CPIA Module 17, Section 1: Training Needs Analysis & Audience Segmentation
MODULE 17: TRAINING & END-USER SUPPORT

Section 17.1: Training Needs Analysis and Audience Segmentation

Learn to diagnose educational needs before you prescribe a solution. Master the art of audience segmentation to ensure your training is perfectly tailored to every learner.

SECTION 17.1

Training Needs Analysis and Audience Segmentation

From Clinical Detective to Master Educator: The Art of Precision Training.

17.1.1 The “Why”: Beyond “Click Here” — The Clinical Imperative for Effective Training

In the world of health information technology, the term “training” often conjures images of monotonous PowerPoint slides, generic video modules, and rote instructions on where to click. For many, it’s a box to be checked, a final hurdle to overcome before a system “Go-Live.” As a future Pharmacy Informatics Analyst, you must immediately and permanently discard this notion. Training is not an administrative task; it is a core clinical intervention. The quality of your training program has a direct, measurable, and profound impact on patient safety, operational efficiency, and the financial health of the institution.

Ineffective training is not a benign failure. It is an active catalyst for medical error. When a pharmacist is confused by the new CPOE system, they don’t just get frustrated; they develop workarounds. These workarounds—scribbled notes, reliance on verbal orders, bypassing decision support alerts—are latent errors lying in wait. A poorly trained nurse may misinterpret a complex infusion order on the new electronic MAR, leading to a tenfold dosing error. A technician who doesn’t understand the new inventory management workflow may inadvertently cause a stockout of a critical medication. The stakes could not be higher.

Consider the tangible costs of a poorly designed training program:

  • Increased Medication Errors: The most critical consequence. The transition from a familiar system to an unfamiliar one is a period of peak vulnerability for medication errors. Training is the primary defense against this.
  • Skyrocketing Support Desk Tickets: A flood of “how-to” questions post-Go-Live is a direct symptom of failed training. This overwhelms the support team, increases costs, and pulls analysts away from optimizing the system to instead provide basic, remedial education.
  • Plummeting Productivity: Staff who are not confident in a new system will be slow and hesitant. This translates to delays in medication verification, longer turnaround times, and decreased patient throughput, impacting both care and revenue.
  • User Burnout and Resistance: Nothing sours clinicians on a new system faster than feeling unprepared and incompetent. Poor training breeds resentment, fosters a culture of resistance, and can doom an otherwise well-designed system to be labeled a “failure” by the very people it’s meant to help.

Therefore, the foundational principle of this entire module is this: you cannot prescribe a solution without first making a diagnosis. Launching a generic, one-size-fits-all training program is the equivalent of a physician prescribing the same antibiotic to every patient with a cough. It’s lazy, ineffective, and in our world, dangerous. Before you build a single slide or schedule a single class, you must become a clinical detective. You must perform a rigorous Training Needs Analysis (TNA) to understand what people actually need to learn, and you must use Audience Segmentation to understand who they are. This section will provide the masterclass on how to perform that diagnosis with the precision of an expert clinician.

Retail Pharmacist Analogy: The New Patient Consultation

Imagine a complex new patient, Mrs. Jones, comes to your pharmacy with a grocery bag full of prescription bottles from three different doctors and two other pharmacies. She tells you, “I just need my refills.” A novice technician might simply start typing the prescriptions as written. But you, the experienced pharmacist, know this is a clinical minefield. Your professional duty compels you to stop and diagnose the situation before you dispense anything.

Your first action is a Training Needs Analysis, though you call it a medication history and consultation.

  • You conduct an “Organizational Analysis” by understanding the patient’s overall health goals: “Mrs. Jones, what are your doctors trying to achieve with these medications? Are we trying to lower your blood pressure to a specific target?”
  • You perform a “Task Analysis” by examining each bottle. You’re not just reading the label; you’re analyzing the task. “This says take with food, do you know why? This one is taken at night, how is that going?” You identify therapeutic duplications (an ACE inhibitor and an ARB) and critical omissions (no statin despite her diabetes). You are identifying the GAPS between what the bottles say and what safe, effective therapy looks like.
  • You conduct an “Individual Analysis” by talking to her. “How comfortable are you with checking your blood sugar? Do you have any trouble opening these vials?” You assess her health literacy, her physical limitations, and her attitude towards her therapy.

