Biomedical subjects

Isabel White

Publications and source records attributed to Isabel White.

3 recordsLinked to original sources

PubMed2004

Training needs analysis. A literature review and reappraisal.

Training needs analysis is the initial step in a cyclical process which contributes to the overall training and educational strategy of staff in an organisation or a professional group. The cycle commences with a systematic consultation to identify the learning needs of the population considered, followed by course planning, delivery and evaluation. Although much has been written about training needs analysis in relation to post-registration nursing education, there is disagreement concerning its impact on the training cycle and its potential to influence service delivery. This stimulated the literature review presented below. Initial searches of nursing databases identified 266 works. Twenty three (8.6%) contained empirical findings relating to post-registration nursing education in which assessment of training needs was presented as the major aim. Most of these accounts were concerned with the training needs of nurses in more than one organisation and were classified as macro-level training needs analysis. However, seven studies were concerned with a single, specific organisation (micro-level training needs analysis). Despite their smaller scale and more limited scope, micro-level training needs initiatives demonstrated greater methodological rigour, were more likely to consider the stakeholder perspective, to generate findings which could positively influence the rest of the training cycle and showed the greatest potential for influencing service delivery and quality of patient care. The review drew attention to the similarities between the training cycle and the audit cycle and resulted in the development of a model which could be used to evaluate the effectiveness of the process and outcomes of future training needs analysis initiatives.

Data Collection↗

PubMed2004

The impact of commissioning processes on the delivery of continuing professional education for cancer and palliative care.

Educational commissioning was introduced into nursing and non-medical education in the mid 1990s. However, little research has been undertaken to explore its effect on continuing professional education despite early concerns that it could have a negative impact, especially in relation to more specialist provision such as that required by nurses delivering cancer and palliative care. The in-depth, qualitative study reported in this paper examined the commissioning process and how it was perceived by key stakeholders in one Workforce Development Confederation and the two universities which provided the education for practitioners throughout a local Cancer Network. The study identified failure to address educational needs accurately because too little attention was given to training needs analysis at the level of National Health Service Trusts. Commissioning was dominated by the need to demonstrate value for money at the expense of educational innovation and there was scope for improving communication between stakeholders. In addition scope existed for better collaboration between the two provider universities. Although all respondents voiced the similar criticisms, lecturers, service managers and Trust education leads were more able to suggest solutions to problems than education managers because of their awareness of service needs and the requirements of individual practitioners. The findings of this study cannot be generalised beyond the Cancer Network in which it took place. However, they clearly indicate possible weaknesses in the commissioning process which should be explored in greater depth, in relation to continuing professional education for specialist and non-specialist areas of practice.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗

PubMedDate not supplied

Training needs analysis: an evaluation framework.

Training needs analysis (TNA) is the first step in the training and educational strategy of an organisation and is crucial to meeting the continuing professional development needs of the healthcare workforce and service. TNA must be carefully planned, conducted and have clear outcomes to ensure that training interventions are implemented effectively and that they lead to meaningful changes in service delivery. However, there is a death of literature on approaches to critique TNA. This article describes a framework developed specifically to evaluate the effectiveness of TNA. The framework combines approaches that have been used to evaluate conventional research studies and audit.

Attitude of Health Personnel↗