The College of Nursing Office of Continuing Education now is known as the College of Nursing Continuing interProfessional Development and Innovation (CiPDI). The change became effective on Jan. 1.
“We are changing our name to be more reflective of the work we’ve been doing, the expanded services we now offer and our goals to develop innovative, strategic methods to forward the future of continuing professional development,” said Heidi Keeler, PhD, CiPDI director. “In recent years, we have expanded beyond professional development credits and are actively engaged in studying the impact of continuing professional development on clinical outcomes. The name change reflects this.
“The name change and expansion of focus is the latest evolution in the UNMC College of Nursing’s history of providing impactful continuing education and lifelong learning opportunities,” Dr. Keeler said. “The college was among the first in the country to receive American Nursing Credentialing Center accreditation and has been at the forefront of continuing education for more than five decades.
“Local and national trends demonstrate a move to more collective education,” she said. “While the need for profession-specific continuing education will never go away, there is a growing need for team-based training. This training method ensures the interactions between each team member reflect evolving patient care practices and produces more positive outcomes for patients.”
In December 2020, UNMC was granted Joint Accreditation for Interprofessional Continuing Education. The accreditation, extended by the Joint Accreditation for Healthcare Professions, establishes the standards for delivering interprofessional continuing education planned by, and for, the health care team.
“The way we provide activities will not change,” Dr. Keeler said. “The name change conveys our expanded capabilities to serve the whole health care team in addition to our nursing focus. It’s still the same process of contacting our office, determining what services you need and designing your activity together from there – but now we can provide more services for more professionals.”
Growing interprofessional efforts at UNMC complement the widening scope. In addition to accredited continuing education, CiPDI also offers supportive services, such as curriculum consultation, development and hosting of e-learning modules, evaluation and other professional development-related services. “We aim to add value and best practice to all aspects of professional development needs,” Dr. Keeler said.
In the future, the office will build capacity for the implementation and dissemination of research, as well as contributing to the greater nursing workforce strength through streamlined and innovative professional development and supportive services.
The CiPDI is moving towards this goal most recently through its procurement of a HRSA grant to strengthen nursing preceptors and clinical faculty pipelines.
“We are so excited for the opportunity to use our office capabilities to address this challenge,” Dr. Keeler said. “We hope that this is just one step of many toward filling nursing needs for our changing demographics. We look forward to working with our internal and external partners to build a better future for all.”
Congratulations Dr. Keeler and to the entire CiPDI team! Great work!
Congratulations Dr. Keeler! Providers across disciplines benefit from your work and programs! Thank you!