Committee work: serendipitous teaching and learning

Area of Science:

• Nursing Professional Development
• Adult Education Theory
• Organizational Learning

Background:

• Professional nursing organizations provide platforms for continuing education.
• Committee service is a common engagement for registered nurses.
• Incidental learning and teaching within organizational settings are under-explored.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the incidental teaching and learning experiences of registered nurses within professional nursing organization committees.
• To identify the nature and extent of knowledge and skill acquisition during committee work.
• To evaluate the role of committee meetings as an adult educational method.

Main Methods:

• A questionnaire was administered to 115 registered nurses serving on District committees.
• Data collection focused on self-reported incidental teaching and learning during committee meetings.
• Response rate was 40% (46 returned questionnaires).

Main Results:

• Learning was reported more frequently than teaching among committee members.
• Incidental learning primarily occurred through group discussions and project work.
• Nurses gained new information, psychomotor skills, and improved group collaboration abilities.
• Nurses described their contributions more as sharing and contributing than direct teaching.

Conclusions:

• Committee meetings within professional nursing organizations facilitate significant incidental learning for registered nurses.
• These meetings serve as a valuable, albeit informal, adult educational method.
• Further research could explore optimizing these environments for structured learning.