Finding 2

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Healthcare: Top Training Strengths

Issues related to shifting priorities in response to the pandemic earned top ratings from respondents this year. Besides adaptability and online learning, respondents valued the ability to deliver virtual live training, which came in third (16%) as a top strength of healthcare training. You can ensure optimal flexibility by paying attention to all three of those areas as you educate your staff and leaders.

Note that healthcare respondents in our 2020 COVID-19 survey recognized communication as the top strength, with similar kudos to online options and flexibility of training and development.

Key Takeaway

Your staff and leaders should be prepared with accessible and adaptable learning tools so you can switch directions more easily when unforeseen demands occur.

Clearly, excellent clinical skills and change management training aren’t enough to deal with the varied challenges that healthcare teams have had to balance amid the pandemic. Some of the urgent needs were hard to predict, yet other concerns aren’t new.

The desire for flexible learning options didn’t suddenly appear in 2020, but the need became more urgent as COVID-19 brought with it scores of restrictions and unexpected demands.

For example, providers in behavioral health and community health had to quickly adapt to providing services using telehealth systems in 2020. As Galindo observes, “Organizations that were able to rapidly implement telehealth and train their providers on best practices were most successful.”

Online learning and adaptable education options allow staff members to align training to their specific schedules, thereby minimizing interference with their core duties.

Furthermore, staff development teams can better predict and adapt to shifting needs when they have data available to analyze trends.

“The pandemic has underlined the need to react quickly and communicate clearly amid waves of organizational change.”— Maria Samot, Senior Vice President, Content Development, Relias

It is critical to ensure that your leaders are prepared to employ top-notch decision-making and effective communication so they can pivot as needed and then be able to explain those directional changes in ways that engage every team member.

“Continuous learning is a must for leaders to stay sharp and stay true to their teams’ purpose,” observes Maria Samot, Senior Vice President of Content Development at Relias.

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