Nurses' orientation toward lifelong learning: a case study of Uganda's national hospital.

Background: The quality of nursing care in developing countries is poor, and attempts to improve it through continuing education programs are under way. Nurses' orientation toward lifelong learning has not been explored, despite its potential effect on the success of such programs.

Methods: The Jefferson Scale of Physician Lifelong Learning (JSPLL) was used to measure orientation toward lifelong learning among 200 nurses at Uganda's national hospital.

Results: Most participants had fair orientation (52%) toward lifelong learning (JSPLL mean score = 36.8 [SD = 7.2]) and rated their skills in self-directed learning as good or excellent (44%). Reported barriers to lifelong learning included patient workload, lack of mentors, lack of library resources, and lack of computer skills. Nurses' orientation toward lifelong learning was significantly associated with professional experience (p ≤ .05), age (p ≤ .05), and education level (p ≤ .01).

Conclusion: In Uganda, nurses' orientation toward lifelong learning remains low, and this has implications for successful implementation of continuing education programs for nurses.