NURS FPX 6109 Assessment 1 Vila Health: Educational Technology Needs Assessment

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Capella university

NURS-FPX 6109 Integrating Technology into Nursing Education

Prof. Name

Date

Educational Technology Assessment Needs

Assessing the need for educational technology poses a significant challenge for nursing leadership, particularly in fast-paced and specialized healthcare environments. To optimize the effectiveness of continuing professional development initiatives, a comprehensive needs assessment becomes essential. As technological innovation reshapes healthcare globally, nursing education must also evolve to integrate these tools effectively. Despite advancements, several barriers persist, including inconsistent access, lack of familiarity, and limited integration into routine practice.

This report evaluates the educational technology needs among nursing professionals at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. The goal is to identify gaps and propose practical solutions that enhance clinical skills, promote patient safety, and support ongoing professional growth within the hospital’s pediatric healthcare services. Addressing these shortcomings will contribute to strengthening patient care outcomes while fostering a culture of continuous learning and innovation among clinical staff.

How Nurses Currently Use Educational Technology

At Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, the primary educational technology tool utilized by nursing staff is the Continuing Education Portal. This online platform grants around-the-clock access to various resources, including recorded Grand Rounds, educational videos, certification programs like CME and CNE, and simulation-based emergency training modules. These resources aim to offer convenience by enabling nurses to learn at their own pace and schedule, even from home (Cincinnati Children’s, 2024).

Despite offering diverse functionalities, certain challenges remain. Not all nurses equally leverage these tools, with obstacles such as technical difficulties, limited mobile compatibility, and time constraints inhibiting broader participation. Furthermore, there is insufficient data capturing how effectively these educational resources translate into improved clinical practice or patient outcomes. There is also a lack of detailed insights into program completion rates, engagement patterns, or how specific features directly benefit clinical decision-making.

The Comparison with the Desired Technology State

To comprehensively evaluate Cincinnati Children’s Hospital’s current educational technology framework, it’s essential to contrast its existing state with best practice benchmarks in nursing education. The following table illustrates this gap analysis:

Table 1

Gap Analysis of Educational Technology Usage at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center

Aspect	Current State	Desired State	Identified Gap
User Engagement & Completion Rates	The Continuing Education Portal lacks mechanisms for tracking user engagement or completion rates.	Implementation of robust tracking systems for engagement, participation, and achievement to ensure educational effectiveness.	Absence of engagement metrics limits understanding of participation and learning outcomes.
Integration with Daily Practice	Educational resources are accessible via the portal but not consistently incorporated into everyday clinical routines.	Seamless, real-time integration of educational resources within clinical workflows, especially in critical care settings.	Disconnection exists between training content and its immediate clinical application.
Technological Accessibility	The portal offers 24/7 accessibility; however, usability challenges, especially on mobile devices, hinder full engagement.	A mobile-responsive, intuitive platform ensuring consistent and hassle-free access for all nursing staff.	Usability limitations impede participation in a high-demand clinical environment.
Advanced Learning Tools	Current tools include online modules and recorded content, with minimal advanced simulation or interactive options.	Integration of advanced, immersive tools such as virtual and augmented reality to offer realistic, hands-on learning experiences.	Lack of immersive, interactive learning technologies that could enhance clinical skills and decision-making abilities.

Metrics Used and Their Assessment

At present, Cincinnati Children’s Hospital primarily relies on quantitative indicators such as course registration, module completion rates, and frequency of portal access to evaluate educational technology effectiveness. While these data points provide a basic picture of participation levels, they fail to capture the depth of learning or its translation into improved clinical competencies and patient care outcomes.

To improve these limitations, it’s recommended to expand data collection to include qualitative feedback, time spent per learning module, and post-training assessments. Additionally, incorporating real-time feedback systems and linking educational achievements to clinical outcomes—such as reduced patient complications or enhanced patient satisfaction—would offer a more complete view of educational impact (Sendak et al., 2020). Enhanced analytics would enable more informed decisions about technology investments, training priorities, and educational content development.

Organizational Mission Aligned with the Technology

The educational technology initiatives at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center align closely with its mission to improve child health outcomes and transform care delivery through education, research, and innovation. By enhancing continuing professional education through modern technology, the hospital reinforces its commitment to delivering superior clinical outcomes and fostering a well-informed, highly skilled nursing workforce (Cincinnati Children’s, n.d.).

Furthermore, educational technologies promote a culture of continuous improvement by facilitating access to the latest evidence-based practices, research findings, and simulation experiences. This aligns with the hospital’s vision of being a leader in pediatric care innovation. Advanced training tools ensure that nurses remain current in clinical knowledge and competencies, ultimately enhancing both the patient experience and healthcare delivery standards (Kuzmenko et al., 2023).

Recommendations for Technology Use

Based on the findings of this needs assessment, several recommendations are proposed to optimize educational technology at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. First, the integration of advanced, immersive tools such as virtual patient simulations in simulation laboratories should be prioritized. These tools enable nurses to develop decision-making skills in a controlled, risk-free environment while enhancing engagement and knowledge retention (Mardani et al., 2020).

Additionally, incorporating real-time performance assessments and linking training outcomes to clinical metrics will strengthen the connection between education and patient care quality. Data analytics should be applied to monitor how well nurses implement acquired competencies in clinical settings. By aligning these initiatives with the hospital’s mission, Cincinnati Children’s can enhance child health outcomes and ensure that its workforce is equipped to deliver evidence-based, patient-centered care both now and in the future.

References

Cincinnati Children’s. (n.d.). About Cincinnati Children’s. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/about

Cincinnati Children’s. (2024). Continuing professional education | Cincinnati Children’s Hospital. Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center. https://www.cincinnatichildrens.org/professional/continuing-education

NURS FPX 6109 Assessment 1 Vila Health: Educational Technology Needs Assessment

Iqbal, M. Z., & Campbell, A. G. (2023). Real-time hand interaction and self-directed machine learning agents in immersive learning environments. Computers & Education X Reality, 3, 100038. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.cexr.2023.100038

Kuzmenko, A., Chernova, T. G., Kravchuk, O., Kabysh, M., & Holubenko, T. (2023). Innovative educational technologies: European experience and its implementation in the training of specialists in the context of war and global challenges of the 21st century. Journal of Curriculum and Teaching, 12(5), 68. https://doi.org/10.5430/jct.v12n5p68

Mardani, M., Cheraghian, S., Naeeni, S. K., & Zarifsanaiey, N. (2020). Effectiveness of virtual patients in teaching clinical decision-making skills to dental students. Journal of Dental Education, 84(5), 615–623. https://doi.org/10.1002/jdd.12045

NURS FPX 6109 Assessment 1 Vila Health: Educational Technology Needs Assessment

Sendak, M. P., Ratliff, W., Sarro, D., Alderton, E., Futoma, J., Gao, M., Nichols, M., Revoir, M., Yashar, F., Miller, C., Kester, K., Sandhu, S., Corey, K., Brajer, N., Tan, C., Lin, A., Brown, T., Engelbosch, S., Anstrom, K., & Elish, M. C. (2020). Real-world integration of a sepsis deep learning technology into routine clinical care: Implementation study. JMIR Medical Informatics, 8(7), e15182. https://doi.org/10.2196/15182