Why learning and development is a must for healthcare workers

When it comes to the training and management of staff, it might seem like once you’ve completed a course, trained in a specific subject or finished a qualification, your development is at an end.

But in the field of healthcare, training doesn’t end when the course is finished.

Completing a course can provide healthcare staff with a foundation of knowledge and skills needed for their job, helping them to provide better care for their patients. It can also serve as a stepping stone towards more advanced training and development opportunities. However, it is continual learning that turns healthcare staff from good at their jobs to great at what they do. This is why at Caring for Care, we emphasize the importance of ongoing training and development.

Here are just a few reasons why training is a must for staff in health and social care positions.

Improving confidence with training skills

Many staff entering the healthcare sector are new to the industry or even new to work in general. As a result, recruits to care-providing facilities can often take a while to find their feet. This can hinder their ability to develop all the skills needed to be successful in their role.

While on-the-job training is invaluable for learning the technical skills involved in a role, the addition of more formal training and ongoing learning, from peg feeding training to other clinical training of techniques, also has great benefits.

Greater understanding or even mastery of a topic or form of care can provide something invaluable to care providers. The support of employers to expand that knowledge is equally important:

confidence.

Your staff having the pride and ability to complete any task to a good standard can make your facility better. It also encourages them to strive further and do more.

This benefits both your in-team morale and the quality of help those under your care can receive. It promotes a positive working environment in which education and knowledge are valued.

Having staff that take pride in their work is essential for any healthcare facility. This ensures that patients receive the highest level of support and care.

This confidence can improve your staff’s eagerness to learn and to improve their skills. It can also motivate them to engage in self-improvement and learning as part of their job beyond attending training courses and workshops. Such a culture of continuous learning can foster a supportive and effective workplace environment.

Offering great training can open doors to many other areas of healthcare for employees. This allows them to even specialise in what they are most passionate about or good at.

Save money with better staff retention

Investing in the continued learning and development of your staff can lead to happy staff. This can benefit you by promoting and rewarding existing staff members within the company instead of searching externally. It also encourages healthcare staff to stay around for longer.

The cost of running a healthcare facility is significantly influenced by the high turnover of staff. However, investing in training and development programs for your existing employees can be an effective way to address this issue. By enhancing their skills and knowledge, you can improve staff retention rates and reduce recruitment costs.

Investing in your staff translates to better functionality of your facility, higher team morale, and more efficient job completion.

If all of these are positive results, it’s likely you’re in an environment that your staff want to be in every working day.

Encouraging employees to work towards promotion within the organization rather than externally saves the costs of external hiring. Good management and support play a significant role in fostering such encouragement.

Training and developing existing staff can help you shape them according to your specific requirements. You can train your staff to achieve high levels of medicine competency and teach them skills in particular forms of care. Additionally, you can help them understand every process needed for effective patient care. This approach can be more cost-effective than hiring new employees at a higher level.

Having to not deal with the awkward period of training a new hire can save time and resources that can be better used for other tasks. This is another benefit of investing in the training and development of existing staff.

Our CHAPs (Care Home Assistant Practitioner) training program is designed to provide senior staff in your care facility with both clinical and management skills. This program is tailored to cover many aspects of a registered nursing course and can help your team provide the highest quality of care to your residents.

Develop positive attitudes towards the workplace

Training and development of healthcare staff, from clinical training to complex care training, further fosters the impression that you’re doing the best for the people that work for you, and in the process making their working life easier and more effective with more impactful results.

Training can focus on allowing employees to gain the required skills for their job, leaving them feeling more prepared for any situation or scenario.

This attitude promotes a positive and healthy workplace, with capable staff that feel supported and managed well.

Utilising training can involve your staff in the work you do, especially for younger or newer employees. This ensures they can fit in better and do their job well by immersing them in your culture and values from the start. It also prevents the doubts that many people new to healthcare experience when they’re thrown in at the deep end.

A prepared workforce is a positive one that can handle anything you throw at them.

For many people a job is simply a job – and that’s fine.

If you can foster a culture where coming in to work is never a bad experience, you’ll soon see an improvement in the morale of your staff. Additionally, their learning capacity will also increase.

In a positive environment, the focus on the future can be far greater, including new training courses and management.

Staff who are offered courses to manage their daily roles and improve their skills feel more supported and valuable to their employers. This encourages an attitude of learning and development in the workplace, seen as a positive thing.

Great courses for low budgets

At Caring for Care, we understand the importance of providing effective training to employees. This is essential for creating a supportive, experienced, and skilled workplace. However, we also understand the fast-paced world and budgetary restraints of the average healthcare facility. That’s why our courses provide the best of both worlds, with great, practical course content at an affordable price. Contact us today to find out what we can provide to help your healthcare facility learn and develop.