Factors affecting the nurses’ motivation for participating in the in-service training courses: A case study

Introduction: Due to the vital role of nurses and the effects of scientific advances on nursing care, providing high quality nursing services is not possible without participating in the in-service training programs and becoming familiar with the new techniques. This study aimed to determine the motivational factors influencing the participation in the in-service training courses among nurses working in the teaching hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences in 2013. Method: This was an applied, cross-sectional and descriptive-analytical study. A sample of 216 nurses working in the teaching hospitals affiliated to Shiraz University of Medical Sciences was selected using stratified sampling proportional to size and simple random sampling methods. The required data were collected using a questionnaire determining the motivational factors influencing the nurses’ participation in the in-service training courses, including personal factors, organizational factors, and those related to the profession and the training courses planning. SPSS 18.0 and some statistical tests including ANOVA, Independent-Samples T-Test, as well as Pearson Correlation Coefficient were used to analyze the collected data. Results: The results showed that the mean score of nurses’ motivation for participating in the in-service training programs was 3.41±0.5. Also, the highest and lowest means of motivational factors affecting the studied nurses’ participation in the in-service courses were associated with the factors related to the profession (3.75 ± 0.71), and those related to the training courses planning (3.20 ± 0.59), respectively. In addition, there were significant associations between the personal factors (p=0.037) and factors related to the profession (p=0.047) and the studied nurses’ positions, between the organizational factors and their employment status (p=0.007), and between the factors related to the training courses planning and the nurses’ service unit (p=0.014). Furthermore, there was a significant and negative correlation between their nursing job experience and organizational factors (r= -0.21, P= 0.004). Conclusion: According to the results and in order to increase the studied nurses’ motivation for participating in the in-service training courses, the following suggestions can be offered: making a proper educational needs assessment, paying careful attention to the nurses’ educational needs, determining the suitable time and place for providing training courses, and encouraging the nurses’ participating in the in-service training courses, etc.