The Environment-Skills-Delivery Model: A Heuristic Tool for Planning Staff Development in the New Millennium

Background: A qualitative, exploratory study to identify trends in hospital nursing and to consider the impact of these trends on onsite staff development needs and initiatives was conducted. Method: Eight experienced nurse educators who work in a hospital setting were interviewed using a semistructured interview approach. Themes and subthemes that emerged from the interviews were determined and refined. The nursing literature related to the findings was reviewed to consider possible links between the findings and the literature. Results: Three interrelated themes were identified: organizational demands and constraints helping shape nurses' daily lives and their education needs; the range of educational skills needed by nurses to perform their jobs; and the kinds of onsite educational strategies evolved in response to both skill needs and organizational demands and constraints. Conclusion: The subsequent analysis of the findings led to the development of the Environment-Skills-Delivery Planning Tool for nurse educators.