Laura A. Diggle

Introduction: I was retained by Medical Practice Developers, Inc. (MPD) to conduct a thorough evaluation of their new training program.  MPD is a management services firm that develops and manages multidisciplinary pain management centers (MPMC) specializing in diseases and disorders of the neuromusculoskeletal system. MPD strives to attract the highest caliber employees, by providing them with opportunities to develop to their full potential and to share in the success that comes from winning in the healthcare marketplace. With this goal in mind, a new training course was developed to provide all managers within the organization with training on conducting structured interviews

Data was collected after the training using a mixture of surveys, tests and evaluations. By following the steps of Kirkpatrick’s four levels of evaluation:

• evaluating reactions
• measuring learning
• evaluation of behaviors
• measuring results

The following report was compiled from a complete evaluation of every aspect of the new training program using instruments I developed to capture the data. These instruments were deemed valid and reliable and measured both qualitative and quantitative data. The report concludes with some recommendations to improve performance.

Final Report:

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Reflection:

The evaluation of MPD’s hiring manager training program yielded some promising results. However, there were some changes I recommended to further improve the outcomes from the course. Based on the data that was collected and the results of each of the four levels of Kirkpatrick’s evaluation model, I recommended the following:

• Review the course content and consider cutting down length of course
• Hold a focus group for the managers we evaluated and determine what can or should be done to make the training more challenging
• Add or change the course content to ensure future learners are better at preparing for structured interviews
• Provide more scenarios or opportunities for learners to practice interviews

The changes should ensure continued success as well as an even greater return on their investment.

IDPT Outcomes Fulfilled: 

1. Conduct analyses to identify needs or opportunities for performance and learning improvement.
2. Design and develop interventions to solve performance and learning problems. 
3. Evaluate performance and learning interventions and solutions. 
4. Manage performance and learning projects. 
5. Design interventions consistent with ethical standards in the field.