Published
Online survey is a great idea because it reduces the work required to tabulate results for analysis. Be sure to include questions designed to get information about 'preferences' (self-study, classroom, time of day, etc) and enough demographics (job title, years of experience, shift, department) that will enable you to make sense of the results. Otherwise all you will have is a laundry list of individual preferences -- not very useful at all.
Please do not forget that organizational "needs" should be your highest priority. Talk with Risk Management, Quality Improvement and Nurse Leaders to find out:
1. Defined needs - these are areas where skill gaps have already been identified
2. Anticipated needs - organizational changes that will need to be supported with education
Find out what your budget is - how much can you spend on equipment, supplies, etc.
Staff members are participants but your real 'customer' is organizational leadership - they authorize your salary & budget. Your work will ultimately be evaluated in terms of the value it produces for the organization. Many clinical educators fail to adopt this strategic perspective and end up with a load of frustration. Develop a formal education plan - including how you are going to measure outcomes - and get your boss to sign off on it. Then, update the plan each year as part of the budget planning cycle.
dsowell
6 Posts
I am the clinical educator for a small rural hospital. I am trying to come up with a educational needs assessment/survey for our staff. Does anyone have a sample that they can share?