Addressing the need for continuing education in healthcare

Continuing education has never been higher on senior leaders' agendas, as changes in technology, business models and capabilities create both the demand and an appetite for life-long learning. And yet they find themselves in a bind. With escalating financial pressures and short-term constraints, it is difficult to justify spending on education and training beyond the essential. This comes at a time when there is an inexorable rise in demand for healthcare, a shortage of appropriately skilled staff and a rising rate of medical professional burnout.

Despite 75% of CEOs [1] worldwide agreeing that a skilled, educated and adaptable workforce should be a key priority, there is a growing lack of experienced and well-trained staff in the healthcare environment around the world. Commissioned annually by Philips, The Future Health Index 2020 highlights that younger healthcare professionals are aware of future gaps in their careers, citing four key areas as needing input. These areas - identified by 2,867 healthcare professionals under the age of 40 from 15 countries - are skills, knowledge, data and expectations [1].

Even for those working in non-patient care or clinical roles, technology, regulations and best practices in business and leadership change rapidly and require continual review and retooling. Research indicates that the workforce of the future will need new combinations of cognitive, emotional and analytical skills.

According to the World Economic Forum, ''social skills - such as persuasion, emotional intelligence and teaching others - will be in higher demand across industries than narrow technical skills such as programming or equipment operation and control. Content skills (which include ICT literacy and active learning), cognitive abilities (such as creativity and mathematical reasoning) and process skills (such as active listening and critical thinking) will be a growing part of the core skills requirements for many industries [2].''

Core work-related skills, according to the World Economic Forum and based on the O_NET Content Model are:

Smarter and more flexible working environments are key to attracting talent. Other than salary, younger healthcare professionals cite factors around collaboration, autonomy and technology are important when choosing a hospital or practice in which to work [1].

Here are just some of things to keep in mind when considering the benefits of an ongoing learning approach:

Establishing comprehensive clinical education programs now can contribute to improved staff satisfaction and retention into the future. New skill and competency development facilitates the transition to value-based care and the adoption of new technology and workflows. Using a blended learning approach with data, analytics and behavioral insights combined with a mix of on-site and virtual learning is helpful to enhancing training accessibility as your workforce evolves over time.