Director of Nursing Education at Mercy Hospital Diane Loffredo, MSN, RN, BC announced the addition of “CE Direct,” a computer based education system that will enable nurses to obtain additional continuing education hours and expand their nursing expertise by logging into a computer from home or at work. Mercy is one of only 3 hospitals in Florida to offer the innovative program. Although the system was just launched, it has already proven to be a tremendous benefit to members of the nursing staff who need to obtain mandatory hours and enhance their professional development.
“Nurses can now enjoy free continuing education from the comfort of their homes, even at 3 oclock in the morning dressed in their pajamas and slippers,” said Loffredo. “Were very excited to offer this benefit to our nurses. It was made possible by a supportive administration that works hard to enhance the nursing experience here at Mercy. Through our shared governance program, nurses have the opportunity to communicate with hospital leadership, resulting in a better work environment and enhanced patient care.” Mercy is currently offering an expansive CE Direct curriculum of more than 400 internet based training courses with unlimited access to all RNs and LPNs, at no cost to the employee. Since nurses need to earn up to 100 educational hours in a five-year period to maintain their national certification, maintaining the certification in the past was both costly and inconvenient. Mercy nurses can now obtain the needed contact hours for license renewal or certification with greater ease, less stress, and zero dollars out of their pocket. On the heals of a nursing shortage which has plagued our nation, Mercy can now use the program as an effective recruitment tool to encourage nurses to join its staff. In a recent survey of nursing staff, it was found that over 75% of nurses responding to the survey expressed interest in taking continuing education classes online or through computer assisted instruction.
