¶ … Training Scope of Training

Large health care organizations will undoubtedly have a large scope of training. The investments and systems approach is beneficial for companies who can realize economies of scale. Through economies of scale the unit cost for each selective individual trained decreases. This ultimately allows the cost of investments and systems to be spread throughout the entire organization. The systems approach is particularly beneficial as it creates and distills consistent behavior throughout the entire organization. Each individual that is trained is usually receiving and absorbing the same information as their peers. This insures the continuity of the business and its underlying operations. The scope will depend primarily on the needs of the business. In some instances, training may involve the entire health care organization while in other instances; it may only require a select department. In either case, investments in systems allows for the most efficient use of company money. This will be particularly true for large organizations.

Needs Assessment and Organizational Analysis

Corporate employee training and development programs do a good job of identifying their needs within the respective organization. However, emphasis must be placed on both needs assessments and organizational analysis for companies to remain competitive. Globalization in particular has created a new competitive dynamic within the health care profession. As such, training will become more profound as competition becomes more pervasive. In regards to overall health care training and development, licensing and accreditation standards must be heightened to insure the quality of the nurses that enter the workforce. Certifying organizations must therefore mandate the proper demonstration of core competencies and skills prior to endowing students with the nursing title. The nursing profession, according to the IOM report, must undergo fundamental changes within the overall education of nurses. In many respects the basic tenets of the profession will remain intact. These requirements include the need to meet the diverse needs of clients. These clients are becoming more diverse as the baby boomer generation becomes older. Training must also incorporate leading teams of diverse individuals to further the objectives of the overall firm, and advancing the science of nursing to the benefit of all clients involved. However, with the impending reform nurses must also be educated on concepts unfamiliar to the profession (Lucia, 2009). This is due to the changes occurring with regards to legislation, budget deficits, and the overall aging of the American population. Due to this fact, the organizational structure and analysis of the structure has changed. To reflect these changes health care personnel must have differing skills than what they once had. As the IOM report indicates, entry-level nursing practitioners must now be able to effectively work on cross functional teams with varying and often conflicting objectives. As the health care industry consolidates in some respects, nurses must now be efficient when transitioning from their college coursework to there roles in primary care, acute care, and long-term care. Therefore, a stronger need for well rounded nurses with a diversified skill set will be needed to meet future demand. This needs assessment comes from the fact that health care companies are becoming more business oriented. As such, health care personnel will need a more business oriented background. Likewise, training and academic preparation must be consistent with the ever increasing skill set needed for successful nurses. In regards to the overall needs assessment, curricula must now be realigned to reflect the changing dynamics with the health care profession overall.

In regards to organizational analysis, the health care profession must asses the quality and accreditation of health care professional. This is will be most profound in the nursing area as more nurses will be needed to capture the impending demand. Currently, there are three primary avenues that prospective candidates can utilize in order to become a registered nurse. The first, and often most lucrative, is to receive a bachelors degree in nursing. The second is to receive an associate's degree in nursing, and the third is to receive a certificate in nursing. All or which earn the prospective candidate the coveted "RN" designation. However, the disparity between the skills and abilities of each requirement is profound (Fang, 2006). Particularly there is a lack of graduate degree nurses with heightened skills and proficiency (Levsey, 2007). Therefore, a more streamlined, consistent and seamless approach to nursing is warranted. Through organizational analysis, this can be accomplished in large health care organizations.

A future factor affecting needs assessment and organizational analysis is the changing work demographics of the country. A recent IOM report encourages a...

Nurses, particularly minority nurses, are often very few within the profession. This is a direct reflection of the lack of minority representation within the undergraduate student body as a whole. As such, the IOM reports a renewed focus on increasing and retaining minority enrollment with the nursing field. The emphasis of these programs for nurses in general should now reflect the changing dynamics of the industry. This includes more attention to competencies related towards primary care, disease prevention, and overall health promotion. These topics go well beyond the acute care settings and insure that nurses are ready to work in a changing dynamic
Training Program Design

The nursing profession is undergoing fundamental changes in regards to skill requirements and development. A new regulatory environment coupled with increased scrutiny of the profession will dramatically impact the nursing profession. The newly enacted HR 3962 Act has profound implications on both the industry and those who practice within it. This will have a direct impact on the objectives of the overall training program. As a recent IOM report indicates, a future factor affecting design is that future will have job requirements that are more service and business oriented. As such, in order to maintain a higher quality of service standards, training objectives must be aligned with the overall company objectives. In the future the training objectives will involve a broad array of business skills and abilities to reflect the changing dynamic of the health care industry. Effective training design will help foster and facilitate the customer centered change in the industry. Health care practitioners will need to have a better understanding of quality management methods in addition to overall concepts of quality service (Draper, 2011). As the health care system continues its rapid reform nurses must also be cognizant of the effects these changes will have on their overall roles and responsibilities in the context of the overall profession (Levsey, 2009). The design and objective of the health care training program must reflect the changing skill sets needed. Legislation in particular has had a profound impact on the health care industry. First, due to the HR 3962 ACT, the nursing profession is undergoing a fundamental shift in regards to the patient experience. The U.S. health care system is now shifting the focus from acute and specialty care to that of primary care which requires a shift in business operations. As such, the training objective must focus on training competent personnel on the merits of quality customer service. Furthermore, personnel must be effective a reducing costs within the organization. Currently, health care costs continue to rise as a proportion of GDP. With personnel with the ability to recognize cost inefficient behaviors, the company can benefit. As such, the objectives must align themselves with the changing dynamics of the business.

Implementation of Training

Implementation of training and development programs within the organization is relatively straightforward. Non-management should first hold peers accountable for training and all course related activities. Management should ensure that all available associates are properly trained in a timely manner. Communication is critical in this regard as many large health care companies do not communicate effectively. Management should be able to articulate a compelling value proposition to all stakeholders involved within the organization. This will allow all associates to see the value behind training and subsequent implement it themselves. A future factor that may affect the implementation of training is the bureaucracy embedded within health care organizations. Due to this bureaucracy implementation of policies and training can be significantly delayed. As organizations become more consolidated, this issue will occur frequently.

Evaluating the Training

The overall evaluation process is critical to the health care Employee training and development. The evaluation allows health care facilities to alter or change any discrepancies within the overall training program. This assessment will allow the organization to have a more comprehensive view of its training programs and how they will be formulated in the future. This formulation will allow the organization to obtain flexibility in how it trains and retains its associates. As mentioned earlier, the health care industry now requires individuals who are now more business oriented. In addition, these individuals must now possess a broad array of skills and abilities. In order to effectively train these individuals, an effective evaluation system must be present. The evaluation effectiveness is diminished due to lack of awareness. To improve performance and effectiveness all stakeholders within the company should be involved. Broad participation is the mechanism through which…