Next, you perform Audience Segmentation. You realize Mrs. Jones is not a generic “patient.” She is a specific persona: an elderly patient with dexterity issues, some cognitive slowing, and a high degree of medication anxiety. Her adult son, who helps manage her care, is a different audience segment: he is tech-savvy, wants to understand the pharmacology, and is concerned about cost.

Your “training plan” is now perfectly tailored. For Mrs. Jones, you don’t give her dense medication pamphlets. You provide a large-print, color-coded medication chart and a weekly pill organizer (kinesthetic, simplified learning). For her son, you email him links to reputable online resources and discuss the tiering on their insurance plan (detailed, digital learning). You would never give the son the pillbox or Mrs. Jones the pharmacology articles. That would be prescribing the wrong education to the wrong audience.

This diagnostic process—assessing the goals, analyzing the tasks, understanding the individual, and tailoring the intervention—is the very essence of a Training Needs Analysis. You already possess the core clinical reasoning skills. This section will teach you how to apply them to the science of adult learning and technology implementation.

17.1.2 The First Diagnostic Tool: What is a Training Needs Analysis (TNA)?

A Training Needs Analysis (TNA), sometimes called a Training Needs Assessment, is a formal, systematic process used to determine if a training need exists and, if it does, what training is required to fill that gap. It is the foundational step in any instructional design process. The core objective of a TNA is to map the difference between “what is” (the current state of performance, knowledge, and skill) and “what should be” (the desired or required state for success with the new system or workflow).

Without a TNA, you are simply guessing. You might create training that is too basic for some, too advanced for others, and completely irrelevant for many. It’s an exercise in wasting time, money, and goodwill. A properly conducted TNA ensures that your training is targeted, relevant, and efficient. It is typically broken down into three distinct, yet interconnected, levels of analysis.

Level 1: Organizational Analysis — Aligning with the “Why”

This is the 30,000-foot view. Before you can determine what any individual needs to learn, you must understand the strategic goals of the organization that are driving the need for the new system or process. What problem is the organization trying to solve with this multi-million dollar technology implementation? The training you develop must directly support these goals.

Key questions to answer in an Organizational Analysis:

  • Strategic Goals: What are the primary business or clinical objectives for this project? Examples: “We need to reduce adverse drug events related to anticoagulants by 20%.” or “We must meet the new CMS requirement for electronic prescribing of controlled substances.” or “We aim to improve pharmacy technician efficiency to allow for reallocation of 2.0 FTEs to clinical services.”
  • Resource Availability: What is the budget for training? How much time can staff be pulled away from their clinical duties for training? What physical spaces (training rooms, computer labs) are available? Understanding these constraints from the outset is critical for designing a realistic plan.
  • Cultural Readiness: What is the organizational climate regarding change? Is there a history of successful technology adoption, or is there widespread cynicism and resistance from past failures? This will inform the tone and communication strategy surrounding your training.
  • System-Wide Impact: Who will be affected by this change? Is it just the central pharmacy, or does it touch every nurse, physician, and therapist in the hospital? Understanding the scope is vital.

How to find this information: You’ll find the answers by reviewing project charter documents, speaking with hospital leadership and project sponsors, and interviewing department directors. This analysis ensures your training isn’t just about software features, but about achieving the organization’s mission.

Level 2: Task/Operational Analysis — Defining the “What”

This is where you roll up your sleeves and get into the clinical weeds. The Task Analysis breaks down jobs into their specific, observable tasks and workflows to determine the precise knowledge, skills, and abilities (KSAs) required to perform them successfully in the new system. You are no longer thinking about broad goals; you are thinking about the moment-to-moment actions of your end-users.

For a pharmacy informatics project, this is the most critical part of the TNA. You must deconstruct every significant pharmacy workflow that will be impacted by the change. This involves:

  • Identifying Key Tasks: Create a comprehensive list of all major tasks. Examples: Order verification, medication reconciliation, IV preparation and checking, dispensing from an automated cabinet, documenting a clinical intervention, non-formulary requests, etc.
  • Task Decomposition: Break down each key task into its sequential steps. For example, “Order Verification” might be decomposed into:
    1. Accessing the verification queue.
    2. Reviewing the patient’s profile for allergies and duplicate therapies.
    3. Evaluating the order against formulary rules and clinical decision support alerts.
    4. Calculating and verifying the dose.
    5. Accepting and signing the order.
    6. Contacting the prescriber for clarification (if needed).
  • Defining Performance Standards: For each task, what does “success” look like? It must be defined in measurable terms. For example: “A competent pharmacist must be able to verify 15 standard CPOE orders within 10 minutes with 100% accuracy.”

