2. I. What is Program Planning?
• A system process.
• It is the key to our role as effective
educators.
• It is about planning and delivering
programs to address needs.
• Setting priorities is one of the central
purposes of program planning.
3. II. What are the first steps in program
planning?
1. Determine the need for the program.
2. You need to know your target audience.
Considerations:
a. Find out their background and level
of experience.
b. Determine preferred learning styles.
4. c. Assess motivation to learn.
d. Determine how easy is it for them to
attend an education program.
*Failure to know your audience and their needs
may result in lack of interest in your program.
5. III. Who should be involved in planning an
education program?
Program planning may require one or two
people or a large group.
Considerations:
a. Program topic
b. Length
c. Complexity
6. IV. What do I need to do to plan an
education program for my unit?
Once you have determined the need for a
program and your target audience, your next
steps are to select a speaker; determine the
date, time, and location of the program; and
then advertise the program. Allow yourself 1-2
weeks. Appendix A contains a checklist for
various activities.
7. V. How do I select the speaker?
Considerations:
a. Expertise about the subject matter.
b. Travel and fees for the speaker(if
any).
c. Ability to present the topic according
to the teaching method that you have
identified.
d. Teaching skill of the speaker.
8. e. Ability of the speaker to present the
information at a level appropriate for your
target audience.
f. You may want to get references from
others about the skill of the speaker, view a
tape, or observe a presentation before you
make your decision.
9. *Once you select the speaker, it is important
that you tell him/her how the need was
assessed, your target audience, objectives,
and preferred teaching methods.
*Specific information for the speaker may be
put in a confirmation letter and/or a speaker
contract and/or a speaker information form
(Appendices B, C, D, and E). Confirmation
letters and contracts should be done for a full-
day conference but may be optional for a small
unit-based program.
10. VI. How do I determine the best date and
time?
Considerations:
a. Depends on the availability of the
speaker.
-National speakers often schedule their
engagements 6 months to 1 year in advance.
This is important to know when planning a full-
day conference.
-Local or internal speakers may need only 1-2
11. b. Consider your audience when choosing
the date.
-Some clinical areas may be busier and
staffing may be higher on certain days of the
week than others.
-Mondays and Fridays are sometimes avoided
because of their proximity to the weekend.
-Certain times of the day also may be better or
worse, depending on the unit.
12. -Avoid times when there will be numerous
admissions, discharges, procedures, or
medications to be administered.
-Consider other events may be going on.
*Your best course of action is to ask the target
audience which day and time are best for
them.
13. VII. How do I decide on the location?
Considerations:
a. The number of the participants that
you expect to attend the program.
b. Teaching method.
c. Accessibility.
14. *A unit-based program for a handful of people may
be done in the break room, small conference room,
or empty patient room.
*These locations should be accessible if staff have
difficulty getting away from a clinical unit to attend an
educational program.
*For a large group, you may want to select a
conference room or an auditorium or large
conference room is best for the lecture.
*A patient room or skills lab should be used if you are
demonstrating equipment or practicing nursing skills.
15. VIII. How do I advertise a program?
a. A program offered internally may be
advertised via word of mouth. e-mail, or eye-
catching flyers posted in the work area.
b. External programs may be advertised with
professional designed brochures or mailers.
c. Whatever the method, advertising should
provide information about the “who”, “what”,
“when”, “why”, and “where” of the program. It
should be interesting enough to catch a person’s
interest and explain “what’s in it for me” so that
people will want to attend (Appendices G & H).
16. IX. Are there any general tips on preparing a
flyer?
a. Provide certain essential information such as
the program title, date, start & end time, and
location.
b. Participants want to know the name of the
speaker, program content and/or objectives.
c. Additional information such as fees,
refreshments, and need to preregister depends on
your internal needs and processes.
d. When designing flyers, use large type to
make the title, date, and time stand out.
17. e. AVOID using too many different type styles,
all capital letters, or too much bold or underlining.
These techniques can make the flyer more difficult
to read.
f. Arrange the information in short sentences
or use bullets.
g. A catchy title, interesting pictures, use of
different colored paper can make the information
more noticeable.
h. If you want an approximate count, ask
participants to preregister.
18. X. How far in advance do I need to
advertise a program?
a. A unit-based program should be
advertised up to 2 weeks in advance. This
schedule allows people who work part time,
per diem, or on weekends to see the program
notice and make plans to attend.
b. A full-day seminar may be advertised up
to 4 months in advance. This time frame allows
participants to plan their schedules, arrange
travel, and obtain conference funding.
19. XI. How do I plan a program for nursing
contact hours?
*If nursing contact hours are to be awarded, a
minimum of 2 RNs should participate in the
planning. One person should be designated as the
nurse planner with responsibility for the overall
program delivery and coordination.
*People who are experts in the subject matter,
representatives from the target audience, experts
in education design, and speakers also should be
included in the planning.
*Documentation that shows the use of the
educational process is needed.
20. XII. What is involved in planning an all-day
seminar?
a. A planning committee should be
organized so that the tasks can be divided.
b. Planning begins 6 months to 1 year in
advance. This time frame is needed particularly
if you are booking national speakers and a
banquet facility.
c. Preparation, layout, and printing of a
brochure also may take several weeks.
