The following is a guest blog post by Todd Stansfield from The Breakaway Group (A Xerox Company). Check out all of the blog posts in the Breakaway Thinking series.
I didn’t learn to change the oil in my car until I changed it. My father instructed me a dozen times, and I watched him a dozen more, but it wouldn’t resonate until I got my hands dirty. I can count an endless number of other tasks that never stuck with me after reading about them in a textbook or hearing about them in a classroom. Some things I need to learn by doing; and I’m not alone.
Why is changing oil different from learning about the Roman Empire? Even years after taking history in college, I still know the story of Romulus and Remus. I can tell that story with the help of a knowledgeable friend, someone to nudge me along as I weave through a non-linear narrative. But when you’re changing oil, you can’t begin at the end, jump to the start, and then fill in the middle details. It’s a linear task with a clear beginning and end, and the workflow impacts the outcome. Changing the oil in a car isn’t life-or-death, but placing an order in an electronic health record (EHR) does impact the lives of patients.
For decades, healthcare has relied on Instructor-Led Training, or ILT, as its answer to education. More hours in the classroom equals a more informed and prepared workforce. It’s the same model supported by our nation’s education system. This would be fine, except that the learning outcomes are vastly different. Where a history class, for instance, aims to teach learners to know something, a hospital class aims to teach learners to know how to do something. Clinicians enrolled in a three-day training session must emerge with the ability to place a medication order using the EHR—a single task that may require upwards of 30 clicks on the computer.
Because actions in an EHR impact the lives of patients, an education model with hands-on, simulator-based training is better suited for teaching health professionals the proper use of an EHR. Perhaps this need is best described by Charles Fred, Group President of Xerox’s Healthcare Provider Solutions division. Mr. Fred is the founder and former CEO of The Breakaway Group, a company providing simulation based training to prominent healthcare organizations across the United States and internationally.
“Consider the value of teaching caregivers to use EHRs through role-based simulators,” he wrote in an article for the American Society of Training and Development. “Simulation provides an opportunity to practice in a real-life environment without real-life risks and consequences. Caregivers learn inside their actual EHR application, which is critical for learning workflow and gaining new knowledge about the system. They only learn tasks that are applicable to their role.” (Source: Fred, Charles. “Driving the Transition to Electronic Health Records.” Training + Development. American Society for Training & Development. Alexandria: 2012, Print.)
Simulation-based education solves many of ILT’s …read more
