The UNMC CON CiPDI is housed in the UNMC College of Nursing (CON). In 1980, under the direction of former College of Nursing Dean Rosalee Yeaworth, the UNMC CON CiPDI was accredited as a provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.
The mission in these early days was to focus on a handful of small local programs using primarily a live format. under the direction of one nursing faculty member. As time progressed, the office expanded into other types of program delivery, such as those provided by journal articles or monographs. These were processed with pen and paper, and used U.S. Mail for communication with the learners.
By 2007, the UNMC CON CiPDI embraced the virtual environment, and moved the office to a paperless system. Since this transition, the use of various technologies for content delivery has been at the forefront of the UNMC CON CiPDI. By 2013, these include interactive development and web based delivery of programs, the construction and use of complex data systems, website design using user experience, and by 2014, robust evaluation survey collection and analysis systems.
The UNMC CON CiPDI has developed innovative programming over the years. In 1995, the UNMC CON CiPDI partnered with advanced practice faculty to create the Annual Pharmacology Conference for Advanced Practice Nurses. This conference has grown every year since, and in 2013 was offered both live and virtually across the five CON campuses statewide. By 2016, the virtual audience exceeded the live, marking a major milestone for virtual conference delivery.
Also notable was the development of the Gero Nurse Prep program in 2011. Extending the pilot work of CON faculty, the program was launched in partnership with the AHCA/NCAL as a web based asynchronous commercial course aimed at preparing nurses to take the ANCC board certification exam in gerontological nursing. To date, over 325 nurses have achieved board certification using this activity, and many others are in the process of doing so.
With every adaption of new systems and technologies, the CiPDI team added new members with unique bases of knowledge. Rich and diverse in skills, the team is agile and addresses each learning gap with a breadth of professional perspectives and experience. Collectively our team, in partnership with its valuable partners across the state and country, aims to continue to impact the culture of education for nurses in all levels of practice.