How to find this information: This level of analysis requires direct observation of end-users (shadowing), process mapping sessions with subject matter experts (SMEs), and reviewing existing policies and procedures. The output of this phase is a detailed blueprint of every skill that needs to be taught.

Level 3: Individual/Person Analysis — Understanding the “Who”

Once you know the organization’s goals (the “Why”) and the specific tasks required (the “What”), you can finally focus on the learners themselves (the “Who”). The Individual Analysis aims to determine which specific employees need training and to what degree. It identifies the gap between an individual’s current KSAs and the KSAs identified in the Task Analysis.

Key questions to answer in an Individual Analysis:

  • Who needs training? It may seem obvious, but not everyone needs the same training. A pharmacy purchasing agent doesn’t need to learn how to verify a TPN order. This is where you start to segment your audience by role.
  • What is their current skill level? Do they have 30 years of experience with the old system, or are they a new graduate who has only ever used Epic or Cerner in their rotations? Are they comfortable with computers in general? This assessment is crucial for tailoring the curriculum’s complexity.
  • What are their learning preferences? Do they learn best by doing, reading, or listening? While you can’t customize for every single person, understanding general trends in your audience can inform your choice of training methods.
  • What are their attitudes and motivations? Are they excited and optimistic about the change? Or are they anxious, skeptical, and fearful? Their mindset will dramatically impact their ability to learn and retain information.

How to find this information: This is where surveys, interviews with staff and managers, and pre-assessment quizzes become invaluable. This analysis allows you to move beyond a monolithic training program and begin designing a nuanced, targeted educational strategy, which is the core of Audience Segmentation.

17.1.3 Masterclass in Methodology: How to Conduct a TNA

A Training Needs Analysis is not a casual conversation; it’s a structured research project. Your findings will form the evidence-based rationale for your entire training strategy and budget. Executing it professionally requires a multi-faceted approach, using several data-gathering techniques to triangulate your findings and paint a complete picture. Think of it as a clinical workup: you wouldn’t make a diagnosis based on a single lab value, and you shouldn’t design a training program based on a single survey.

Phase 1: Data Gathering (The “Patient Workup”)

This phase is all about collecting raw information from as many relevant sources as possible. Each method has its own strengths and weaknesses.

Method 1: Surveys & Questionnaires

Surveys are excellent for gathering a broad set of quantitative and qualitative data from a large number of people efficiently. They are your tool for establishing a baseline understanding of the entire workforce.

Strengths: Anonymous (can lead to more honest feedback), cost-effective, easy to administer online, provides quantitative data that is easy to analyze.

Weaknesses: Low response rates can skew data, cannot ask follow-up questions, may not uncover the “why” behind an answer.

Playbook for Designing an Effective TNA Survey
  • Start with Demographics: Always begin by asking for Role (Pharmacist, Technician), Department/Unit, and Years of Experience. This is essential for segmenting your results later.
  • Use a Mix of Question Types:
    • Likert Scales: For gauging comfort and confidence. (e.g., “On a scale of 1-5, where 1 is ‘Not at all Comfortable’ and 5 is ‘Very Comfortable’, rate your comfort level with learning a new EHR system.”)
    • Multiple Choice: For assessing current practices. (e.g., “How do you currently handle a non-formulary request? A) Call the physician, B) Use the paper form, C) Ask a colleague, D) Other”)
    • Open-Ended Questions: To capture anxieties and suggestions. Use these sparingly, but make them count. (e.g., “What is your single biggest concern about the upcoming Go-Live?” and “What one thing could we provide in training that would be most helpful to you?”)
  • Keep it Concise: Aim for a survey that can be completed in 10-15 minutes. A long survey will be abandoned.
  • Pilot Test It: Before sending it to 300 pharmacy staff members, have 5-10 people take the survey and give you feedback. Were any questions confusing? Was it too long?
Method 2: Interviews

Interviews are your deep-dive tool. They allow you to have one-on-one conversations to explore complex issues, understand nuance, and ask clarifying follow-up questions. This is where you uncover the “why” that surveys can’t capture.

