E-learning in Healthcare

According to a recent World Health Organization report, the world needs 7.2 million more health care professionals to ensure adequate global health. In order to make up this shortfall, millions of new health care professionals need to be trained. The use of new technologies to make this training more cost-effective while ensuring its quality, is being touted by a growing number of senior medical educators. Here are the benefits of E-learning in healthcare.

      1.      Less Expensive Than Traditional Training Methods

The costs for traditional training methods are really expensive. The trainer must be paid, and learning materials and the location where the training takes place can end up costing healthcare facilities thousands and thousands of dollars. Not to mention the lack of productivity that occurs when professionals must spend a day or more away from patient care. eLearning is much less expensive because there’s no need to pay a trainer. Learning materials are already possessed by users with a desktop, laptop, tablet, or smartphone. There is no need to reserve a training center, and professionals can learn whenever they are not caring for patients. This means that they end up keeping their productivity up, while getting the important education they need to provide quality care to their patients.

      2.      Conducive To All Types Of Learners

Some people are visual learners, while others learn best by reading or listening. eLearning systems include videos, images, audio files, and text to present information. This can be a great help to users who don’t learn well in classrooms because of the limiting nature of lectures with few images and videos. In addition, some learners need to take breaks often to absorb all the information or they need to learn at a slower pace than others. With eLearning, users can take their time learning the information. They don’t have to feel rushed and they also don’t have to wait for others when they are ready to move on to the next module. This can be a great help to the healthcare industry because learners need to be positive that they are absorbing the information provided in training. If not, they increase the risk of not properly caring for patients because of the lack of accurate information.

      

      3.      Can Happen Anywhere

One of the reasons many healthcare professionals do not receive the continued education they need is because of the accessibility of it. After working all day, and for some all night, it can make it impossible to attend classes. Not to mention the problems with unpredictable schedule. With eLearning, healthcare professionals can study in the office, at home, or even on the train. eLearning is mobile, which means it can be accessed with a laptop, tablet, or a smartphone as long as the user has the proper internet connection. You can review the course materials anytime you need them, even print them out, and progress through the course wherever and whenever.

      4.      Flexibility

One of the major benefits is the flexibility e-learning offers. This can help ensure learning is more accessible and is not overlooked. There are also benefits when it comes to managing compliance and continual professional development, both from an individual and organisational perspective. There can also be budgetary and time saving benefits for the organisation. E-learning can be cost effective, time efficient and a flexible way to access training. In a sector like the health sector where people can be quickly pulled away it is something you can dip out of and go back to – you aren’t locked into a classroom.

As you can see, eLearning is a valuable option when it comes to continued education for healthcare professionals. As you’re thinking of how to best help your workers, consider an eLearning system. Once it is set up, it’s the best way to keep your medical staff educated, knowledgeable, and skilled to provide the best quality care to patients.