Healthcare Education: 6 Ways to Keep the Modern Learner Engaged

Healthcare is a constantly evolving field, and healthcare professionals must keep up with new advancements and technologies to provide the best possible care for their patients. Education and training are critical components of this process, as they provide healthcare professionals with the knowledge and skills necessary to keep up with the changes in the field. In this article, we explore six key ways in which you can evolve with medical training in a way that keeps your learners engaged throughout the entire process. Every learner is different and requires slightly different training methods in order to get the most out of their learning, but following these six principles will give you a starting point for keeping your learners engaged with your healthcare training.

1. Mobile Devices

The use of mobile devices is an innovation in in healthcare training (and any sort of training in general) that has taken off in recent years. Trainers and learners can both benefit from delivering and accessing training material whenever they need it, which is much easier with mobile devices. With mobile devices, training materials can be accessed pretty much whenever and wherever, providing greater flexibility in training schedules.

Mobile devices can also facilitate collaborative learning and communication between trainers and learners. For example, trainers can use mobile devices to send out notifications and updates, while learners can use them to communicate with trainers and peers, access resources, and participate in discussions. With numerous applications developed for the sole purpose of healthcare training, adopting this advancement is almost a necessity when it comes to learner engagement due to the convenience and ease of use, as well as the fact that people nowadays are almost always on some sort of mobile device throughout the day.

2. Blended Learning

Another innovative approach to healthcare education is blended learning, which combines face-to-face learning with digital technology. Blended learning can include a variety of methods such as e-modules, workshops, conference calls, and chat rooms. This approach offers flexibility to learners and trainers, allowing them to balance traditional classroom learning with digital learning tools. This ties in closely with mobile devices, as e-modules, conference calls and other methods are all accessible on mobile devices, meaning they can be accessed anywhere, at any time.

3. Personalised Learning

Although personalised learning has been used in training for a while now, it is still a vital component to keeping learners engaged with your training. Especially in healthcare, where it is vital that learners fully grasp each stage of their learning before moving onto real-life scenarios. Catering to learners’ specific needs is a crucial part of delivering effective training. Personalized learning involves adapting training materials to different learning styles, ensuring that all learners stay on track. For example, some learners may respond better to visual, hands-on learning, while others may respond better to text-based learning. Again, this links closely with mobile devices, as some learners may respond better to that type of learning, whilst others may prefer conventional, text-based learning materials. Finding the right balance is important in keeping all learners engaged rather than just some learners.

4. Quality Content

Accredited courses are an example of quality content that learners can work towards, providing more value to their learning than standard training modules that don’t work towards a qualification. Accredited courses can help healthcare professionals develop specialised skills and knowledge in specific areas of healthcare.

5. Micro-Modules

Providing medical training in bite-size pieces can gradually build up learners’ knowledge over time, rather than overloading them with information in big chunks, which can make retaining information harder and potentially cause a lack of engagement. Micro-modules can help learners absorb information more easily and retain it for longer periods, resulting in better learning outcomes.

6. Medical Simulation

Introducing medical simulation devices into healthcare training not only shows learners that their trainer/medical school are innovative but also that they provide the best possible hands-on learning experience. Practicing on medical simulation devices allows learners to perform procedures on the closest things to a human body. Medical simulation is a great way to engage learners as it takes hands-on learning to a new, realistic level that gives learners an experience of what a real situation would be like. Simulation devices can be used to train healthcare professionals in a range of procedures, from basic to complex, and can be used to train healthcare professionals across different specialties.

Medical simulation comes in many different shapes and sizes. For example, simulation manikins offer a level of realism that other training devices don’t have, which is very useful for learner engagement as they are able to train with something that is as close to the real thing as possible. Simulation devices that give feedback are also great for engagement, as they give learners instant feedback on what they are doing correctly, allowing them to correct what they did wrong and implement it correctly straight away. Not only are medical simulation products great for engagement, they also give learners a higher level of confidence as they are able to develop their skills with something that is as close to a real situation as possible.

If you have any questions regarding medical simulation as a whole and how it could help your medical training, feel free to get in touch with us here at Simulaids. We’ve been providing expert advice to healthcare professionals for over 20 years as well as supplying simulation aids for healthcare education.

In conclusion, healthcare education is critical to the success of healthcare professionals, and it is essential to use innovative approaches such as medical simulation, mobile devices, blended learning, personalised learning, quality content, and micro-modules to provide the best possible training. The use of these tools and approaches can help healthcare professionals gain the knowledge and skills necessary to provide the best possible care for their patients.