Strengths: Rich, detailed qualitative data. Ability to build rapport and trust. Flexible—you can adapt your questions on the fly.

Weaknesses: Time-consuming, not anonymous (staff may be hesitant to be critical), results can be influenced by the interviewer’s own biases.

Who to Interview:

  • Managers/Directors: To understand departmental goals and challenges.
  • Clinical Champions/Informal Leaders: These are the respected, influential staff members whose opinions often sway the rest of the department.
  • A Cross-Section of End Users: Interview a mix of roles, shifts (day vs. night), and experience levels. The night shift’s challenges are often completely different from the day shift’s.

Method 3: Focus Groups

Focus groups bring together a small group of employees (6-10) to discuss issues in a moderated setting. They are excellent for brainstorming solutions and gauging the collective “mood” of a department.

Strengths: The synergy of the group can generate ideas that wouldn’t emerge in one-on-one interviews. Efficient way to gather multiple viewpoints at once.

Weaknesses: Can be dominated by one or two vocal individuals. Risk of “groupthink” where people are reluctant to offer dissenting opinions.

Method 4: Direct Observation (Shadowing)

This is arguably the most powerful TNA technique. It involves quietly and non-judgmentally observing employees as they perform their daily work. People often cannot articulate their workflows accurately, and their perception of how they do their job can differ from reality. Observation reveals the truth.

Strengths: Provides the most objective, realistic view of current workflows, pain points, and workarounds. Uncovers needs that employees didn’t even know they had.

Weaknesses: Extremely time-intensive. The “Hawthorne Effect”—the act of being observed can change people’s behavior.

The Art of Shadowing: How to Be a Fly on the Wall

When you shadow, your goal is to be invisible. Explain to the staff member that you are there to learn about their process, not to judge or evaluate them. Tell them to pretend you’re not there and to do their work exactly as they normally would. Take copious notes on the process steps, but also on the environment. What’s taped to their computer monitor? These are their “cheat sheets” and they represent critical information that the new system must either provide or that your training must reinforce. Who do they ask when they have a question? This identifies the informal leaders and information hubs in the department.

Method 5: Work Product & Data Review

This involves analyzing existing data and documents to identify problem areas. This is your “chart review” for the department’s health.

Sources to Review:

  • Medication Error Reports (PSNs): What kinds of errors are happening now? Are there trends related to specific drugs or workflows that the new system and training need to address?
  • Existing Help Desk Tickets: What are people struggling with in the current systems? This can predict future challenges.
  • Departmental Policies and Procedures: This helps you understand the “official” workflow, which you can then compare to what you learned during observation (the “real” workflow).

17.1.4 Synthesizing the Data: From Raw Notes to Actionable Insights

After weeks of surveys, interviews, and observations, you will have a mountain of data. This raw information is useless until it is analyzed, synthesized, and transformed into a clear, actionable diagnosis of the organization’s training needs. This process involves both qualitative and quantitative analysis to identify key themes and prioritize your efforts.

The Gap Analysis: Bridging “What Is” and “What Should Be”

The ultimate output of your TNA is a Gap Analysis. This is a formal document that explicitly details the discrepancies between the current and desired states for critical tasks. It is the blueprint for your curriculum. Creating this requires you to systematically compare the findings from your Task Analysis (what people need to do) with the findings from your Individual Analysis (what people can currently do).

The most effective way to present this is in a structured table. This format makes the training needs crystal clear to project stakeholders and provides an undeniable, evidence-based justification for your training plan.

