Ongoing learning and development (L&D) is essential for healthcare employees. The industry is evolving fast; regulations are constantly changing, new technology is being requested by patients, and healthcare organizations are facing new threats like cyberattacks.
While keeping healthcare staff stay up-to-date through continuous learning is critical, finding time for that learning isn’t so easy. The healthcare staffing shortage means that many organizations are operating with fewer staff members, and those staffers report being overworked and stressed.
Even without a staffing shortage, it’s hard to find time to train. Healthcare workers are focused on patient care, handle health crises regularly, and may not have the time for a long training module, or even a medium-sized one.
Microlearning and just-in-time learning are two approaches to learning that make the most of busy learners’ time, delivering bite-sized chunks of information when they need it. Keep reading for examples of how microlearning can be used in a healthcare setting.
But first: what is microlearning?
Microlearning serves content to learners in short, focused, and easily digestible chunks. Microlearning uses videos, quizzes, infographics, and other mediums to deliver learning that is hyper-focused on a single learning objective. Done well, microlearning is an effective way to boost learners’ retention of new information while maximizing their time. Because microlearning gets content to learners fast, it’s an excellent way to deliver just-in-time learning.
Just-in-time learning gets knowledge to a learner exactly when they need it. It’s something we do in our everyday lives all the time. If you need to learn a skill at home, chances are you find videos on TikTok or YouTube that show you how to fix something or make something. Just–in-time learning applies our “Google it” culture to workplace learning, giving learners the power to access training when they need it, and creating a culture of continuous learning.
While microlearning is not appropriate for every topic (complex learning objectives may be more effectively addressed through more traditional forms of learning), short bursts of content can help time-poor healthcare professionals choose when they want to learn.
How might that look? Below are some examples of how microlearning might be used in a healthcare organization.
Use cases for microlearning in healthcare
When new technology is introduced
Patients are used to a certain level of customer experience. They can make reservations online, for example, or use chatbots to ask simple questions of retailers. They want the same capabilities from their healthcare providers. Although many healthcare organizations have embraced telehealth, other online capabilities,like patient self-scheduling, are new to clinical providers.
Staff members need to learn the features and functionalities of these new tools. Rather than overwhelming staff with a long learning module, microlearning can deliver learning through brief, targeted modules or interactive tutorials that employees can access right before they start using a new system, and even while they’re using it. A secure AI-powered learning assistant could also help busy healthcare professionals by giving them the opportunity to ask for a quick summary of their module, to solve a problem or take a new action on the job. Features like these ensure that staff have the most relevant information at their fingertips when they need to use new systems, and may act as a refresher if they can’t remember how to use a new tool.
During a crisis
While your organization likely has a disaster response plan, protocols often change during a crisis. For example, during a disease outbreak, healthcare workers need immediate updates on new infection control protocols. Additionally, staff may need refreshers on existing disaster response protocols.
Just-in-time training can be provided through online courses, mobile apps, AI-powered chatbots, or on-the-spot briefings that equip staff with the knowledge and skills to handle the emergency effectively. This can include training on the use of personal protective equipment (PPE), and patient triage.
When regulations change
Regulations are constantly being updated. To remain in compliance, healthcare groups need to ensure that all affected employees know about any changes as soon as possible. L&D can use just-in-time training to quickly push out content about updates or new regulations to learners.
Microlearning modules can also help healthcare organizations understand which staff have seen, passed, and completed the required training; using analytics, L&D teams can view completion rates and assessment scores for modules on new regulations, and identify which staff have not completed their assigned learning.
Train healthcare workers without overwhelming them
Healthcare workers don’t get much downtime, and it’s been worse in the last few years.
A recent ATD survey of healthcare professionals found that 75% of respondents have been at least moderately affected by the healthcare staffing shortage, but the real strain has been on the workers themselves. In 2022, 266,900 healthcare workers said they were working overtime. The study characterized those workers as “past the point of exhaustion” and indicated that many nurses were burned out and considering leaving healthcare altogether.
Healthcare workers don’t need more piled on their plate, but learning is critical to maintaining high quality patient care. Litmos’ Chief Learning Officer advises L&D teams to make learning easy for employees by ensuring that their training materials are easy to find, responsive, accessible, personalized and easy to digest. Making microlearning modules widely available can be a great way to start, helping learners get the training they need without asking them to find more time in their already-busy days.