A needs assessment in continuing professional education

This paper describes a systematic approach to an assessment of the learning needs of practicing nurses, and a computer-based solution to marketing the resulting CE offerings. Demographic, educational and employment information was collected in a data base survey from more than five thousand professional nurses in a thirteen county region of upper New York State. Based upon three mini-surveys, a questionnaire assessing learning needs was then developed and sent to a large subpopulation of these nurses. An analysis of fifteen hundred responses to the questionnaire identified continuing nursing education priorities in the region. Responses to the data base survey and the learning needs questionnaire were merged into a computerized data base management system, which is used to select topics, design courses, and communicate with nurses in the region regarding continuing education. This approach to needs assessment, program planning and dissemination of continuing education information should be useful in solving analogous problems in other areas of continuing professional education.