Masterclass Table: Sample TNA Gap Analysis for a New CPOE/MAR System
Required Task/Skill (The “Should Be”) Current State (The “Is”) The Gap & Resulting Training Need
Medication Reconciliation on Admission Technicians currently use patient interviews and phone calls to create a paper list. Pharmacists manually compare this list to inpatient orders. The process is disjointed and error-prone. GAP: No current electronic process. Staff lack skills in using the system’s electronic med history feeds (Surescripts) and the specific tools for reconciling home meds to inpatient orders.
TRAINING NEED: A dedicated, simulation-based training module on the end-to-end electronic admission reconciliation process for both technicians and pharmacists.
Ordering a Heparin Infusion Clinicians use a multi-page paper protocol. Dosing adjustments and lab monitoring are tracked manually on the form. This leads to frequent protocol deviations and calculation errors. GAP: Staff are unfamiliar with electronic, protocol-driven order sets. They lack trust in the system’s embedded calculators.
TRAINING NEED: Hands-on practice with the heparin PowerPlan, focusing on the smart fields, dose calculators, and automated nursing communication for rate changes. Must emphasize the safety benefits over the paper process.
Documenting Pharmacist Interventions Interventions are inconsistently documented on paper forms, if at all. Data is difficult to aggregate and report, leading to an underestimation of pharmacy’s clinical impact. GAP: Staff are unaware of the new electronic intervention tool and its structured documentation requirements. They perceive it as “extra clicks.”
TRAINING NEED: Training must focus on the “why” — how this data will be used to justify clinical services. The training should provide a quick-reference guide with the top 5 most common intervention types to streamline documentation.
Managing Automated Dispensing Cabinet (ADC) Discrepancies Discrepancy resolution is done via paper reports and manual investigation at the end of the day. The process is slow and inefficient. GAP: The new system provides real-time discrepancy alerts and an electronic investigation tool. Staff have no experience with this proactive workflow.
TRAINING NEED: Role-based training for technicians and pharmacists on the new electronic discrepancy resolution queue, focusing on the new, real-time workflow and documentation standards.

17.1.5 The Second Diagnostic Tool: Audience Segmentation — From Monolith to Personas

Your TNA has told you what you need to teach. Now, Audience Segmentation tells you how you need to teach it, and to whom. Treating your entire user base as a single, monolithic group is the most common and catastrophic mistake in training design. A “one-size-fits-all” training class will inevitably be too fast for some, too slow for others, and irrelevant to many. It respects no one’s time and meets no one’s needs perfectly.

Audience segmentation is the process of dividing your diverse learner population into smaller, more homogeneous subgroups based on shared characteristics. This allows you to move beyond generic training and create targeted, relevant, and highly effective learning experiences. Instead of a single, 8-hour marathon class for “Pharmacy,” you might design:

  • A 2-hour, hands-on session for IV room technicians focused solely on sterile compounding and labeling workflows.
  • A 4-hour, case-based session for clinical pharmacists focused on order verification, clinical interventions, and protocol management.
  • A 1-hour, self-paced e-learning module for pharmacy buyers on the new purchasing and inventory tools.

This approach respects the learner’s time, focuses only on what is relevant to their specific role, and dramatically increases engagement and retention. There are several powerful models for segmenting your audience.

Segmentation by Role & Workflow

This is the most fundamental and non-negotiable form of segmentation. The day-to-day tasks of a central pharmacist are vastly different from those of a decentralized clinical specialist or an inventory technician. Your training curriculum must be broken into role-based tracks that mirror these distinct workflows. Never force a user to sit through training on functions they will never use in their job.

Segmentation by Technology Adoption Profile

This is a more sophisticated model based on the “Diffusion of Innovations” theory by Everett Rogers. It classifies people based on their inherent attitude towards technology and change. Understanding this allows you to anticipate challenges, leverage your champions, and provide targeted support to those who need it most. It’s a powerful psychological framework for any change management initiative.

Innovators (2.5%)

The tech enthusiasts. They love new things just for the sake of them. They will be in the system, playing around, long before training starts.
Strategy: Leverage them. Make them beta testers. Involve them in system design. They will find bugs and creative uses you never imagined.

Early Adopters (13.5%)

The visionaries and opinion leaders. They are respected by their peers and see the potential benefits of the new system.
Strategy: These are your super-users and trainers. Invest heavily in them. Their endorsement and expertise will be crucial for convincing the majority.

Early Majority (34%)

The pragmatists. They are not averse to change, but they need to see a clear, practical benefit. They want to know “How does this make my job easier?”
Strategy: Their training must be hyper-practical, workflow-driven, and full of “what’s in it for me” messaging. Show, don’t just tell.

Late Majority (34%)

The skeptics. They are resistant to change and will only adopt when it becomes clear the old way is no longer an option. They rely heavily on their peers.
Strategy: They need social proof. Peer-led training and testimonials from Early Adopters are powerful. Training must be highly structured, with clear, simple instructions and lots of opportunities for practice.

