Training Education Over the Last Several Years,

Training Education

Over the last several years, the issues of training and education in health care have been increasingly brought to the forefront. This is because there is soaring demand for improved services and quality. At the same time, rising costs and staff shortages are making the underlying need for qualified individuals more important. To help a health facility to attract the best personnel requires: examining how training / education are vital, the significance of measuring competencies and the process of tracking / evaluating the effectiveness of training. Together, these different elements will provide specific insights as to how training and education are addressing the underlying challenges affecting organizations. (Ducey, 2009, pp. 1 -- 19)

Explain why training and education are vital in health care.

Training and education are vital in ensuring that everyone is up-to-date on the latest techniques and regulations. This helps to improve efficiency and quality through teaching professionals specific tactics that are increasing treatment options. When this happens, the consumer is able to benefit from these changes by: having more choices and better quality (from increased competition). (Duff, 2010)

At the same time, this helps to set specific standards that can improve competence among professionals. This is where they will begin applying practices that protect the interests of stakeholders. Once this happens, is when staff members will be more competent and experienced in addressing a variety of challenges. This is the point that they can work to address these interests (without creating even more problems during the process). (Duff, 2010)

A good example of this can be seen with improved training for interns with them working at actual health care facilities (while they are in school). This is giving them real world experience they can use in conjunction with their studies (which is providing them with a basic background). Once they begin practicing, is the point that continuing education can build upon these ideas. This is establishing basic standards for everyone to follow and it is improving the overall quality of care that patients are receiving. (Duff, 2010)

Explain the importance of measuring competencies.

The importance of measuring competencies is designed to ensure that everyone meets select standards for the career field. This will improve the underlying quality that patients are receiving and it will make certain that professional practices are adhered to at all times. When this happens, a health organization is more responsive to the needs of stakeholders.

Evidence of this can be seen with observations from Kak (2001) who said, "Competence encompasses knowledge, skills, abilities, and traits, which are acquired through pre-service education, in-service training, and work experience in the healthcare industry. Competence is a major determinant of provider performance and is represented by conformance with various clinical, non-clinical, and interpersonal standards. Measuring competence is essential in determining the ability of health workers to provide quality services. Although a precursor to doing a job correctly, measuring performance periodically is also crucial to determine whether providers are using their competence in their work. A provider could possess the appropriate knowledge and skill, but might not demonstrate this due to individual factors (e.g. abilities, traits, goals, values, inertia, etc.) or external factors (e.g. unavailability of drugs, equipment, organizational support, etc.). A focus on measuring competencies will address these issues over the long-term." This is illustrating how addressing these areas will improve the underlying quality of care that is being provided. (Kak, 2001)

As a result, those organizations that are measuring competencies will be more responsive to the needs of stakeholders. This is occurring through being able to identify and address problems when they are small. Once this happens, is the point that they can quickly deal with these challenges. In the future, this leads to a dramatic improvement in: quality, treatment options and efficiency. Moreover, the increased standards will lead to positive transformations inside a health care environment. (Kak, 2001)

Describe the process for tracking and evaluating training effectiveness.

The process for evaluating any kind of effectiveness will first require seeing how employees and managers are interacting with each other. The way that this can be achieved is through the use of anonymous surveys. As any kind of issues can be quickly identified and addressed in order to prevent problems from becoming worse in the future. This will help to determine the effectiveness of the training by: objectively analyzing the practices are being utilized. At the same time, it will allow actuaries to decide if this is positively influencing the work environment and how potential issues can be dealt with. When this happens, there is a transformation in the way that staff members and departments are working with each other. (Mitchell, 1989, pp. 1 -- 27)

Next, there must be some kind of approach to objectively see the impact of specific activities on the organization. The way that this can be achieved is by analyzing the quarterly performance evaluation. In the event that there is some kind of challenge, executives can quickly implement new policies that will address these issues. This will help the facility over the medium term to quickly adjust to new changes and demands from stakeholders. (Ellis, 2004, pp. 229 -- 236)

To see the impact of these shifts in the long-term, there will be specific benchmarks that must be reached. For example, a facility can determine the effect of these practices by monitoring how they are ranked among different organizations for: quality, professionalism, ethics and innovation. These areas will allow administrators to see how these standards are improving the reputation of the hospital among different stakeholders. This is showing how these tools can objectively evaluate the impact of training and continuing education on the facility. When this happens, they will realize an improvement in the organization's ability to address a host of challenges. This is the point that they are more flexible (which allows them to evolve with the new transformations). (Ellis, 2004, pp. 229 -- 236)