Need Help With Needs Assessment

Hi! Tell me something about your background. Is this the first job of this type you have held? You could start by just spending time with the nurses at the bedside observing. That would give you as assessment of what you see as needs. Then ask as many as possible what they see as needs. Lastly go to the nurse manager, charge nurses and get their input. After you have gathered all of that you can begin to prioritize needs with your bosses input. Hope this helps.:kiss

Oops! I completely forgot another very important piece to consider- any credentialling or testing that the staff does will give you an idea of needs as well. Look at test scores etc.

I echo everything in the above post.

Also, think logically and write a matrix plan with needs and time frame on one axis and staff grades/numbers or whatever on the other, so you can see the time issues quickly, e.g. prioritize with mandatory/required in the dept. such as BLS, ACLS, JCHO days, orientation of new hires, lifting and moving etc, etc.

(Included here is a sidebar if you intend to help staff obtain CEUs to maintain licensure; many facilities do.)

Then there are categories which may be imposed on you by management from time to time e.g. training in a new med. delivery system, pump etc. Try and stay ahead of the game in terms of purchases and changes so you are prepared for this. You don't have to teach it usually - use the reps' expertise - but you may be required to organize it all. Set up a system for obtaining advance information on this sort of thing.

What about ongoing training of inexperienced RNs in specialty areas - who does what here? And that can be a key to think in: Who, What, When, Why, How, Where? Don't plan on doing it all. Also identify other training resources both human and physical.

If you are not an educated/trained educator, look to your own education. Can you truly write learning objectives; how much do you internalize the concept of 'student centered learning', what do you know about assessing (evaluating) learning outcomes. Bloom's taxonomy? (Sorry if you are a real eduator, just checking!)

Finally there are the finer points and this is where you might need to spend more time on relationships than on some needs for a while. Experienced staff usually are not that welcoming to an educator whatever they actually say to you.

As I've posted before, you might win them over by asking them to identify their most time consuming, irritating part of their work and orchestrating a grand effort to change/educate for speed and success on this. Often it's discharge procedures or med delivery systems and I've never worked anywhere where these could not have been improved with a dedicated approach and a coordinator.

A questionnaire might help you, but get some professional input on the design - usually these are badly done and don't give you the info you want. I'd also keep these NOT anonymous; have an expectation of accountability for what is said or written.

I've lots more info. but this sounds more than enough for now! I wish you dedicated colleagues and much energy.