In this topic, you will be working on developing a learning needs assessment. Why does the nurse educator assess learning needs prior to lesson plan development? Discuss what will be important for you to assess related to the chosen topic for your lesson plan. What would be some important demographic information to gather? What other information might you consider gathering, such as learner diversity?

Topic 7 Discussion

Learning needs assessment is a systematic process undertaken by nurse educators to determine what learners should learn in terms of knowledge, skills, and abilities to be successful. Nurse educators strive to understand students’ learning needs through focus groups, interviews, and surveys to gather important information that will help develop the nursing program (Hudson et al., 2018). Nurse educators get to know what students already know and what they should be taught. Understanding learning needs helps nurse educators to prepare and offer the most relevant information that suits the learners’ needs through a well-stipulated plan. This helps improve the quality of nursing education and enhance learning outcomes.

In my next lesson, I will be teaching about the indications of using nitroglycerine for patients in the intermediate medical unit (IMU). From my experience in the nursing practice, I have interacted with nurses who, despite understanding how nitroglycerine works, have little information about the different dosages required to relieve pain for various types of anginas. Furthermore, some do not know the criteria for the route of administration for nitroglycerine. To understand the scope of what I should cover, I will perform a need assessment to understand what nurses already know as well as the gap in their knowledge. This will help in planning for this lesson as well as delivering the contents addressing nurses’ needs.

In addition to understanding the needs of my learners, understanding some demographic features is also vital. The important information I would like to know before the lesson includes age ranges, gender, learning styles, years of experience, and ethnicity. Understanding the years of nurses’ experience is paramount to lesson delivery. According to Hudson et al. (2018), nurses with many years of experience often understand the content easily due to their experience. Understanding the needs of the audience is paramount to helping me in gathering the necessary materials that will enable me to deliver my lesson appropriately. Finally, in case of a language barrier, I will be required to have a translator who will help in delivering the content appropriately.

Reference

Hudson, A., Ellis-Cohen, E., Davies, S., Horn, D., Dale, A., Malyon, L., Edwards, R., Harnischfeger, J., Radel, G., Bundy, R., & Jauncey-Cooke, J. (2018). The value of learning needs analysis to establish educational priorities in a new clinical workforce. Nurse Education in Practice, 29, 82–88. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.nepr.2017.11.016