As Chief Nursing Officer (CNO), you may be responsible for selecting upskilling and reskilling courses for your staff. The question you need to ask is whether you’re choosing a training partner that may be able to provide your organization with the benefits associated with these types of programs — increased innovation, greater retention, reduced hiring costs, and stronger branding1 — or if they’re falling short.
At Nasium Training, we believe that results matter. Healthcare employee training programs may support CNOs in closing skill gaps and inspiring staff to achieve higher levels of performance, while also taking into account individual team members’ learning styles, scheduling, and educational needs. So, we’ve compiled a list of features to consider when choosing an upskilling and reskilling training partner.
Just as no two healthcare facilities are the same, healthcare upskilling and reskilling training solutions differ, too. How do you know which training provider could be right for you? Here are six features to look for.
CMS’s quality strategy prioritizes patient safety and high-quality outcomes.2 It also indicates that collaboration is essential to advancing these priorities, naming patient and provider engagement as an area of focus. Upskilling and reskilling programs that promote a patient-centric approach can help support this initiative and its desired impacts.
Gone are the days when you have no option but to purchase a one-size-fits-all solution that fails to address the challenges (or strengths) unique to your facility and/or team. Choose a provider that offers the ability to tailor training solutions to your goals, obstacles, and skills gaps, providing access to only the components you need.
Another factor to consider when evaluating a healthcare upskilling and reskilling training provider is their delivery model. Courses with online components can help make training programs more convenient to attend, regardless of the team member’s schedule. It can also help reduce stress from commuting to and from a traditional campus-based in-person learning, which can add to their already long list of obligations at work and home.
Helpful Tip: One question to ask a potential training partner is whether programs are offered in person, online, or a combination of both.
CNOs should also consider how much time it will take team members to complete training programs. Lengthy programs may be less desirable to nursing staff, and if you want to support staffing needs and fill open positions, a shorter training period could help you meet this goal. In either case, you may want to look for upskilling and reskilling programs that might be completed in shorter timeframes depending on the program and organization needs. Also, consider whether employees can participate in some or all of their training during work hours. This may help relieve time commitment issues.
Providing learners with access to a training partner that offers personalized feedback can help them identify areas for improvement and areas of strength, both of which support the learning process. When this training partner also keeps your organization updated about learners’ progress, it may support alignment across teams working toward shared goals: raising the bar in healthcare excellence.
Training solutions are often evaluated based on potential return on investment (ROI) for your healthcare organization. Factors to consider when determining training-based ROI may include:
Selecting the right training partner can help you create an effective process for upskilling and reskilling team members. There are also a few additional actions you can take to help make these training courses a success.
Healthcare workers must stay updated on the latest advancements in the healthcare field, which can involve learning how to effectively apply or utilize new processes, procedures, and technology. Creating a continuous learning culture can help your organization and team stay in pace with, or even ahead of, these advances.
In some cases, the quickest way to fill an open slot may be to prepare an employee in a different position to fill that role. Reskilling can help create cross-functional teams, where multiskilled workers are able to help fill vacancies in other open roles at a moment’s notice.
Helpful Tip: Identify positions within your team that are facing worker shortages but could potentially be filled through reskilling efforts. If you’re unsure, your training partner can help determine which cross-training programs could potentially provide the greatest benefit based on your situation and needs.
Talk with your staff and ask what they want to achieve in their healthcare careers. Consider offering them access to training for higher-level positions they’re interested in. This enables your team members to follow the career path they desire while potentially inspiring loyalty to your organization.
Nasium Training specializes in upskilling, reskilling, and cross-skilling courses for healthcare professionals in both clinical and non-clinical roles. Our programs can be tailored to meet your organization’s training needs and goals.
We’re also a member of the Vocate Education Solutions (Vocate) system. Together, the Vocate system of organizations brings more than 130 years of combined expertise across education, career development, and continuing medical education. This collective experience strengthens Nasium Training’s ability to support employers with impactful, flexible training solutions built to meet today’s workforce needs and prepare teams for what’s next.
It can be hard enough to be a CNO. Let us help you reduce some of the stress by creating training programs designed to resolve some of your most significant staffing challenges. Contact us to discuss your options.
What is upskilling and reskilling? Upskilling refers to training that helps workers build or develop skills for their current role. Reskilling involves training workers for a new role.
Why are upskilling and reskilling important? Upskilling can help workers learn how to become efficient and excel in their current roles. Reskilling can provide the skills workers need to pursue new roles, which may be of interest if they want to change career paths or would like to advance in their field.
What is an example of upskilling? If a hospital hired someone for a medical assistant role, but that person had no formal training, the organization could upskill them by providing them with access to a medical assistant training program for healthcare employees.
1 Hastwell, C. Employee Training and Development: the Benefits of Upskilling and Reskilling Your Team. Great Place To Work, The benefits of training and development for organizations. https://www.greatplacetowork.com/resources/blog/employee-training-development-benefits-planning
2 CMS. CMS National Quality Strategy, paras. 1 & 2. https://www.cms.gov/medicare/quality/meaningful-measures-initiative/cms-quality-strategy
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