Nikole Hardy

NEEDS ASSESSMENT PAPER

NURS 402 Career Pathway Development

Needs Assessment

Purpose of the Assignment

The purpose of the assignment is to provide the student the opportunity to discuss the process
and resulting outcomes when assessing a population of learners’ needs related to an actual
nursing problem, for the purpose of a planning a teaching intervention.

Approach to the Assignment

As a Registered Nurse in a hospital, I frequently have patients with PICC lines. I wanted to
implement a teaching plan for a problem frequently found in the hospital setting and the Nurses
Joint Commission specifically listed Central line- associated bloodstream infections under their
infection prevention and control section. I was going to present on not only infection control with
central lines, but also other potential complications associated with central lines and medication
administration but realized this was an entirely too broad of a topic and I would not be able to
present this to learners in a reasonable amount of time in the workplace, so I was forced to
reduce my presentation to focus on infection control with central lines.

Reason for Inclusion

This assignment was not only a problem assessment but would eventually turn into a corrective
action plan that also included an opportunity to provide education to other nurses to potentially
decrease complications at my facility. This project was the base to my teaching summary project.
I researched data was analyzed during a PICC line study of 163 patients over a 7-month time
period with peripheral inserted central catheters. It revealed that the overall PICC complication
rate was 30.2% with a mean time to onset of 16.1 days. The study came to the conclusion that the
most common complications were occlusion and accidental withdrawal but there were 6.3%
resulting in infections, Of these infections 9 were local infections while 3 were bloodstream
infections (Grau,D. 2017). I feel this is not only an assignment that was worked very hard on, but
is also one that can provide very useful information to other facilities and nurses on PICC line
care based off of evidenced based research to increase the quality of patient care and decrease
complications related to PICC lines.

Critical Thinking

 Revises action plans and goals based on evidence rather than conjecture

The needs assessment and teaching plan were very important for revising the orientation to
PICC Line care in the hospital. This gave the opportunity for nursing staff to review and/or learn
evidenced based research and data assessments regarding PICC line complications and how to
avoid complications.

Nursing Practice

 Performs direct and indirect therapeutic interventions that incorporate principles of quality
management and proper safety techniques based on assessment findings.

It is imperative that nurses know the proper care for these lines and also preventative techniques
to prevent infection and dislodgement. By educating the nurses not only will I be educating them
for their own use but also to educate their patients on how to maintain their line properly when
they are discharged home with it and how to assess/prevent complications with their PICC line

According to the questionnaire I provided to the nursing staff after the presentation it was an
effective educational experience for them. I taught a total of 32 nurses in separate sessions and
they provided an evaluation on their learning experience. 32 nurses reported that the information
was clearly understood and felt it was vital information regarding PICC line care. 30 of the 32
nurses reported an increase in knowledge while the other 2 reported they did not learn anything
new but felt it was a good refresher in the topic for them. I feel my goal was absolutely met as
the learners reflected their knowledge back to me using the teach back method and the evaluation
results further proved the education was effective.

Communication

 Expresses oneself and communicates effectively with diverse groups and disciplines using a
variety of media in a variety of contexts.

The needs assessment was important in identifying the need for PICC Line education to
nursing staff to potentially decrease the percentage of complications within my hospital
related to PICC line complications. It allowed me to incorporate teaching methods from
verbal presentations, hand-out educational sheets, the teach-back method and an
understanding evaluation check.

 Demonstrates skills in using technology, informatics, and communication devices that

support safe nursing practice.
o While completing this needs assessment assignment, I researched evidence based
research related to PICC line care and made multiple types of informative
resources to use for my teaching needs. I made a power point presentation, pre-
quizzes, post-assessments and an online recording of myself presenting the
information to viewers to promote safe nursing practices to avoid complications
related to inappropriate PICC line use and care.

Teaching

 Evaluates the efficacy of health promotion and education modalities for use in a variety of
settings with diverse populations
 I was able to provide a pre-teaching assessment for my topic to identify the teaching needs
and most preferred teaching methods of the hospital staff I would be providing education to. This
consisted of a survey, open ended questions, a questionnaire, and a section that would evaluate
the method of learning that is most effective for each participant. I tried to cover all aspects of
the learning process from method, content, timing of the learning, frequent/common questions
and concerns and then a placement for other suggestions so I could get the best assessment
possible to then begin the process of gathering data to educate them on the subject matter.

Teaching

 Uses informatics to enhance one’s knowledge base to support teaching

o One of the best methods to improve patient outcomes is by providing training
to clinical staff. I was able to research rates regarding central line infections
and methods to prevent complications with these lines. My report findings
showed that in the U.S alone there an estimated number of 250,000
bloodstream infections annually and most are related to central line devices. I
used not only a power point presentation to nurses, but also a pre- and post-
quiz to assess knowledge understanding. I taught 32 nurses in separate
sessions and 32 reported the material was clearly understood, 30 of the 32
nurses reported an increase in knowledge regarding PICC line care and
preventing complications. The purpose of informatics in nursing is to analyze
a set of data to identify solutions to allow a higher quality of care to be
provided to their patients.

Research

o Shares research findings with colleagues

o After I completed my research I provided a presentation to my colleagues;
32 nurses. I gave them findings from my research including that data was
analyzed during a PICC line study of 163 patients over a 7 month period
and that the complication rate was 30.2% with a mean time to onset of 16
days. I provided my colleagues with correct way to work with central lines
and interventions they can put in place to avoid complications.