title: Needs assessment: towards a more responsive Canadian Society of Nephrology Annual General Meeting (CSN AGM) program.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  A critical feature of any continuing medical education (CME) program is the inclusion of a needs assessment for its target audience. This assessment must identify both perceived and unperceived needs, so as to best capture the entire spectrum of learning opportunities for the group.
  
  
  OBJECTIVE
  We describe the process developed by the Canadian Society of Nephrology (CSN) to enhance the educational effectiveness of its Annual General Meeting program.
  
  
  METHODS
  The design of this study is the analysis of a survey questionnaire and of the Canadian Organ Replacement Registry (CORR) database.
  
  
  METHODS
  We surveyed members of the CSN and analyzed patient data from CORR aggregated by center.
  
  
  METHODS
  We tabulated votes in the survey by topic. We assessed the extent to which centers achieved CSN guideline targets on the clinical management of patients on dialysis.
  
  
  METHODS
  Perceived needs: a CSN panel constructed a list of topics, which was amplified by the inclusion of topics based on members' text responses to open-ended questions during previous iterations of this process. CSN members specified their top five choices, using an online survey instrument. Unperceived needs: an expert panel determined achievable thresholds for a number of quality metrics associated with dialysis. The quality metrics were identified from CSN guidelines. Using patient data in the CORR database, we generated center-specific performance estimates for each quality metric and constructed ratios comparing the performance of each center with the achievable threshold. We triangulated the results of the two assessments.
  
  
  RESULTS
  The response rate for the perceived needs assessment survey was 16 %. This assessment identified "Primary and Secondary Glomerulonephritis" as the non-dialysis topics and "Infectious Complications of Dialysis Access" and "Volume Status and Hypertension on Dialysis" as the dialysis topics with the highest perceived learning needs. In the unperceived needs assessment, "Vascular Access Type" and "Vascular Access Monitoring" were identified as having the highest learning needs. Triangulation identified "Vascular Access Type" and "Vascular Access Monitoring" as high needs topics.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Perceived needs assessment: Some topics were much more general than others, which could have led to over-selection. The response rate of 16 % limits the robustness of generalization to the membership as a whole or to all meeting attendees. Unperceived needs assessment: The assessment was limited by the data that CORR actually collects; many aspects of general nephrology practice, including glomerulonephritis, are not covered. The level of evidence underlying the various guidelines was variable, and in some cases, poor. A validated approach to data analysis in this area is lacking.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  To our knowledge, this is the first published example of a needs assessment for a nephrology CME event that considers both the perceived and unperceived needs of the membership. The results of this exercise are currently being used to assist in the development of a more responsive CME program.
authors.affiliation: Section of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, MB Canada.
authors.forename: Barry A
authors.initials: BA
authors.lastname: Cohen
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology and Immunology, Department of Medicine, University of Alberta, 11-107 Clinical Sciences Building, 11350 83 Ave., Edmonton, AB Canada.
authors.forename: Mark J
authors.initials: MJ
authors.lastname: Courtney
authors.affiliation: Department of Medicine, Schulich School of Medicine, Kidney Clinical Research Unit, London Health Sciences Centre, Western University, 800 Commissioners Rd., Rm A2-38, London, ON N6A-5W9 Canada.
authors.forename: Louise M
authors.initials: LM
authors.lastname: Moist
authors.affiliation: Division of Nephrology, Department of Medicine, Saskatoon Nephrology Group, University of Saskatchewan, 434-230 Avenue R South, Saskatoon, SK S7M-2Z1 Canada.
authors.forename: James
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Barton
keywords: Continuing medical education; Environmental scan; Needs assessment; Nephrology; Perceived needs; Questionnaire; Unperceived needs