Macmillan nurse facilitators: conducting a training needs assessment for district nurses

This article will describe how Macmillan nurse facilitators conducted a training needs analysis in order to inform and develop an education programme in palliative care for district nurses. A questionnaire was developed and distributed to all 250 district nursing staff in the north/east sector of Glasgow to identify the priority training issues relating to palliative care. This included all district nursing sisters, first and second level registered nurses and auxiliary nursing staff working within the community setting. An 85% response rate to the questionnaire was achieved and an education programme was developed and delivered to address the needs identified by staff. This article goes on to describe the process of the training needs analysis and the benefits of providing an education programme that addresses the educational needs of staff members. Reference is made to a larger evaluation study which highlights staff members' views on both these points.