Online Learning for Healthcare Professionals

Busy healthcare professionals are required to take a number of mandatory compliance requirements annually. If they work on a dedicated memory care, dementia, or Alzheimer’s unit, they have to take even more. And, of course, licensed healthcare professionals including administrators, nurses, social workers, physical and occupational therapists and activity professionals have to keep up with their own continuing education hours to maintain their license. That’s a lot of hours in training and education! Luckily, we live in the 21st Century and have fairly decent access to the Internet and can log into an online learning management system (LMS) and take courses almost anywhere, anytime.

Getting On Board

While not every healthcare company in the country has turned to online learning, it is certainly increasing in popularity as an effective and budget-friendly method of meeting compliance requirements and keeping up with CEUs. The amount of topics is very impressive and ranges from clinical care, mental and behavioral health, substance use, leadership, and topics that are trending such as human trafficking, serving the LGBTQ community, and medical marijuana. With all of this content, why would healthcare companies not use online learning for their employees?

It is also important to know that studies have been conducted examining effectiveness of traditional in-person training versus online learning. These studies concluded that both methods of training were equally effective, but online learning offers so many benefits that traditional training does not. Traditional education involves the trainer and staff being in the same place at the same time. Online learning is 24/7 and can be done anywhere. Trainers and employees driving to one spot tends to be more expensive than online learning. In other words, it’s convenient. There are other benefits, but I’ll leave those for another article.

What are the Goals of Online vs. Traditional Learning?

When deciding to continue traditional training or look into online learning, administration should think about the following goals.

1. Employee satisfaction with the method of training. Are employees making shopping lists or falling asleep in a hot and over-crowded room while the trainer repeats the same program they heard last year? Do they like the trainer or content? Are they leaving with good information?
2. Employee learning outcomes. Can employees demonstrate what they have learned? If they take a test on the content, how well will they perform? Do their skills, attitudes or knowledge improve or remain unchanged?
3. Employee performance improvement. Do their actions and behaviors improve with the training or do they remain the same? Do employees apply what they have learned and demonstrate improved knowledge and skills?
4. Resident/Client/Patient Health Outcomes. Does the population being cared for show better health outcomes because of the ongoing training? Can administration measure it? Are employees becoming more effective and efficient with the care they deliver?

Content Matters

Being an educator for decades, I have learned many things. One of the most important factor in any type of training or education is the actual content (and of course the person delivering it). Content must be relevant and practical. It must reach all levels of employees, regardless of their education or experience. It must also be designed to motivate employees to engage in it. A topic that is dull and doesn’t apply to a healthcare professional’s role will fall flat. Content should influence the employee to want to learn.

Final Words on Online Learning

Some healthcare companies rely on traditional, in-person training and others have taken the leap and are using distance learning. There are advantages and disadvantages to both methods. Time, cost and convenience are only a few. Both seem to be equally as effective. So, how does administration decide which road to go down concerning training and education? They must first understand the needs of their employees and determine which is best. They should also look at how much they are spending or would spend on each type of training method. One of the most critical aspects of any training program is this – is it effective? Does it work for employees? Another important element is how training and education impact care and health outcomes. Weighing out these differences can make the decision for one or the other much easier. Hopefully you will be happy with your decision and the results!

More About Learning Management

• Benefits of Online Learning in Health Care