Pros and Cons of Continuing of an Online CEU Site
Continuing education units have gained prominence as methods for fulfilling the mandatory requirements for evidence of continued education amongst practicing nurses. The pros and cons of a website offering this method of education, http://www.nurselearning.com will be explored below.
The CEUs offered at the site are cost-effective and convenient to undertake. Time and cost constrains are some of the factors that limit the ability of practicing nurses to pursue further education. CEUs provide an optimal solution to such nurses because they are easily accessible, they do not require one to travel, and they can be undertaken during one’s free time. The courses offered at the site are recognized and accredited by appropriate authorities in every state. Students who take units at the site are issued a certificate of completion upon passing a test. The site additionally maintains records of the units completed by students. The site also caters for students with different learning styles because its units are available in multiple learning formats such as online courses, audio downloads, and mail-order print version. These CEUs help to keep nurses and other health care practitioners abreast with recent developments in the health care field (Nurses Learning Network, 2010). This enables them to provide safe, quality, and cost-effective care to their patients and to maintain professionalism. Lastly, the site is easy to navigate, it offers CEUs on all topics, and mandatory CEUs.
There are several cons of the CEUs offered at the site. They do not foster problem based learning. They mirror traditional methods of education in that they focus more on provision of information without soliciting the input of students. Students become passive recipients of information because they are not involved in the determination of learning outcomes, objectives, and contents of their education. In addition, they do not have a provision for learners to engage in discussions with other learners nor seek clarifications for concepts that are not clear. Passive learning does not foster the development of critical thinking and problem solving skills. The ability of students to recall read information is also limited hence the CEUs may not be effective in transforming practice.
In relation to the curriculum, the CEUs offered are mostly discipline specific in terms of content as opposed to an integrated curriculum. This does not foster a holistic view of patients’ problems amongst students. It, however, helps them to develop a better picture of their own discipline. The CEUs also lack a pre-defined curriculum even though the site offers state mandated courses. Nurses mostly choose the units to undertake. This may lead to disparities in the knowledge and competencies of nurses whereby some nurses lag behind on crucial developments in the nursing field.
In conclusion, the online CEU site, http://www.nurselearning.com has its merits and demerits. On one hand, it helps to keep nurses abreast with recent developments in the health care field, is convenient, easy to access, and cost effective. On the other hand, it fails to foster problem-based learning, active student participation, and development of critical thinking and problem solving skills amongst other demerits.
References
Nurses Learning Network (2010). Knowledge you can trust. Retrieved from https://www.nurseslearning.com/
