By Luther Cale
Despite rapid medical advancements, in-hospital resuscitation survival rates have remained the same for nearly 20 years. Even though outdated resuscitation training programs have become increasingly more expensive, there is still a 42% discrepancy in resuscitation survival rates between similar hospitals. It’s unnerving to think that you or someone you know receiving treatment could have very different experiences at two hospitals across the street from each other. There must be a higher standard to ensure that all patients can get quality, complete treatment regardless of where they choose to be treated. How can we as an industry give clinicians the tools that they need to save more lives? The answer to better patient outcomes lies in flexible, higher-quality healthcare education.
The Dominating Digital Environment in a Post-Pandemic World
Like many other industries, the work landscape shifting to a virtual environment during the COVID-19 pandemic demonstrated to us as a society that “virtual” does not have to mean “unengaging.” According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the number of Americans that work from home tripled from 2019 to 2021. The lesson that we as a community learned from the new landscape of conducting business is that there is more than one way to effectively communicate, work and learn. The healthcare industry should follow suit by integrating some of these lessons into healthcare education to meet the learning needs of its clinicians. According to this study, 65% of surveyed nurses would prefer to complete their BLS didactic training online. Leaning into a hybrid learning environment can better service the nursing community while allowing for more time to be spent at the bedside.
Today’s Labor Landscape
According to the 2020 National Nursing Workforce Survey, there are approximately 4.2 million registered nurses and over 325,000 licensed nurse practitioners in the healthcare industry with a median age of 52 years old. Healthcare is a unique field where one workforce can be vastly diverse in terms of age, experience and clinical focus. Within the same group, you can find 22-year-old digital natives who grew up immersed in technology alongside 55-year-olds who are seasoned pros and have had to adapt to an ever-changing technological landscape in healthcare and beyond. In this diverse population of nurses, there are varied learning styles. Some learn better in a classroom setting, while others are better served by digesting and studying information on their own time in an online environment.
Meeting Learners Where They Are
For decades, there has been one primary provider of resuscitation training for healthcare professionals. Nashville-based HealthStream saw an opportunity to provide choice and needed flexibility and technological innovation to market. Seated in the healthcare capital of the world, the company has been driving the healthcare education arena forward for the entire industry. In 2019, HealthStream and the American Red Cross married their education and resuscitation expertise to launch the American Red Cross Resuscitation Suite™. This August, the program officially conferred one million life support certifications across BLS, ALS and PALS, a monumental achievement in propelling the industry toward a better, standardized level of care.
What makes this program special is that it delivers on the diverse and nuanced needs of each individual clinician and each healthcare organization. It was developed to make BLS, ALS and PALS certification more adaptable while still offering high-performance CPR training. This program ensures each learner’s time is well spent and tailored to individual needs. This program can be delivered in an instructorless, blended or fully instructor-led format. Learners also have 24/7 access to training materials so they can work on their certification when convenient to their scheduling. Each aspect was designed to be mobile-first, so healthcare professionals can train whenever and wherever.
The Bottom Line
Comprehensive and higher-quality education is the catalyst for not only better patient outcomes but a healthier bottom line. Massive amounts of resources go into workforce development each year, so healthcare providers want to know that their investment is well spent. We are proud that in 2021, HealthStream customers saved $4.9M by using the American Red Cross BLS training program. The industry is saving money with a better program and preparing healthcare professionals to save more lives. A triple win.
Luther Cale, Vice President of Clinical Programs at HealthStream, has been a leader within HealthStream during its start-up, growth and enterprise phases, and he has served as a leader in multiple roles at HealthStream, including sales, marketing, business development and product management, all focused on top-line and bottom-line growth and performance. In his current role, Luther oversees all aspects of HealthStream’s clinical programs business, which helps to develop the people that deliver the care throughout the U.S. healthcare industry.
