Training and Education in Health Care Organization

Introduction

Training is a process through which job-related skills are passed to the employees. It involves undertaking a set of activities aimed at preparing an individual to work in the real world. It is appropriate for new employees and experienced workers who desire to improve their skills and meet job demands. Education enables a new worker to gain the knowledge needed in a healthcare organization. It also enables one to understand procedures and techniques used in the hospital.

Employee Orientation

As a consultant, I will advise the company to undertake an orientation program for the employees before work begins. Orientation of new employees in a workplace is an important process that enables them to acclimatize to the environment. Although this process benefits the workers, it also has significant importance to the organization. This is because it creates a sense of uniformity and it inspires the staff to be part of the company’s team (Egener et al 2017). Empowering health care workers through orientation increases job satisfaction, which results in more productivity and reduction of job-related stress. For instance, in hospitals, oriented new nurses offer good quality of care to the patients, and turnover rate are limited. In addition, through the orientation practices, clients also benefit.

Content of Orientation Program includes expected daily activities; personnel policies; the hospital operations and organization; regulations and safety measures; all-round tour to the facilities.

An orientation program is deemed successful when the new staff has a clear understanding of the organization in a wider sense. This process should also provide a platform for employees to socialize and adopt the company’s behavior and way of acting. Furthermore, the ability to be at ease in the place of work and is a marker of an excellent program. Finally, the new staff should know the expected behavior and terms of work.

The training process:

• New employees learn basic skills needed in the job
• The strategic context of the training is performance management
• The new staff are made to understand the importance of working towards the goals of the organization
• Web-based learning, cross-cultural diversity, and distance learning are utilized in training

Importance of Training and Education:

• Training to be offered in a health care organization ranges from safe handling of patients to proper use of equipment.
• Patient satisfaction is key in all organizations of health; thus, the focus of the training will be based on the safe delivery of health care.
• Potential nurses will be trained on mechanical lift utilization. This is necessary for ensuring that caregivers are confident and comfortable when handling equipment (Egener et al 2017). When staff uses equipment efficiently and correctly, patients are made comfortable.
• Patients have different needs, mobility capabilities, and characteristics(Drayton-Brooks et al., 2017), caregivers will be trained to check the mobility of the patients as per the signs exhibited

Training and Development Process

The process of training and development includes five steps, which are: Need Analysis, Instructional design, Validation, Program Implementation, Evaluation.

In the need analysis process, skills needed for effective job performance are identified, thereafter, prospective trainees’ skills are assessed, and objectives are developed. An instructional design will be made to provide the contents of the training program (Drayton-Brooks et al., 2017). This will include exercises, workbooks, and other activities. The validation step involves a trial of the instructional design to a small group of people. This process is important to ascertain the effectiveness of the program. After validation, the program is implemented, in this phase, the new employees are trained. Lastly, an evaluation process is undertaken, this phase will assess the failures and successes of the program.

Training and Development Process:

• How to make lessons meaningful?
  At the beginning of the training, a bird’s-eye insight of the materials to be utilized is presented to the learners. During the sessions, several examples are provided to make students grasp the points. The trainer should organize and present information logically. In addition, terms familiar with the trainees are better used, the presence of visual aids is important. This is because it makes the lessons enjoyable.
• How to make skills transfer easy?
  The trainer should ensure that similarities between the work situation and the training situation are maximized. Adequate practice should also be provided. Furthermore, the steps in a procedure should be highlighted clearly for emphasis, Machines must be labeled before the beginning of the training. One should ensure that the new employees’ attention is directed towards the key job aspects.
• How learners are motivated?
  The lessons are best offered in a realistic way, trainers easily learn when correct responses are reinforced by the trainers. In addition, it is important to let the new workers learn at their own pace. Before the training session begins, the trainer can create a perceived training need. It is important to undertake most training sessions in the morning to make it effective. This is because the learning curve goes down as the day progresses.

The Training Needs Must Be Analysed Before Learning Start

Therefore, the following procedures are undertaken:

• Performance Analysis
• Task Analysis

Methods of Analysing the Needs of Training

Task analysis is a detailed study of a specific job in order to identify the necessary skills required by the new employees. In performance analysis, a deficiency in performance is investigated and verified, Thereafter, a decision to correct the problem is made. If the issue can be corrected through training, then emphasis is laid on it during the training sessions.

Training Methods are Informal learning, Apprenticeship training, Jobs Instructions Training, On the Job training, Effective lectures, Programmed Learning, Literacy Training Techniques, Simulated Training.

Informal training applies in a process where work and skills are learned through frequent undertaking of some job routines. Apprentice learning is a combination of instructions in the classrooms and on -job training is utilized. Job instruction learning is a training is offered in a step wise manner while following a listed basic expected task. In the On-the-job training, the trainees learn while doing the job, methods used in the on-job learning process are job rotation, understudy or coaching and giving special assignments. The advantage of this type of training is being inexpensive and the ability to gain feedback immediately.

The lectures should be made effective by using signals to help the learners to follow ideas presented. The conclusion of the lesson should be made short and the trainer should ensure that the voice is audible and clear. trainees. When training one should control hand movements. Long topics should be broken into a short series of at least 10-minute talk.

Programmed learning is also referred to as programmed instruction. This is a training method for teaching skills required in a job through presentations of facts and questions and allowing one participant to answer. This technique reduces the training time and it also reduces the risk of error while learning.

