Learning Needs Assessment: Not Only for Continuing Education.

An accurate assessment of what participants need to learn is a crucial initial step in planning educational activities. Methods for assessing learner needs can include reviewing the literature, benchmarking, reviewing documents, seeking learner input, and multiple other data collection methods. The purpose of this article is to provide nursing professional development practitioners with an overview of learning needs assessments, including definitions, categories, measurement tools, and steps to perform the assessment.