Determining perceived learning needs of newly employed pediatric oncology registered nurses

The purposes of this study were to determine the perceived learning needs of newly employed pediatric oncology registered nurses and to compare the perceived learning needs of novice nurses with those of newly employed pediatric oncology registered nurses who have experience to determine if learning needs differ between the two groups. This study used a nonexperimental, exploratory, descriptive, and qualitative performance improvement design. An open-ended learning needs assessment questionnaire and a rank order questionnaire were employed for data collection. The results were analyzed using mean and median descriptive measurements tabulated using a visual analog scale. The sample included 27 newly employed registered nurses at a pediatric oncology research hospital. Findings showed that differences in perceived learning needs did exist between the novice group and the experienced group.