Get ENERGISED: Professional development for emergency nurses

Background: This article outlines the implementation and evaluation of ENERGISE (Emergency Nurses Embrace Regular Gatherings In Skills Education) a professional development day held monthly at one emergency department (ED) in Victoria. The intent is to (i) provide emergency nurses with professional development opportunities, including preparation for practice and mandatory training, structured career planning via annual performance appraisal, and (ii) facilitate completion of mandatory annual competency assessments. Method: A retrospective design examined participant (n = 57) compliance with mandatory competency assessment and performance appraisals and compared findings with historical data gathered prior to introduction of ENERGISE. Data were collected from the ED competency record. Evaluation forms measured efficacy of education provided and participant's perceived preparation for practice. Results: ENERGISE was found to promote compliance with manual handling competencies and completion of performance appraisals. Successful completion of BLS and ALS more than doubled following implementation of ENERGISE. There was positive improvement in perceived preparation for practice in disaster management and decontamination. ENERGISE has enhanced how essential education is delivered to nurses in this ED. Conclusion: ENERGISE was an important step toward improving the educational preparation of emergency nurses and has now been successfully implemented across the two other EDs within the network. (C) 2011 College of Emergency Nursing Australasia Ltd. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.