands. Electronic address: i.a.pool@umcutrecht.nl.
authors.forename: Inge A
authors.initials: IA
authors.lastname: Pool
authors.affiliation: Department of Human Resource Studies, Tilburg University, Tilburg, The Netherlands. Electronic address: R.Poell@uvt.nl.
authors.forename: Rob F
authors.initials: RF
authors.lastname: Poell
authors.affiliation: Radboud Health Academy, Radboud University Medical Centre, Nijmegen, The Netherlands. Electronic address: Marjolein.Berings@radboudumc.nl.
authors.forename: Marjolein G M C
authors.initials: MG
authors.lastname: Berings
authors.affiliation: Centre for Research and Development of Education, University Medical Centre Utrecht, Utrecht, The Netherlands. Electronic address: T.J.tenCate@umcutrecht.nl.
authors.forename: Olle
authors.initials: O
authors.lastname: ten Cate
mesh_terms: D000328:Adult; D000368:Aged; D004509:Education, Nursing, Continuing / Q000458:organization & administration*; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D008875:Middle Aged; D009426:Netherlands
keywords: Age differences; CPD strategies; Continuing professional development; Learning activities; Learning biography; Motives; Nurses; Workplace learning