Literacy training techniques eliminates functional illiteracy, it tests a learner basic skill before setting up literacy programs. In most cases, an audiovisual is used to offer lessons. This method is advantageous because it exposes trainees to events not shown in live lectures. In addition, it meets the need for companies to undertake wide training at a low cost.

Simulated training is also called vestibule training, it involves training of worker on off a job equipment. This method of training reduces the rates of accidents. Simulated learning is also delivered through computer bases training, electronic performance, and learning portals.

Importance of Competency

• It increases productivity in the place of work
• It improves the employees
• It helps in comparing performance

Competence is the ability of a person to perform procedure, activities and tasks effectively. The trainees will be trained to demonstrate top notch skills in disease management and care delivery. Competence is a unique blend of knowledge, skills, and attitude. It prepares the learner to provide safe starting level services

The Process of Tracking and Evaluating Training Effectiveness

The health care industry is usually faced with numerous challenges; thus, it is important to ensure the new staff are trained on how to effectively handle this problem. In trainings, the required knowledge and skills should be transferred and applied effectively in the workplace. There are five important evaluation methods that will be used to measure the training effectiveness. This include participation and satisfaction reaction, knowledge acquisition, behavioral application, return on investment, and measurable business improvement.

Satisfaction and Participant Reaction Satisfaction is the most basic form of evaluating a training. Trainees are requested to fill a survey form indicating their views on the training at the end of the session. Electronic survey questions measuring satisfaction rates are give as part of the training courses. Questions asked to gauge the specific levels of reaction and satisfaction are:

• Did the trainees like the trainer?
• Was the training enjoyable?
• In case of another training, will the staff request the same trainers back?
• What was the trainee’s perception on the material used, are they relevant in their place of work?
• Did the new staff feel like that the taken was undertaken at an appropriate time?

Is there a likelihood that the trainees will recommend the training program to new staff in future? This type of evaluation is enough in evaluating a training program. However, the other four are also necessary to increase confidence in the results.

Knowledge Acquisition

Knowledge acquisition forms the second stage of evaluation. It is rare to find examination attached at the end of work-related courses. However, the attachment of reliable and valid examination is important. This is because it helps to ascertain whether the content of the training was understood. Additionally, it can reveal the trainees who did not acquire learning. This stage can also show the trends of areas that needs additional coaching or further training.

Participants are likely to take training seriously when they know that they are required to demonstrate the knowledge and skills learned from the training. Therefore, the new staff on training are given exams after a week of training. Thereafter, their responses are graded and shared with the organization managers. This process will ensure that knowledge gaps are filled adequately and swiftly before the trainees are ushered into their jobs.

Behavioral Application

This is the third level of the evaluation process; it seeks to answer whether the trained employees are applying the knowledge learned effectively. In addition, a trainer will be able to know the behaviors that needs to be changed for skills and knowledge learned to be applied effectively in the workplace. In this program, behavior in the third level, is evaluated against knowledge acquisition in level two and reaction and satisfaction in level one.

In this step, at least 5 mystery called are made to the participants before and after the training. Questions related to the job objectives are asked, the conversation ensued is recorded and graded. The findings from the calls before and after the training are compared. The results are then forwarded to the health care organization management.

This phase allows the trainees to demonstrate how they can apply knowledge acquired in the in real life. It also provides a clear indication of the participant who applies the skills and knowledge learned and those who are not keen on using them. The managements can use this stage outcome to rewards the best candidates and correct any form of misapplication encountered.

Measurable Business Improvement

The program training enables the organization to maximize profit as a result of employees’ good performance. The Specific business measures also known as key performance indicators are used to measure the outcome of the training. This is set of measurement that can be quantified to help in ascertaining whether the health care organization financial, strategic, and operational achievements are improving.

The potential benefits considered after a training include low employee turnover rates, increased team building and engagement among the staff. In addition, increased patient’s satisfaction rates, increased productivity, and decreased rate of error occurrence in the hospital are major key performance indicators.

Return on Investment (ROI)

This the level used in evaluation of training since it is linked to the returns after investing. To evaluate a return of investment in the health care organization as the outcome of the training, the following steps will be undertaken:

The course fee, facility fee and the wages of new staff during the training are added. The opportunity cost of the new employee in form of time utilized during the training is added to the results to prior results. Thereafter business improvement is measured and the financial gain in the long term is considered. The long-term cost or gains is equals to the return on investment.

It is important to undertake all the five training sections. A return on investment usually follows an application, which comes after learning and satisfaction with training respectively.

Conclusion

Health and education training program is important for new employees in an healthcare organization. This is because it enhances productivity and reduces job turn over rates currently experienced among the nurses (Drayton-Brooks et al., 2017). The training program also improves the care delivery accorded to patients and increases profits made by organizations.

References

Drayton-Brooks, S. M., Gray, P. A., Turner, N. P., & Newland, J. A. (2017). Building clinical education training capacity in nurse practitioner programs. Journal of Professional Nursing, 33(6), 422-428.

Egener, B. E., Mason, D. J., McDonald, W. J., Okun, S., Gaines, M. E., Fleming, D. A., & Andresen, M. L. (2017). The charter on professionalism for health care organizations. Academic Medicine, 92(8), 1091.