Healthcare Workers

5 Reasons Why Healthcare Workers Should Continue/Resume Education

By Read Dive 3 years ago
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Investing your time and money in continuing education by enrolling in degree programs or taking advanced training courses and certifications is of the utmost importance in the healthcare industry. Not to mention, today’s healthcare market is far more competitive than it ever was a few decades ago. Furthermore, the healthcare industry is undergoing high growth rates in both underdeveloped and developed regions. In fact, the BLS states that the social and healthcare assistance sector will grow around 2.6 percent by 2022, adding five million job opportunities for aspiring healthcare candidates. However, will the individuals leveraging these job openings be the motivated and highly skilled staff that healthcare leaders urgently need?

There is a lack of well-trained and experienced healthcare workers in the healthcare sector worldwide. So, to counter this issue, healthcare leaders need to raise awareness that education doesn’t stop after a graduate degree. After all, as the healthcare world continues to evolve at breakneck speeds and the technologies and treatments of today might not be as effective in the future. With that in mind, let us look at a few reasons why healthcare workers should continue/resume education.

  • The Healthcare Field Is Becoming More Complex And Challenging

The nature of learning in the healthcare sector is becoming more challenging due to the availability of online information and resources. Combined with new emerging knowledge, we have a good reason healthcare professionals should continue/resume their education.

After healthcare professionals enter the clinical setting, they will soon realize that a graduate-level degree might not be enough to help them navigate the healthcare world. For instance, EMTs looking to improve their on-the-job skills and knowledge should consider acquiring EMT continuing education and certifications. Nurses looking to take on leadership must consider enrolling in healthcare administration degrees to improve their organization and management skills. Whatever the case may be, continuing education or life-long learning is vital to succeeding in healthcare.

  • Healthcare Leadership Roles Require Immense Knowledge

There is no shadow of a doubt that continuing educations is a critical aspect of the commitment when it comes to being an effective leader. In fact, according to the Chairman of the American College of Healthcare Executives, Edward Lamb, individuals looking to engage in leadership and professional activities must commit to participating in educational initiatives that allow them to develop people skills and healthcare management competencies.

What’s more, according to an ACHE survey conducted on multiple healthcare CEOs, 81 percent of healthcare leaders undertook continuing education to understand changes in the healthcare world. On the other hand, around 74 percent of CEOs did it to keep themselves up-to-date with the latest healthcare trends, while 60 percent improved their knowledge about new technologies.

  • Continuing Education Is The Solution To Poor Employee Disengagement 

Healthcare professionals’ engagement levels are far lower than the average American workforce, with turnovers that cost billions of dollars per year. For instance, according to a Gallop poll, around one out of four, 24 percent, nursing professionals are experiencing disengagement, compared to about 16 percent of the entire American workforce. So, considering this statistic, reinforcing life-long learning and deploying creative opportunities while motivating staff is of the utmost importance these days.

In the end, nurturing and developing a culture of continuous learning is vital to promoting employee engagement. After all, according to standardized complication and mortality indexes, there is a direct relationship between positive patient outcomes and employee engagement. So, the more educated your healthcare workforce, the higher they’re likely to be more engaged in the workplace.

  • Continuous Learning Is Vital To Career Advancement

Let’s look at our own career progression. The decisions we make directly after graduating from medical school are far different from those we will make after gaining twenty years of experience. That said, to obtain such critical thinking skills and high levels of expertise, it is vital to attend conferences, take advantage of your peers and mentors, volunteer on committees, and most importantly, continue your education.

That said, ask yourself if your manager forced these activities on you or were you willing to participate in them out of your own free will. If you took part in these learning opportunities by yourself, chances are you have a passion for learning while taking your career to the next level. In the end, it is a well-known fact that well-trained, educated healthcare workers are required worldwide, and employers consider them over ones that have only completed a graduate degree.

  • Continuous Learning Will Help You Grow Your Income

Probably the most significant motivating aspect behind healthcare workers seeking out continuous learning, training, and certification is a better salary, of course. And it will be intelligent to think that lifelong learning will allow you to take your income to the sky. In fact, according to the BLS, earning potential is directly proportional to education attainment. So, the more educated you are, the higher your likelihood of making more money from your profession.

In the end, it is a cold, hard fact that being more educated and having excellent skills will make you more employable than others. After all, healthcare organizations aren’t interested in hiring ten individuals to perform different tasks. Instead, they would rather hire one well-rounded individual who can take care of everything for them. So, it would be best if you tried to become that valuable employee, which will allow you to negotiate better pay. However, if you’re self-employed, lifelong learning will also help you improve your income. For instance, learning new skills and techniques ensures that you won’t have to hire someone else to do the job for you.

Hopefully, the five reasons mentioned in this article will help you understand the value of lifelong learning as a healthcare worker. In reality, leveraging education opportunities and obtaining training and certifications is a requirement if you want to remain competitive in today’s demanding healthcare environment. However, instead of only trying to be on the same level as your competitors, prioritize lifelong learning to grow your income and advance your career in the healthcare sector. after all, continuous learning is a vital part of success nowadays.

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