Laggards (16%)

The traditionalists. They are actively change-averse and may be fearful of technology. They are loyal to the “way we’ve always done it.”
Strategy: They require the most patience and high-touch support. One-on-one coaching, extensive at-the-elbow support post-Go-Live, and non-judgmental encouragement are key. Group training can be intimidating for them.

17.1.6 Creating Your Learner Personas: A Practical Guide

The most effective way to bring your audience segmentation to life is by creating learner personas. A persona is a semi-fictional, archetypal representation of a key audience segment. Creating these detailed character sketches helps you and your project team to step out of your own informatics bubble and design training from a deeply empathetic, user-centered perspective. A good persona makes the user’s needs, goals, and fears tangible and memorable.

Based on your TNA data, you should aim to create 3-5 key personas that represent the major segments of your pharmacy audience. Each persona should include a name, a photo (a stock image is fine), a role, demographics, their behaviors and attitudes towards technology, and a summary of their specific training needs.

Example Persona 1: “Seasoned Sally” (The Skeptical Veteran)

Sally Miller, RPh

Clinical Staff Pharmacist

Archetype: Late Majority / Laggard

Bio: Sally has been a pharmacist at this hospital for 32 years. She is deeply respected for her clinical knowledge and her calm demeanor in a crisis. She is the unofficial “mom” of the pharmacy. She takes pride in her work and is highly protective of patient safety. She still has the first edition of DiPiro’s on her shelf.

Attitudes & Behaviors:

  • Views the current system’s flaws as “the devil you know.”
  • Highly skeptical that a new computer system can replace her clinical judgment.
  • Values face-to-face communication with nurses and doctors over electronic messaging.
  • Gets anxious when she has to learn new software; her typing skills are slow.
  • Her primary motivation is patient safety. Her secondary motivation is not looking foolish in front of her younger colleagues.

Fears & Pain Points: “This is going to slow me down.” “What if I click the wrong button and approve a fatal dose?” “I’m worried I won’t be able to keep up and will be forced into early retirement.”

Training Needs:

  • Format: Requires structured, instructor-led classroom training. E-learning makes her anxious.
  • Content: Must be grounded in patient safety. Every new feature must be framed as “Here is how this helps prevent [specific type of error].”
  • Pacing: Needs a slower pace with ample time for hands-on practice and asking questions.
  • Materials: Needs a printed, spiral-bound quick-reference guide with screenshots that she can keep at her workstation.
  • Support: Will require significant, patient, and non-judgmental at-the-elbow support during Go-Live.

Example Persona 2: “Tech-Savvy Tom” (The Eager Super-User)

Tom Chen, PharmD

ED Satellite Pharmacist

Archetype: Early Adopter

Bio: Tom graduated three years ago and completed a PGY1 residency. He is fast, efficient, and comfortable in the high-pressure environment of the Emergency Department. He uses the latest smartphone and is the person his colleagues ask for help with Excel formulas.

Attitudes & Behaviors:

  • Extremely frustrated by the limitations of the old system.
  • Eager to learn the new system’s advanced features and shortcuts.
  • Loves data and wants to understand the “why” behind the system’s logic and alerts.
  • Gets bored and disengaged in slow, repetitive training sessions.
  • He is motivated by efficiency, innovation, and professional growth.

Fears & Pain Points: “I’m worried the training will be a waste of my time and will just cover the basics.” “I hope this new system isn’t just a prettier version of the old, clunky one.”

Training Needs:

  • Format: Prefers self-paced e-learning and access to a “playground” environment where he can explore freely.
  • Content: Needs a “Super-User” track that goes beyond the basics to cover system configuration, advanced reporting, and troubleshooting.
  • Pacing: Wants to move quickly through the basics and spend more time on complex, high-risk workflows.
  • Materials: Wants access to online knowledge bases and technical documentation.
  • Role: Should be recruited for the Train-the-Trainer program and serve as a go-to resource for his peers.

Example Persona 3: “Pragmatic Patty” (The Efficient Technician)

Patricia Diaz, CPhT

IV Room Technician Lead

Archetype: Early Majority

Bio: Patty has been a technician for 15 years and has managed the IV room for the last five. She is incredibly organized, detail-oriented, and focused on throughput and accuracy. She doesn’t have time for fluff; she just wants to know how to do her job correctly and efficiently.

