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...

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…