Program Identified:

Optum New Hire Training

Purpose: To identify learning needs related to the basis of job performance.
Level of Assessment: Within the organization
Stakeholders: Regional Directors, Site Directors, Pod Executives, Managers, Team Leaders, Training Staff.
Budget and available resources: Manpower for assessment administration $200.00 per non-clinical
staff volunteering for overtime.
Specific information that will be measured: Comprehension of beginner, intermediate and advanced
computer skills as are applicable to current performance requirements for a nurse case manager.
Information does not currently exist for specific computer literacy. There are a series of questions that
appear on the employment application asking questions related to a rating of familiarity with computer
programs.

Purpose and level of assessment is to identify learning needs related to the basis of job performance
within the organization. An expressed need, or demand for service, has been voiced by the team leader
stakeholders. New nursing hires are not prepared for the computer-based platforms that form the base
of day to day operations, and this unfamiliarity has caused an increase in time in preceptorship from one
to two weeks. New employees in this area are nurses, and primarily are hired from the hospital setting
into a total business environment. The level of computer literacy is a key element in a successful
transition into the case management role. Nursing traditionally is not a technology-based profession,
though with the advent of the electronic medical record, more nurses are being taught computer skills
that are above the basic level; however these competencies can be very basic and not related to a
business model. According to a Delphi survey and study of nurses computer skills, the experts agreed
that nurses must know how to use the computer for word-processing purposes, for accessing and using
the hospital information system, and for e-mailing (Saranto & Leino-Kilpi, 2002). Computer skills for
case management in a fast-paced business setting requires more advanced skills. Use of spreadsheets,
electronic faxing systems, and compiling data across various information platforms are skills that form
the basis of successful telephonic case management. The assessment will be delivered on the first day of
new hire orientation.
A search of available resources would include a review of any computer competencies that have been
formulated in past training courses. This is known as secondary data. According to Royse & Thyer, 2009,
Secondary data refers to existing information that comes from census data, public documents, and
reports. Even data generated by other researchers or surveys can be reexamined for relevance to the
new program. Computer based teaching modules have been utilized in the past by the organization.
These tools were employed during the initial technology installation for the organization was taking
place, and computer technology was a new development in the workplace. These tools need to be
assessed for relevance to current operating systems, and gleaned for any useful data that can be
transferred into the needs of current system operators. A query will be relayed to the informatics
department in order to ascertain if any of the original instructional designers remain with the

organization and can be interviewed as key informants in order to gain information on how assessments
were conducted to ensure staff competence within that time frame.
Using an impressionistic approach that employs the Delphi technique, team leaders and current staff
will be key informants in order to assess what computer skills are critical for job performance.
Administer this questionnaire in soft copy with results generated compiled into a ranking of importance
of skills as cited by the responders. Objective information will be obtained from this initial method. The
specific information needed from the responders will include:

What computer skills are utilized most frequently during a normal work day?
Please rank how often particular skills are used
Which computer skill do you wish you had been prepared for prior to starting your current
position?
What computer skill(s) would you choose to be assessed prior to employment initiation?
Rate how a lack of these specific computer skills impedes transition into the role of case
manager?

The questionnaire will be submitted to the site director and training director for approval and edit. It will
then be relayed to key personnel designated by clinical directors via manager recommendations. The
time limit for response will be limited to 4 weeks. There will be a central return email address for the
responses, and this will be cleared daily by the project coordinator. Compilation of data will be
performed by 2 non-clinical staff at each organization site solicited from existing manpower. Four hours
of pay will be offered for the non-clinical staff compiling data. Total questionnaires distributed will be
divided by site within the organization. A minimum of 5 sites, and 50 staff members per site will be
chosen to engage in the questionnaire. The site directors will mandate the composition of those chosen
to participate. This is to avoid skewed data derived from impressionistic approaches. As cited in Royse &
Thyer, 2009, Those who are invited or chosen, or who elect themselves, to participate may not be truly
representative of the larger community. Their views may be atypical and not reflect those of the
majority (p.67). The purpose of the questionnaire is to solicit the Delphi response as accurately as
possible and represent most accurately those persons who perform computerbased job duties most
regularly. In addition, the questionnaire will be anonymous, requiring no personal identification such as
employee identification number or name. The responses to the questionnaire will need to be scrubbed
of email addresses upon return email to ensure the confidentiality of the responders.
Data analysis will be performed by the program coordinator.
The completion of the survey and the gathering and analysis of the data will culminate in the report of
results. The report will be prepared within 2 weeks of completion of the survey. This report will require
multiple drafts and revisions. The initial draft will contain the survey numbers and interpretation of data.
The survey coordinator will engage the services of the training director or his/her designee to check data
sums and conclusions. The second draft will incorporate the findings in order of importance to the
organization. The final draft will correct any spelling or grammar. Training director or his/her designee
will proofread the final draft prior to distribution. Initial results of the survey will be shared with regional
directors, site directors, and clinical directors. After the initial review by the key stakeholders, a full
report will be made available to the remaining stakeholders.

Results of the questionnaire will be the basis of the authentic assessment. Information related to the
ranked importance of computer skills will be made available to the organization in the form of a formal
report. The assessment will be an authentic in nature, and will require the employee to demonstrate
computer skills in a general application. The skills will not include any job-specific information; however,
the types of programs that will need to be accessed, as well as methods of navigating within the
computer system will be evaluated.

Royse, D., Thyer, B., & Padgett, D. (2009). Program evaluation: An introduction (5th ed.).
Belmont, CA: Cengage Learning.
Saranto, K., & Leino-Kilpi, H. (2002, February). Computer literacy in nursing: developing the
information technology syllabus in nursing education. Journal of Advanced Nursing, 25(2), 37785. Retrieved from http://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/9044014