Front-end analysis as needs assessment

As staff development departments are being asked to do more with less, appropriate needs assessment is a key to cost-effective and efficient education for staff nurses, in orientation and staff development. Front-end analysis is a technique used by business and industry to analyze deficiencies in job performance. This article describes a front-end analysis model used to analyze typical staff development problems, and reports the outcomes of using front-end analysis to assess training needs in a large urban hospital.