The role of Continuing Professional Development for the quality of Health Care in Selected

Hospital in Tanza, Cavite

The World Health Organization (WHO) recognizes the vital role that competent nurses
and midwives play in the delivery of health and illness services. The member states of the WHO
have reiterated the need for strengthening nursing and midwifery for several decades in the form
of World Health Assembly (WHA) resolutions. An essential and often overlooked component of
these programs for nurses and midwives is ongoing professional development throughout the
nurse’s and midwife’s career in order to develop, maintain, and expand their competence, which
leads to improved quality of nursing and midwifery services and better health for all. (McCarthy,
2013).

Nurses and midwives account for nearly 50% of the global health workforce. There is a
global shortage of health workers, in particular nurses and midwives, who represent more than
50% of the current shortage in health workers. Nurses play a critical role in health promotion,
disease prevention and delivering primary and community care. They provide care in emergency
settings and will be key to the achievement of universal health coverage. Achieving health for all
will depend on there being sufficient numbers of well-trained and educated, regulated and well
supported nurses and midwives, who receive pay and recognition commensurate with the
services and quality of care that they provide. (WHO, 2020).

The term Continuing Professional Development (CPD) has been subject to much debate.
It is used interchangeably with such terms as continuous professional education, in-service
education, continuing education, lifelong learning, professional development (Ross, Barr &
Stevens, 2013) CPD is defined as “the means by which members of the profession maintain,
improve and broaden their knowledge, expertise, and competence, and develop the personal and
professional qualities required throughout their professional lives” (Nursing & Midwifery Board
of Australia, 2016:4).
 In the Philippines, the Nursing Law of 2002 requires nurses “to maintain competence by
continual learning through continuing professional education. The law has mandated PRC to require
earning CPD units for nurses and other professionals for renewal of license cards. Initially, the
nurses were required 45 CPD units for the 3-year renewal cycle or 15 units per year. But due to
public backlash, stakeholders had to reconsider the guidelines and come up with some
amendments. Nurses have to expand their knowledge and technical competencies as stipulated in
PRC Operational Guidelines. These would help them in light of the complexities of the
healthcare needs and demands for better delivery of safe nursing care services. This is also in
line with meeting the ASEAN Core Competency Standards, where there is a need to
continuously update themselves in order to meet these challenges. Nurses need to attend
programs accredited by the CPD Council to earn units. These may include Formal learning,
Nonformal learning, Informal learning, Self-directed learning, Online learning activities,
Professional work experience. (Nonoy,2019)

Nurses in the Philippines recognizes the importance of continuous Professional

Development but ambivalent with toward CPD implementation. However, the implementation of

mandatory CPD in the Philippines has met several oppositions and varying perceptions from
different professional groups. Understanding nurses’ awareness of the CPD law and the barriers

to their participation are necessary to identify gaps that may hinder nurses’ involvement in CPD
and may help address the growing concern of professionals on the implementation of
compulsory CPD. Although CPD among nurses has been studied internationally by other
scholars, there are limited published researches available involving nurses in the Philippines.
(Sobrepeña Palma, J. et.al, 2019).

In this light, the researcher decided to conduct the study to recognize the significance of
continuous professional development in safety and quality of health care because it is an
important part of continually making personal improvements even after finishing formal
education.
CITATION:

Mccarthy, C. F., & Illiffe, J. (2013). Continuing professional development for nurses and
midwives: A toolkit for developing a national CPD framework.
Https://Www.researchgate.net/Publication/284032370_Continuing_Professional_Development_f
or_Nurses_and_Midwives_A_Toolkit_for_Developing_a_National_CPD_Framework.
Nonoy. (2019, August 2). 2021 PRC CPD Units Required for Nurses. Nurse Updates.
https://www.nurseupdates.com/prc-cpd-units-for-nurses/
Nursing and Midwifery Board of Australia - Continuing professional development. (2021).
Nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au. https://www.nursingmidwiferyboard.gov.au/Registration-
Standards/Continuing-professional-development
Ross, K., Barr, J., & Stevens, J. (2013). Mandatory continuing professional development
requirements: what does this mean for Australian nurses. BMC Nursing, 12(1).
https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6955-12-9
Sobrepeña Palma, J. A. F., Flores Oducado, R. M., & Palma, B. S. (2020). Continuing
professional development: Awareness, attitude, facilitators, and barriers among nurses in the
Philippines. Nursing Practice Today, 7(3). https://doi.org/10.18502/npt.v7i3.3348
World Health Organization. (2020, January 9). Nursing and midwifery. Who.int; World Health
Organization: WHO. https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/nursing-and-midwifery