‘So I forgot to use 1.5 line spacing! It doesn't make me a bad nurse!’ The attitudes to and experiences of a group of Norwegian postgraduate nurses to academic writing

AimTo describe the experience of a group of postgraduate Norwegian nurses with academic writing and its impact on their engagement with continuing education.BackgroundNurses are required to be lifelong learners and increasing numbers are seeking further knowledge and skills for clinical practice through courses in institutions of higher education. In higher education they are often being assessed on their ability to produce an academic essay not on the development of their clinical competence.MethodA descriptive design was used, where participants were asked to complete in writing two open-ended statements. The data was then subject to inductive content analysis to extract categories and themes to describe the phenomenon.FindingsParticipants had little experience and were challenged by academic writing. It was perceived as difficult, time consuming and of little relevance to their clinical practice.ConclusionThere is disconnection between the assessment of learning in higher education and increased workplace competency. Rather than promoting a deep approach to learning educators may be creating barriers to engagement with lifelong learning through using traditional assessment practices. There is an imperative to develop assessments which allow demonstration of understanding, ability to use current evidence and the development of critical analytic skills for reflection on problems encountered in participants' work lives.