Abstract:
The purpose of this phenomenological study was to uncover the meaning of lifelong
learning to nurses in an Academic Health Care setting. Six female pediatric nurses were
interviewed and audiotaped in response to 2 main questions of interpretation and
engagement in lifelong learning with respect to their nursing practice. Four additional
probing questions elicited responses of further qualities and characteristics of the
meaning of lifelong learning. The emergent themes uncovered the characteristics and
nature of the journey of lifelong learning. The themes evolved into parallel
characteristics developing into the concepts of personal empowerment and occupational
authorship. The personal empowerment concept involved processes whereby the
participants overcame or removed barriers to engage in personal lifelong learning.
Participants utilized personal power and internal motivators to sustain their engagement
in lifelong learning. The occupational authorship concept involved participants
controlling their exploration into lifelong learning through collaboration and recognition
of occupational demands to be met as a professional. The remaining themes revealed a
seasoning journey. This journey entailed a process of mastery through the themes of
engagement discord, discovery pilgrimage, transforming, and maturation. The
engagement in this journey resulted in their lifelong learning to becoming more intuitive
and a part oftheir being. The overall theme uncovered from the journeys was one of a
vocation described as a call to thinking critically of nursing practice. The participants
responded to lifelong learning as a call to be a good nurse by using critical thinking
through reflection, transformative and constructionist learning processes. This study
gave voice to the meaning of lifelong learning in their nursing practice as interpreted by
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the nurse participants.
