Registered nurses (RNs) attending a national conference were surveyed to find out what motivated their participation in continuing professional education. Eight hundred sixty-six RNs completed the Participation Reasons Scale (PRS) and the Respondent Information Form (RIF). Five factors emerged from a factor analysis and several significant relationships were found between person-related and profession-related variables. These findings indicate that nurses are concerned with professional competence and participate in continuing education for complex reasons. This study can serve as the basis for further research and should be useful to those who teach or plan continuing education activities, promote them, select instructional techniques, and evaluate learning experiences. If, as current research indicates, continuing education contributes to quality practice, then reasons that influence participation take on an increasingly greater significance for the entire nursing profession.