Attitudes & Behaviors:

  • Her primary concern is workflow. “How many clicks will this take?”
  • She is open to new technology if it is proven to be faster or safer than the old way.
  • She trusts her own experience and needs to see the system work in practice.
  • She is motivated by accuracy, efficiency, and making sure her team can get their work done without unnecessary hurdles.

Fears & Pain Points: “I’m worried this will mess up our batch printing process.” “What if the new system makes it harder to track returned and wasted doses?” “I don’t have time for a full day of training that isn’t relevant to me.”

Training Needs:

  • Format: Role-based, hands-on training that simulates her actual day-to-day work.
  • Content: Must focus exclusively on the IV room and sterile compounding modules. She does not need to learn about clinical interventions or discharge counseling.
  • Pacing: A brisk, efficient pace that respects her time.
  • Materials: Laminated, single-page job aids for the most common IV room workflows that can be posted in the clean room antechamber.
  • Support: Needs a designated super-user (like Tom) who understands the IV room workflow and can answer her specific questions.

17.1.7 The Final Prescription: Developing a Tailored Training Plan

You have completed your diagnosis. You’ve performed a comprehensive TNA to understand the knowledge and skill gaps, and you’ve created detailed personas to understand your learners. Now, it is time to write the prescription: the tailored training plan. This plan is a strategic document that outlines the specific learning objectives, modalities, curriculum, and schedule for each of your audience segments. It is the culmination of all your diagnostic work.

Let’s revisit a finding from our Gap Analysis and see how the personas allow us to design a multi-faceted, intelligent training solution.

TNA Finding: A critical gap was identified in the new workflow for “Ordering a Heparin Infusion.” The current paper-based process is prone to error, and the new electronic order set, while safer, is complex and unfamiliar to all staff.

Masterclass Table: Mapping Training Interventions to Personas
Audience Segment (Persona) Core Training Need Prescribed Training Plan
Everyone (Baseline Knowledge) All clinical staff must understand why the process is changing and the basic principles of the new electronic protocol. Modality: Mandatory 20-minute E-Learning Module.
Content: Covers the patient safety data driving the change, a high-level overview of the new order set, and a demonstration video. Ends with a 5-question quiz.
“Seasoned Sally” & the Late Majority Needs to overcome fear and build muscle memory in a safe, supportive environment. Must trust that the system is safer than her old paper process. Modality: 2-hour, in-person, instructor-led class with a very low student-to-teacher ratio (max 8:1).
Content: 30 minutes of review, followed by 90 minutes of guided, hands-on practice in the training environment. The instructor will use patient case scenarios that Sally finds familiar and realistic. Offer an optional “open lab” practice hour.
“Tech-Savvy Tom” & the Early Adopters Needs to understand the advanced logic and become an expert resource for others. Gets bored with basic instruction. Modality: “Train-the-Trainer / Super-User” track. Combines self-paced e-learning with a 4-hour advanced workshop.
Content: The workshop focuses on troubleshooting common errors, understanding the underlying rules and alerts in the order set, and teaching adult learning principles. They will be the first to get access to the training environment.
“Pragmatic Patty” & Pharmacy Technicians Does not order heparin, but needs to know what the final, verified order looks like on the MAR and how the labels will print. Modality: This specific workflow is NOT included in her primary training track.
Content: Her role-based IV room training will include a 10-minute segment on “Recognizing and Processing Protocol-Driven Infusion Orders” to ensure she can complete her part of the process. This respects her time and keeps her training highly relevant.
The Power of Blended Learning

As you can see from the plan above, the most effective strategy is rarely a single method. A blended learning approach, which combines different modalities, allows you to play to the strengths of each.

  • E-Learning: Perfect for foundational knowledge, concepts, and pre-work. It’s efficient and allows learners to go at their own pace.
  • Instructor-Led Classroom: Unbeatable for complex workflows, hands-on practice, and addressing the fears and questions of anxious learners.
  • Simulation/Practice Environments: Critical for building confidence and muscle memory without risking patient safety.
  • At-the-Elbow Support: The final, crucial piece for reinforcing learning and providing real-time help during the stressful Go-Live period.
By thoughtfully blending these approaches based on the needs of each audience segment, you move from a training administrator to a true instructional designer, prescribing the perfect educational therapy to ensure a safe and successful system implementation.