Widening the Lens on Needs Assessment: Identifying Profession-Specific and Interprofessional Learning Needs Across Professions in an Academic Health Sciences Institution

Abstract

Traditionally, education planning for the health professions is conducted in a reactive manner, with profession-specific learning opportunities being organized in response to educational issues arising or based upon speaker availability. Moreover, limited information exists to guide organizations on systematic approaches to planning and implementing large-scale interprofessional learning programs, despite clear evidence for benefits of team-based learning in the workplace. Our organizational approach to the learning needs assessment process was in need of updating to enhance pedagogical rigor and to proactively inform ongoing education planning with respect to both profession-specific and interprofessional learning needs. To address this, a novel mixed methods approach integrated within a quality improvement framework was developed to elicit participant engagement. The approach included use of a questionnaire, focus groups, and key stakeholder interviews. Ranking of learning priorities of respondents indicated that highest priority was placed on learning needs related to profession-specific clinical and technical skills. A number of distinct inter¬professional learning needs were identified through this novel needs assessment process, including a selection of clinical topics that were deemed to be well-suited for interprofessional learning forums. Utilization of a multi-method interprofessional approach to needs assessment thus enabled elicitation of more comprehensive results than could have been achieved through a traditional profession-specific needs assessment, and hence changing our ongoing approach to education planning at our organization.