Need to know what staff want to learn? Just ask

Maine agency develops questionnaire

Maybe it's time to overhaul your education department, or maybe a recent agency merger means you no longer have a handle on which inservices the staff need most.

Whatever the reasons, perhaps the simplest way to start making changes is by creating a needs assessment survey, suggests Claire Brannigan, RN, MS, staff development coordinator for Community Health Services of Portland, ME. The nonprofit organization belongs to the Visiting Nurse Association network and serves the southern coastal and western mountain region of Maine through three offices.

^{Staff have chance to respond}

Community Health Services recently distributed this survey to nursing and therapy staff, Brannigan says. (See needs assessment questionnaire, p. 66.)

"We wanted an idea of what kinds of mater-ials people have available and what kinds of materials they need," she explains. "Do they need flip charts or written information or videotapes?"

^{Results determine next move}

The results, which are not yet in, may show Brannigan whether the agency should invest in computer-assisted educational software or whether it should obtain specialized videotapes, Brannigan says.

Also, Brannigan says she expects to use the data in helping her develop client educa-tion materials. One question, for example, asks staff to check which teaching topics clients need.

An administrative assistant will help Brannigan put the data on a spreadsheet that breaks it down between diagnostic categories and teaching learning needs.

"We have formed an education committee," Brannigan says. "And we're working on orientation, and then we'll look at the resources we need, including teaching learning guides."