Assignment: Time and Resources Spent

Assignment: Time and Resources Spent

Assignment: Time and Resources Spent

Measuring Return on Investment for Professional Development Activities 2018 Updates

Cathleen Opperman, DNP, RN, NEA-BC, CPN ƒ Debra Liebig, MLA, BSN, RN-BC ƒ Judith Bowling, PhD, MHA, RN-BC ƒ Carol Susan Johnson, PhD, RN-BC, NE-BC

What is the return on investment for the time and resources

spent for professional development activities? This is an

update of the two articles published in 2016, which reviewed

literature and demonstrated how financial analysis of

educational activities can drive decision-making. Professional

development activities are routinely planned based on needs

assessments, implemented with evidence-based learning

modalities, and evaluated for effectiveness through linkage to

outcomes. The next level of evaluation is consideration of the

economic impact of professional development activities. This

article includes a review of themost recent studies that provide

cost of educational interventions along with a description of

economic outcomes and an update to the ‘‘Known Costs of

Outcomes Table.’’

A s nursing professional development (NPD)practitioners, we are challenged by the question‘‘What is the return on investment (ROI) for pro- fessional development activities?’’ As described in Part I of this series, NPD practitioners are often the first to be called when a problem exists and among the first to have funding restricted when budgets are tight. Program eval- uation models, a summary of the literature reporting on ROI for professional development activities, and the ‘‘Known Costs of Outcomes Table’’ were included in this first article (Opperman, Liebig, Bowling, Johnson, &Harper, 2016a). The second article added ‘‘how to’’ calculate finan-

cial impact with scenario examples, including simple cost analysis, benefitYcost ratios, cost-effectiveness analysis, and ROI (Opperman, Liebig, Bowling, Johnson, & Harper, 2016b). Through examples of various-sized educational programs, it was demonstrated how an NPD practitioner can use these calculations for decision-making.

INTRODUCTION This article builds on the themes of the prior two articles on ROI. Following these publications, presentations at the Annual ANPD Conventions, and numerous webinars, re- quests were received for updating the literature search and the tables on the Known Costs of Outcomes Table. These requests led to this article. This article will describe the recent literature including four articles having educa- tional interventions with reported outcomes and financial impact published between 2014 and 2018. Following the literature review, the updated Known Costs of Outcomes Table lists the economic impact of a variety of conditions.

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