Explain why training and education are vital in health care
Education and training in the healthcare industry is germane for the optimal performance of its workers and the success of the organisation. The healthcare industry is an ever dynamic one, changing on a continual basis from the technological point of view to the manpower aspect. Quality training, re-training and education is vital in the healthcare industry for the quality of services rendered to the clients and the stability of the industry.
All workers in the health industry from the physicians to nurses, dentists, pharmacists, technicians, assistants and administrators have a monumental responsibility for the well-being, health and survival of themselves and others, hence they must be abreast of technological advances, surgical techniques, various treatment options and management styles through education, training and re-training. It is therefore important that healthcare professionals are properly trained and educated to fulfil their various job descriptions and requirements. Hence, all actions of the healthcare worker must be in consonance with the laid down rules and regulations and must also meet up with the required ethical standards. Proper education about the standards and ethical expectations of the healthcare professional will reduce to a barest minimum the issue of mistakes which will in turn reduce the incidences of mismanagements cum negligence requiring legal redresses. Also, continuous education and training are important in the healthcare industry as the quality of training received by an individual will almost translate into the quality of healthcare the physician or administrator will provide to the clients. In addition, for the healthcare personnel to be in touch with the current trends in the medical world, some licensing bodies have mandated their members to undergo various continuous education programmes, tying the annual renewal of their practising licences to their attending such programmes.
Explain the importance of measuring competencies
Competence can be defined as an individual's latent characteristics that relates to his performance on the job ( Boyatzis 1982) It can also be defined as the ability of an individual to perform specific tasks in a way that yields magnificent outcomes and results. It implies that skills, knowledge and abilities are applied successfully to familiar tasks and new ones where prescribed standards are in place (Lane and Ross 1998). Usually, competence is acquired over time and it is seen as an important milestone in professional development, though it is not the end point. Reasons for measuring competence in professional organisations, ministries of health and healthcare organizations abound. They ensure that certain competence expectations are set and that their employees perform creditably to standard. Reasons for measuring competence range from; organizational reforms, organizational performance, measuring outcomes of training, planning for new services, risk management, certification of providers, recertification of providers, ethics and liability, supervision, new staff selection and individual performance improvement. Competence assessment helps an organization know if the services rendered to her clients are alright, and if not, the organization would seek to know if it is a competence problem. Also, competency assessment is an important aspect of certification and recertification processes from regulatory bodies.
Describe the process for tracking and evaluating training effectiveness
Training evaluation process is an integral part of an organizations training program. The organizations are responsible for what the employees are taught and how they apply what they have learnt to their works. Training evaluation methods tend to focus on using the process in improving training delivery and the collected information should be to improve the organizations business performance.
The process of training evaluation is capable of providing excellent information to the management. Through designing an impeccable training evaluation process, information required by an organization to improve the business performance and training program delivery for a continued improvement in the organization.
Goals should be set for the training process and the evaluation methods should be sought based on the set goals. The required information is divided into two groups; whether the said competencies have been learned and mastered and whether the learning received have already been applied for the improvement in performance of the organization.
Assessment of Competency Learning
It is conducted best at the individual level; it aims to know if the materials at training have been learned. The reaction of the employee to the material just learned is also important. Also, the process gives an insight into the effectiveness of the training approach and delivery. The information can be obtained through the use of questionnaires, observation and knowledge review.
Questioners provide a structured tool that is useful in obtaining both qualitative and quantitative information about the reaction of the employee to the training while the review of knowledge gives an objective means of knowing if the training content was learned. The employees respond in writing to read questions. The learning objectives of the training should be dealt with in the questions which could be multiple choice or short answer types.
References
J. Ontaneda (2012) Training and Education in Health Care. Anti Essays http://www.antiessays.com/free-essays/299520.html
R. Lakhmani (2012) Training and Education in Healthcare http://www.termpaperwarehouse.com/essay-on/Training-And-Education-In-Healthcare/96798
N. Kak et al (2001) Measuring Competence of Healthcare Providers Quality Assurance Project Vol no 2 Issue 1 http://www.hciproject.org/sites/default/files/Measuring%20the%20Competence%20of%20HC%20Providers_QAP_2001.pdf
W. Carr (1999) Designing an Effective Training Evaluation Process http://www.ispi.org/pdf/suggestedReading/Carr.pdf