21. d. Once organized, the planning committee
needs to discuss the following: needs
assessment, target audience, objectives, best
teaching methods, time frames for each topic,
speakers, location, budget and fees,
refreshments, advertising, and need for contact
hours. Sometimes, it is helpful to use a
checklist to make sure that all the details are
covered, responsibility is assigned and a
deadline date is set (see Appendix A).
22. XIII. How do I select a conference facility?
a. Set up a meeting with the banquet manager
at the hotel or conference center so that you can
tour the facility and discuss fees and services.
b. Ask about room rental fees, cost of renting
audiovisual equipment, catering, and any other
charges.
c. consider the following issues: How large or
small a group can the site hold? Are breakout
rooms available? How friendly and
accommodating are the staff? Is nereby parking
available? Is there a fee to park? Is the location
23. XIV. How do I determine budget and fees?
Expenses to be considered:
a. Room rental
b. Food
c. Audiovisual equipment rental
d. Speaker honoraria
24. e. Speaker expenses
f. Handouts
g. Brochures
h. Postage
i. Accreditation fees (Appendix I).
25. *These expenses may be covered by charging
a fee to participants or seeking funding from a
grant or company/corporate sponsorship
(Appendix J). If funds are limited, costs can be
cut by eliminating refreshments, seeking a
location where there are no room rental costs,
or considering cosponsorship with a company
that can provide some financial support.
26. XV. How do I decide what refreshments to
offer?
Considerations:
a. Time and length of the program.
b. Funding.
27. XVI. What are the different ways to set up a
room for a training program?
a. Classroom
b. Theatre
c. Dining room
d. Meeting room
28. e. U-shaped style
f. Chevron style (see Appendix F)
*To be most effective, the teaching method and
number of participants should govern the room
set-up.
30. b. If you will have more people than
expected, you can prepare more handouts,
add more chairs, adjust the room set-up or
change the room location, or possibly close the
registration to more participants.
c. If registration numbers are low, you may
consider canceling or readvertising the
program.
31. XVIII. Why may program registration be
low?
Several Factors:
a. Participants may not be aware of the
program. Evaluate to whom you sent your
advertising and how you sent it.
b. Program time, length, or location can
make attendance difficult.
c. Participant’s interest also may be an
issue. Evaluate how you determined the need
for the program. Be sure that you are offering a
program that truly is needed.
32. XIX. What should I be aware of if
commercial support is provided for the
program?
a. Make sure that the primary purpose is
educational, not promotional.
b. The program center should be objective
and balanced, and monetary inducements
beyond necessary expenses, gifts of more than
nominal value, or personal amenities should be
avoided.
33. c. If a commercial exhibit is to be part of the
activity, it should not interfere with the
presentation of the continuing education
activity.
d. Affiliations, sponsorships, financial
support, and other potentially biasing factors
should be disclosed to the audience (see
Appendices E and J).
34. XX. What are behavioral objectives?
Behavioral objectives are statements
describing the behavior that the participant is
expected to exhibit at the end of the learning
experience. Well-written objectives are learner-
oriented rather than content-oriented.
Specifically, they describe the learner, include
a statement of conditions, and identify the
knowledge, skills or feelings to be acquired.
35. For example:
Learner The orientee
Behavior will demonstrate the correct
procedure for endotracheal
suctioning
Conditions by the end of the class.
36. XXI. How do I write objectives?
Writing behavioral objectives is more than an
exercise in word-smithing. Ideally, the should
communicate the intent and direction of the
program. Behavioral objectives describe the
learning experience and provide a framework
for teaching-learning activities. They refer to
the actions expected of the learner. For this
reason, it is essential that the needs and
abilities of the learner be considered in writing
behavioral objectives.
37. Behavioral objectives are arranged into 3
groups: cognitive (knowledge), psychomotor
(skills), and affective (feelings or values).
a. Cognitive objectives contain action verbs
that describe knowledge. Verbs such as recall,
list, describe, and identify are used: “By the
end of the session, the participant will ne able
to recall the drugs that can be administered via
an endotracheal tube during a code.”
38. b. Psychomotor objectives contain verbs
that describe motor skills. Verbs such as
imitate, demonstrate, and follow procedure
may be used: “By the end of the class, the
participant will be able to demonstrate the
correct procedure for endotracheal suctioning.”
39. c. Affective objectives contain verbs that
describe feelings or values. Verbs such as
share, respond, defend, and act consistently
may be used: (1) “During the session,
participants will share their most effective
strategies for coping with stress.” (2) “By the
end of the sensitivity training classes, the
orientee will respond to the patient’s needs for
privacy in an appropriate manner.”
40. XXII.Why are objectives necessary?
a. It describe the actions expected of the
learner, they may be seen by some as a
contract for what the participant will achieve by
attending the program.
b. It serve as promotional purpose and tell
potential participants what the program is all
about.
41. c. It help determine the teaching method.
*Cognitive objectives may be met via a lecture,
psychomotor objectives during a skills lab, and
affective objectives during small group
interactions.
