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Systematically synthesize research about factors that influence CPD over a nursing career.Continuing professional development (CPD) in nursing is defined as 'a life-long process of active participation in learning activities that assist in developing and maintaining continuing competences, enhancing professional practice and supporting achievement of career goals'. Research has shown that inability to access resources and activities for CPD influences quality of care and adversely affects nurses' satisfaction, recruitment and retention. Although more and more research regarding CPD is done, a comprehensive overview about the needs of nurses for successful CPD is missing.Scoping review, using the Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses extension for scoping reviews ensuring all quality standards are met.Between February and April 2020 the electronic databases CINAHL, PubMed, Scopus, Psychinfo and Eric were searched as well as reference lists of included papers. Papers published in peer-reviewed journals were included without restrictions on publication date, design or setting. Thematic analysis was done to synthesize the data.The search yielded 2673 papers of which 60 papers were included. Analyses showed that factors that influence CPD differ over a nursing career, which led to the identification of three groups: newly graduated nurses; experienced nurses; and experienced nurses with ambitions for advanced roles. Furthermore, analyses showed that factors for all three groups are related to personal and contextual facilitators and barriers. Newly graduated nurses find it important to be an accepted member of the team. They experience barriers when integrating into the nursing profession, where they for instance experience workplace incivility. Experienced nurses experience contextual barriers related to a lack of supportive structures and inaccessibility of CPD resources. There is limited time and availability of role models and a lack of support from managers and other colleagues. Moreover, the clinical care dynamics influence their ability to pursue CPD. For the experienced nurses with ambitions for advanced roles, an important barrier is that nursing culture emphasizes direct patient care. Often it is unclear what the value is of new nursing roles which makes it difficult for them to develop these.All nurses strive for CPD. However, organizations need to recognize nurses' personal goals and unique strategies as this leads to different needs in CPD. In addition, resources must be made available and accessible before CPD can be successfully pursued by all nurses.