¶ … Lsa Cunningham, D. & Kelly, D. (2005). The evaluation of multiprofessional learning needs assessment tool. Education for Primary Care 2005, 16. 547-55.

This article argued for the need to evaluate the evaluation methods for needs assessment within a healthcare environment. The research for this article was compiled in Scotland where the researchers sought to find ways that health care teams can become more efficient by determining a tool to evaluate what needs to be altered or included within healthcare teams.

The article designed a tool called "QUEST" that helped determine the best ways in which teams work. This qualitative evaluation helped determine how these healthcare teams may benefit from this or any other similar assessment tool. The research ultimately concluded that this type of assessment tool can be used by healthcare staffs to identify their non-clinical learning needs. This information is important because it highlights the need for self-improvement through self-evaluation and behavior modification.

Lockyer, J. (1998). Needs Assessment: Lessons Learned. The Journal of Continuing Education in the Health Profession, 18 1998.

This article is a literature review of the available information pertaining to place of needs assessment in the learning processes and how continuing education allows for professional growth and practical development. This article suggested that the place of needs assessment in the continuum of program development is key within medical organizations and based much of the research from this perspective. Another key point highlighted by this author is that self-assessment and group assessment must be treated as separate entities and that both method and data need to be incorporated in any type of needs assessment. Ultimately, this short article concluded that more research is needed on the idea of refining tools so that they can be more easily implemented in the course of routine.

Ross, J., Ford, J. & Bruce, C. (2007). Needs Assessment for Development of Learning Objects. Alberta Journal of Educational Research, 53, 4. Winter 270, 430-433.

This article reported on the research conducted by the authors to investigate needs assessments within educational settings. This article documents the review of 125 of these assessments and reported on their deficiencies. They suggested that there were multiple problems with these assessments such as use of a single data source to identify needs, gaps in student performance, use of unsystematic procedures and overreliance on data from a single group.

This research is helpful because it identifies common pitfalls that are present within the needs assessment development behaviors. This article documented specific problems that occur when needs assessments are not created in a valid and unbiased manner. To help with this problem the authors offered learning objectives that may be applied to systematic needs assessment procedures.

Keister, D. & Grames, H. (2012). Multi-method needs assessment optimizes learning. The Clinical Teacher, 2012, 9; 295-298.

The authors of this article premised their arguments on the idea that post-graduate medical educators receive minimal guidance or needs assessments. This article attempted to describe the information from the results of three different needs assessments methods which were aimed to identify what qualities of needs assessment may be most appropriate for medical educators. The authors concluded that each needs assessment method had specific and unique information that could be used to help determine courses of actions to address the needs identified in the assessment. Ultimately they concluded that regardless of method or type, needs assessments are important within this career field and that including these in routine practice can benefit both the individual and the organization.

Williams, M. (1998). Making The Most of Learning Needs Assessments. Journal for Nurses in Staff Development, 14, 3, 1998.

This article is helpful because it identified the fact that most educators are undertrained when dealing with and evaluating needs assessments. The authors described in this research the assumptions, benefits and barriers to needs assessments planning methods. This descriptive research article identified that learning needs assessments are a specialized form of educational research that requires its own set of ideals and methods. Ultimately this research concluded that educators need to take more caution and responsibility when creating and evaluating needs assessments within the nursing educational realm. More preparation and focus is needed on this practice that can be aided by these educators asking better questions before, during and after the survey process. This research is useful because it presents data that suggests the overwhelming need for needs assessment focus to be implemented within nursing and medical continuing educational scenarios.

Vogel, G. Ruppel, D. & Kaufman, C. (1991). Learning Needs Assessment as a Vehicle...

The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, Sep/Oct 1991; 22, 5.
This article documented the experiences of a nursing department that implemented a learning needs assessment (LNA) process as a method of integrating staff development into professional nursing practice. This empirical and focused example of a LNA being synthesized into a nursing environment allows for the researchers to identify specific and useful data that can be used to further promote the use of their practice. By use of study, the researchers concluded that by using directed LNA efforts, a more idealized set of expectations can develop and enhance the effectiveness and learning capabilities of those involved within a nursing practice. Furthermore, the research suggested that nursing educators must continuously identify ways of development, as needs are always changing.

Grant, J. (2002). Learning needs assessment: assessing the need. British Medical Journal, 19 Jam 2002.

Grant's article revealed the need for learning needs assessment within the role of continuing education. The article suggested that learning needs assessment is a crucial stage within the educational cycle that needs continual address and attention. Additionally the article argued that needs assessments need to be tailored to the specific environment and situation if they are to be of any use as formal approaches may not provide the situation what is needed or called for to make transformational change.

This article is useful because it argues with empirical example the role of learning needs assessments within the educational environment and suggests that formal approaches may lead down the wrong path. This article ultimately concluded that needs assessment must become part of daily professional life in medicine and become routine as part of training and improving practice.

Thampy, H. (2013). How to.. Identify learning needs. Education for Primary Care, 2013 24, 138-40.

This article is a reviews literature pertinent to the importance of learning needs assessments by examining a method to identify needs in the first place. The author suggested that it is crucial to identify the difference between perceived and true learning needs. To help in describing the importance of this topic, the author offered a model of reflective cycles leading to action plans that may help incorporate the practical application of a learning needs assessment within the medical environment. This cycle is described as using reflective observation, abstract conceptualization, active experimentation and concrete experience as the four fold method to determine needs and their importance.

Hauer, J. & Quill, T. (2011). Educational Needs Assessment, Development of Learning Objectives, and Choosing a Teaching Approach. Journal of Palliative Medicine, 14, 4, 2011.

The authors of this article intended to highlight some of the more important components of the decision making process when dealing with providing the necessary educational experiences. The authors argued for a three step process to determining these objectives using first a needs assessment, then developing the learning objectives and then choosing a teaching approach. The needs assessment in this case is used to determine revisions in curriculum, indentifying needs in clinical staff development and to self-identify further needs assessment, or train the trainer.

This article is helpful in describing methods to overcome some of the metaphysical barriers placed in applying needs assessment to the learning process specifically placed in the medical arena. The article is especially helpful as Table 1 provided a useful schematic to base the three step process described in the article. Educational development is signified as the best result from this model of behavior.

Courtemanche, B. (1995). Determining Educational Needs of Staff Nurses: An Assessment Tool for Nurse Educators. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, May/June 1995.

This article was premised on the idea that learning needs assessments is an integral part of professional development however there is a definite lack of tools in which to accomplish this objective. The research aimed to develop and validate a learning needs assessment scale that can be used in a variety to settings. To accomplish this task, the researcher conducted surveys with nurses and conducted focus groups with nurses as well. This data was used to measure attitudes and gather data about learning and how nurse learn. The results of the data suggested that the assessment scale was useful in determining how and where to apply the solutions to the identified needs. This research is useful because it provided a useful scale that empirically was tested in a scenario of nurses in a medical environment. The authors suggested however that subjective areas of this tool need to be tailored to the unique circumstances of the situation at hand.

Elder, B. & Koehn, M. (2009). Assessment Tool…