Need for training of nursing professionals in rural areas of the El Oro province, Ecuador (Original)

Abstract

Access to continuing education in rural areas can be problematic for nursing professionals due to geographic isolation. This same situation makes them see the need to expand their practice and performance to other fields of health care. The objective of this work was to describe and analyze the training needs of professional nursing personnel who work in rural areas of the province of El Oro, Ecuador. An observational, cross-sectional, mixed study was carried out between December 2022 and January 2023, using snowball sampling. 34 nursing professionals from rural areas were surveyed online, and 14 employers in the area were interviewed. Data was collected about the needs for training and continuing education courses: topics, preferred days a week, motivations, among others. In relation to the topics of greatest interest in general, they were basic and advanced life support, followed by pharmacological nursing, courses on specific nursing interventions, practices, leadership, and primary care. The topics of greatest need according to employers were in order: primary care, development of activities and projects, clinical-surgical topics, and leadership. Employers said it was important to increase values, the ability to make decisions, the holistic vision of the patient and care, that is, soft skills. It is essential that universities provide training in general and profession-specific skills to nurses who work in rural areas as part of their continuing education.