Staff Development Plan

I feel bad that no one has responded to your query yet.

I know that educators are always told to begin with "Needs assessment", but I would advise beginning with goals - in conjunction with the managers of the area. Make sure you understand what they expect you to provide. They are your primary customers - the whole purpose of staff development is to support them in their efforts to deliver patient care. Staff are the 'consumers' of your product, but they cannot really influence budget. Understanding this basic truth is the secret to ensuring a healthy SD function - keep your customers satisfied because they can influence budget.

Your department goals should be tied to the manager's goals. Make sure to adhere to the same format used by your organization (e.g., SMART goals). Some of the goals may be sort of "duh", but it is important to get them in because this is how you will evaluate your success at the end of the year. For instance, if they are expected to meet all regulatory requirements, they will rely on you to provide the means and supply them with information about compliance. This would give rise to goals like "ensure at least one BLS recertification each month".

Now to address "Needs". I would caution you NOT to do the old fashioned 'laundry list' survey to identify needs. This scatter gun approach is usually very ineffective because staff are seldom aware of what they don't know (LOL). This may also set up unrealistic expectations - that you will provide whatever they want. Instead, examine your organization to identify needs based on 3 categories: Defined Needs, Demonstrated Needs, and Presumed Needs.

Defined - (highest priority) required to meet regulatory compliance, orientation & training, support career ladder, etc

Demonstrated needs - competency gaps identified by risk management & PI data. These may pop up unexpectedly - priority depends on gravity of the situation and whether they truly are an education need. If the root cause of the problem is not educational (staff already know what they are supposed to do, but aren't doing it) you need to avoid becoming entangled in these 'projects'. These may change during the year, so you may need to build a generic place holder -- "Develop and implement appropriate educational interventions for demonstrated needs". If possible, work with your manager to create a guideline for analyzing these needs to establish whether the solution should be educational or management driven.

Presumed Needs: (priority depends on organizational support & funding) education & training needed to support new organizational/department initiatives - It is important to insert these into your plan & obtain resources/funding needed to make sure you can do them

Then, establish your 'academic calendar' by pluggin in all of your routine and regularly scheduled activities. Make sure to account for your own operational responsiblities like participation in committees, meeting with new hires, etc. The calendar can always change, but this will give managers the opportunity to schedule their people in advance and it is always much appreciated. Make sure that you remain within the realm of the possible - do not plan activities that you can't afford or can't staff.

Your education plan should be a dynamic document. You need to capture & report metrics to your senior leaders on a quarterly basis: classes conducted, contact hours delivered, compliance , etc. The report should mirror reports required by other (revenue) departments.

At the end of the year, do your summative evaluation of the plan. Analyze whether you have met or exceeded your goals. This is your 'annual report'.

Then, do it all over again every year! It's important to run education just like any other operational unit of the organization.

thank you for posting this! this information has been very helpful as i'm considering a new job at a ltc as the staff development & infection control nurse.

I would have given you two Kudos, HouTx, but the site only allows one. Very useful information!

I believe that needs assessment is a priority or else you start planning things that are not needed as much as something else. Getting input from managers is a form of assessment. JC has a book on education of staff on their website. It gives examples of forms to use for the entire process. Needs should include new equipment, results of incidence reports and other things that nurses forget sometimes.

Thanks for this post. This is really helpful.