ABSTRACT
The Perinatal Continuing Education Program consists of a nine-month intervention with
community hospital nurses, physicians, and support personnel. Components include a
hospital self-inventory of resources, coordination by community hospital staff, a
skills workshop, and self-instructional books. This article outlines a follow-up strategy
to the basic program and describes changes in community hospital knowledge and care
practices that occur between programs.
The follow-up program presented includes a modified coordinators' workshop, identification
of updated self-instructional materials for careful study by past participants, and
a self-survey of “recommended routines” intended to facilitate change in hospital
policies. Otherwise, except for the deletion of the resources inventory, the follow-up
program is similar to the basic program.
Testing of participants and detailed review of 1435 hospital charts at sequential
time periods revealed a decline in mean knowledge scores between programs, higher
scores by new participants before follow-up when compared to pre-basic program, a
plateau of patient care quality between programs, and a further improvement in patient
care quality after the follow-up program.
We conclude that a follow-up program is best accepted after three years but that timing
is not critical. Evaluation measures suggest that new knowledge and care practices
become institutionalized as a result of this program and that altered care practices
are not simply a result of improved performance by individuals.
