This article was revised on 10/18/2026.
Healthcare is constantly changing. New evidence, technologies, regulations, patient needs, and models of care require nurses to continually develop their knowledge and skills. Before planning the next educational program, however, nurse educators need to answer an important question:
What do our nurses actually need to learn?
An educational needs assessment for nurses can help answer that question. A well-designed assessment helps nurse educators identify learning priorities, recognize potential gaps in knowledge or skills, and make informed decisions about professional development. Rather than developing education based primarily on assumptions or topic popularity, educators can use assessment findings to focus resources where they may have the greatest value.
What Is an Educational Needs Assessment?
An educational needs assessment is a systematic process for identifying the difference between a current state and a desired state.
In nursing professional development, that difference may involve knowledge, skills, or practice. Identifying the type of gap is important because it can influence not only what education is provided, but also the learning strategies and evaluation methods selected.
For example, a nurse educator may identify:
- A knowledge gap when nurses need additional information or understanding.
- A skill gap when nurses understand what should be done but need greater ability or proficiency in performing it.
- A practice gap when current professional practice differs from the desired or expected practice.
The goal is not simply to develop more education. It is to identify what education is needed and determine whether education is an appropriate strategy for addressing the identified gap.
Why Conduct a Learning Needs Assessment?
A learning needs assessment for nurses provides information that educators can use to prioritize educational resources and develop relevant professional development opportunities.
The findings can help nurse educators:
- Identify priority learning needs.
- Recognize potential knowledge and skill gaps.
- Plan education that reflects nurses’ roles and practice settings.
- Identify preferred learning formats and barriers to participation.
- Support professional and career development.
- Align education with organizational priorities when appropriate.
- Establish information that can be used to evaluate changes over time.
Needs assessments can also help educators distinguish between what nurses are interested in learning and what they need to learn.
For example, nurses may express significant interest in leadership development while organizational or performance data identify a more immediate need for education related to documentation or patient safety. Both findings are valuable, but they answer different questions.
Understanding that distinction can help nurse educators make more informed decisions when establishing educational priorities.
How Do You Identify the Educational Needs of Nurses?
An educational needs assessment questionnaire for nurses is one useful method for gathering information, but it should not necessarily be the only source used to identify learning needs.
A more complete assessment may incorporate information from several sources.
Learner input. Surveys, questionnaires, interviews, focus groups, evaluations, and informal conversations can help identify nurses’ perceived learning needs, professional interests, and practice challenges.
Performance and quality data. When available and appropriate, quality indicators, audits, competency assessments, incident trends, documentation reviews, or other performance information may reveal areas where current and desired performance differ.
Organizational and regulatory changes. New policies, technologies, equipment, regulations, procedures, or models of care may create new educational needs.
Stakeholder input. Nursing leadership, educators, interprofessional colleagues, patients, and other stakeholders may identify needs that are not apparent through learner surveys alone.
Evidence and professional standards. Current literature, guidelines, professional standards, and emerging healthcare trends can identify changes in expected knowledge or practice.
Using multiple sources can provide a more comprehensive picture of learning needs than relying exclusively on self-assessment.
Remember: Interest Is Not Always a Practice Gap
This distinction is particularly important for nurse educators.
Suppose 75% of nurses completing an assessment request education about a particular topic. That finding demonstrates strong learner interest or a perceived learning need. It does not necessarily mean that 75% of those nurses have a knowledge, skill, or practice gap.
Additional evidence may be necessary to determine whether a gap exists and what may be contributing to it.
Similarly, low confidence does not automatically mean low competence.
Separating interest, perceived need, confidence, knowledge, skill, and practice can make needs-assessment findings much more useful when developing education.
How to Develop a Learning Needs Assessment for Nursing Education
If you are wondering how to do a needs assessment for nursing education, begin by determining what you need the assessment to accomplish.
A useful learning needs assessment tool for nurse educators should provide information that can be translated into decisions about professional development rather than simply collecting information that is interesting to know.
1. Define the Purpose
Start by asking:
What decisions will we make with this information?
Are you developing an annual education plan? Identifying professional development priorities? Preparing nurses for a change in practice? Evaluating competency needs? Planning continuing nursing professional development?
The purpose of the assessment should guide the questions you ask.
2. Identify the Population
Consider who will complete the assessment.
A single questionnaire may not adequately represent the needs of nurses working in very different roles or settings. Consider whether responses should be analyzed according to factors such as practice setting, professional role, specialty, or experience level.
3. Gather Information From More Than One Source
A survey provides valuable information about what nurses report. Other data sources can provide additional perspectives on learning and practice needs.
Whenever possible, compare learner responses with additional evidence such as performance information, organizational priorities, regulatory requirements, stakeholder observations, or current evidence.
Combining sources can provide a stronger foundation for identifying and prioritizing educational needs.
4. Ask Questions You Can Act On
Avoid collecting information simply because it might be interesting.
Before including a question in your assessment, ask:
What will we do differently based on the answer?
Questions might address:
- Areas in which additional education is desired
- Perceived knowledge or confidence
- Skills requiring further development
- Current practice challenges
- Professional development goals
- Preferred educational formats
- Barriers to participating in education
- Emerging issues affecting practice
The questions selected should ultimately help the educator make decisions about educational priorities.
5. Analyze and Prioritize the Findings
Not every identified need requires an educational program.
Look for patterns across the data and consider factors such as:
- Size of the identified gap
- Importance to professional practice
- Number of learners affected
- Regulatory or accreditation requirements
- Organizational priorities
- Available resources
- Potential impact
A structured approach can help educators prioritize findings rather than automatically selecting the topics requested most frequently.
6. Turn the Findings Into Action
A needs assessment should lead somewhere.
Use the findings to establish educational priorities, identify appropriate learning outcomes, select educational strategies, and determine how the results of education will be evaluated.
Then reassess.
Think of needs assessment as an ongoing cycle:
Assessment → Planning → Implementation → Evaluation → Reassessment
Rather than a one-time questionnaire, needs assessment can become an ongoing component of professional development planning.
Ready to get started?
CareerSmart Learning’s free Educational Needs Assessment Tool for Nurses provides a customizable needs assessment template for nursing education that can serve as a starting point for gathering information about professional development priorities, perceived learning needs, educational preferences, and barriers to learning.
The tool can be customized for different nursing roles, specialties, practice settings, and organizational needs.
Download the Free Educational Needs Assessment Tool for Nurses
Turning Assessment Into Meaningful Professional Development
An educational needs assessment is more than a list of topics nurses would like to learn about. When thoughtfully designed and considered alongside other sources of information, it can help nurse educators make informed decisions about where professional development efforts should be focused.
The ultimate question is not simply:
“What education should we offer?”
Instead, ask:
“What does this group of nurses need, and what is the most appropriate way to address that need?”
Answering that question provides a stronger foundation for relevant, learner-centered professional development.
References
Booth, A. T., Robinson, K. L., & Walker, M. D. (2024). Design, implementation, and evaluation of a learning needs assessment for nursing professional development practitioners. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 40(2), 68–74.
Pilcher, J. (2016). Learning needs assessment: Not only for continuing education. Journal for Nurses in Professional Development, 32(4), 122–129.
Lubejko, B. G. (2015). Using gaps to design educational programs. The Journal of Continuing Education in Nursing, 46(6), 241–243.
Continue Your Professional Development with CareerSmart Learning
Identifying learning needs is only the first step. Explore CareerSmart Learning’s continuing education opportunities for nurses and other healthcare professionals to find education that supports your professional development goals.
