The healthcare industry creates unique challenges for learning and development professionals, with an extremely specific training audience. With regards to healthcare regulations and accessible healthcare, it creates additional hurdles for design and deliverables. Some of these challenges include the development of new health problems (COVID-19 is a perfect example), precipitous shifts in patient expectations towards quality and cost of care, and an immense shortage of talent.
Investing in robust learning and development is crucial for recruiting and increasing retention because career growth is a huge motivator for employees within the healthcare field. Lack of talent, or talent shortages, often jeopardize healthcare organizations across the country, and employees must be adequately prepared to provide the highest quality of care to patients. To meet the demand, healthcare organizations need to implement effective learning and development programs to attract new employees and retain current team members. As technology continues improve and break down standard healthcare processes, upskilling current employees has become critical.
The top healthcare organizations are consistently looking to acquire skills and specialties. To deal with the vast changes in healthcare, organizations should stay ahead of the game by modernizing their approach to training and development as well as offering consistent and regular learning throughout the career path. The healthcare industry should seek out future employees that are enthusiastic about advancing their skillset, knowledge, and careers. Spending time in instructor-led training programs takes away from caring for and interacting with patients. L&D professionals need to design flexible and dynamic experiences so that employees can learn about the latest subjects while also doing their jobs.
Thanks to advancements in technology, there are several learning platforms that can help address skill gaps within the healthcare industry. With the industry being so highly regulated, it adds a layer of complexity to the training. However, several learning platforms are now available on mobile devices such as tablets and smartphones.
Common healthcare L&D topics can be found here. Compliance training often tops the list of required and effective training programs, including but not limited to HIPAA compliance. It’s imperative to have an effective compliance training program in place as failure to comply with regulations can result in improper patient care, fines, loss of accreditation, and damage to an organization’s reputation. Finding a balance between compliance and training poses an opportunity for learning and development in the healthcare industry to bring about organizational change in how training is perceived, conducted, and delivered to employees.