Improving Rural Nurse Practitioner Knowledge About Polycystic Ovary Syndrome Through Continuing Education
March 2018
in “
Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing
”
TLDR Continuing education programs significantly increased rural nurse practitioners' knowledge about PCOS.
The study, conducted with 48 rural nurse practitioners at a regional NP conference, demonstrated that a continuing education program significantly improved their knowledge about Polycystic Ovary Syndrome (PCOS). Before the program, the NPs had low levels of knowledge in assessing, diagnosing, and managing PCOS, but posttest results showed substantial improvements. Specifically, 93% could identify hyperandrogenism, 65.1% could identify polycystic ovaries, and 95.4% recognized total testosterone as essential for PCOS diagnosis after the education session. Additionally, 93% of participants were aware of Type 2 Diabetes Mellitus as a long-term consequence of PCOS. The study highlighted the effectiveness of CE programs in enhancing NPs' understanding of PCOS, despite limitations such as a small sample size (43 for the posttest) and the short interval between tests. It emphasized the importance of including PCOS content in continuing education for nurse practitioners.