HealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsThe leadership development program from HealthStream helps mold your high-potential healthcare employees into proven leaders.
View All ProductsFulfill compliance requirements with a variety of programs and courseware designed to address critical regulatory requirements as well as educate staff to recognize and mitigate risks.
View All ProductsBy increasing your healthcare staff's focus on quality and safety with HealthStream, they can help to reduce medical errors and readmission rates.
View All ProductsLearn about what HealthStream's healthcare policy management software and how it can help aid your organization efforts.
View All ProductsHealthStream's education helps address diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization, as well as promoting health equity in the communities you serve.
View All ProductsDeliver custom or industry designed product training directly to patient and resident care environments to reinforce proper use.
View All ProductsTeach your healthcare staff about the revenue cycle and claim management through targeted training and video tools from HealthStream.
View All ProductsNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsHealthStream's EMS Program offers a comprehensive, CAPCE accredited EMS course library that meets National Registry annual recertification.
View All ProductsMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream's solutions allow your healthcare workforce to be confident and competent with the knowledge they are upholding the highest of standards.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsHealthcare scheduling software designed to optimize staffing requirements & elevate patient care
View All ProductsPrecisely align staffing and needed resources to enable efficient patient flow and high-quality, cost-effective patient care.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s free nurse schedule app, NurseGrid™, is built to help you care for your staff and engage with their specific needs.
View All ProductsMitigate risk and elevate your quality of care. Improving both clinical and business outcomes starts with a smarter, more integrated approach to regulatory training, continuing education and quality management.
Learn MoreNursing was already a profession that faced engagement and satisfaction challenges—then came COVID-19. It’s no surprise that the pandemic has served to exacerbate problems that already existed among clinicians. In 2019, Medscape surveyed 5,600 RNs and nurse managers about their career satisfaction. 21% of those who responded were dissatisfied with their careers. As many as a quarter wanted to pursue a new path within nursing, and 18% planned to retire earlier than expected. Nearly 10% indicated they wanted to leave the nursing profession altogether and to pursue other employment.
A Challenged Workforce
Those were the conditions before COVID-19 became a problem. The pandemic has had an even bigger impact on the working nurse population, in terms of early retirements, furloughs, stress, burnout, and even the virus itself. Dealing with the pandemic already occupies a significant cognitive space for many nurses, whether in terms of the demands of COVID-19 care or the mental burden and stress generated by the pandemic. Especially now, providing too much education can be overwhelming for many clinicians. In addition, think about how the pandemic has changed nursing. Primary nursing was the rule in many organizations, but team nursing is more applicable for many COVID patients. In addition, social distancing and the use of personal protective equipment (PPE) has affected peer support, which is crucial for nursing morale.
Nursing Has Changed to Deal with COVID-19
In terms of care, nurses are spending less time with patients—there are more demands on their time as well as the need to limit nurses’ exposure to infected patients. At the same time, many patients are alone, without family members or a significant other, giving the nurse a much more important role for every patient. Without visitors, patients are lonely, and nurses are filling in the blanks. This situation puts the mental health and resilience of nurses even more at risk. Although healthcare organizations and larger groups are making mental health resources available, many are still not being used adequately.
Training Is More Important Than Ever
There also is a widening gap between nurses with less experience and patient whose conditions are far more complex. To close this gap, organizations need to teach novice nurses more effectively, change onboarding, and transition them to competency more quickly. Likewise, healthcare organizations have to retrain and redistribute experienced nurses across the organization so to where they're needed. New nurses hired during the pandemic have missed clinical rotations, lost some of their didactic education, as well as their peer groups, which are a large source of support. They haven't had time to learn new clinical skills, develop critical thinking, practice prioritization, and work on interpersonal communication.
An important question for healthcare organizations to answer is what is important now. If cognitive space is limited, learning cannot be just a matter of crossing off an assignment. Education must be purposeful, functional, and help nurses provide better care. Educators should determine what can be put on hold for the moment and focus on what is truly essential. Once that is understood, the best practices below should be applied to training, whether virtual in person, virtual e-learning, or live instructor led.
Best Practices for Virtual Live Training
Best Practices for Virtual e-Learning
Best Practices for Instructor-Led Training
Anything that's going on with training simultaneous to the COVID-19 pandemic means that we're learning as we go. What's valid today may not be valid months from now, and certainly not next year. An appropriate question and an appropriate response to training is mainly to do what's important for treating patients now. Be conscious of not overloading trainees with too much information given the cognitive overload that characterizes these times. Make sure learners understand why any training is important and connect it back to what's in it for them and how it can improve outcomes for patients.
This blog post is based on the HealthStream Webinar, Healthcare Trends and Best Practices for Learning During a Pandemic, presented by Julie Miller, Clinical Practice Specialist, American Association of Critical Care Nurses (AACN).
Online Leadership Education for Healthcare
HealthStream partners with top nursing associations like AACN to offer evidence-based, clinical development courses for preceptors, clinical staff, and nurse managers. Our solution offerings from AACN include:
The Preceptor Challenge: In this innovative course, new preceptors interact with virtual preceptees, allowing them to learn in a safe environment and increasing their confidence level.
Fundamental Skills for Nurse Managers (FSNM): This online introductory course is designed for nurses who are new to their leadership role, a leadership advancement opportunity or for those who need to refresh their managerial skills.
Essentials of Critical Care Orientation (ECCO) - An interactive, case-based course designed to orient nurses on critical care basics, offering two learner paths: Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Progressive Care Unit (PCU) tracks. This course is designed as a comprehensive didactic learning experience for any nurse working with acutely or critically ill patients. The modules cover the diagnostic tools, diseases and disorders, and patient management principles common in the critical care environment.
Essentials of ECG and Dysrhythmia Monitoring - This program is ideal for nurses working in critical care, progressive care of any other area where ECG monitoring is provided by equipping clinicians to identify cardiac rhythm changes, determine patient needs, and respond quickly.
HealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All Learning & PerformanceHealthStream offers performance learning management solutions to help develop your healthcare staff into leaders and reduce turnover.
View All ProductsHealthStream works with healthcare organizations to create engaging and high-quality training videos for your staff and management.
View All ProductsImprove care quality and save money by making informed decisions about your healthcare facility and staff with HealthStream's reporting analytics solution.
View All ProductsHealthStream's proven methods for the improvement and overall engagement of your healthcare staff foster a positive workplace and increase retention rates.
View All ProductsThe leadership development program from HealthStream helps mold your high-potential healthcare employees into proven leaders.
View All ProductsWhen you enact HealthStream's quality compliance solutions, you can do so with the confidence your healthcare organization will meet all standards of care.
View All Quality & ComplianceFulfill compliance requirements with a variety of programs and courseware designed to address critical regulatory requirements as well as educate staff to recognize and mitigate risks.
View All ProductsBy increasing your healthcare staff's focus on quality and safety with HealthStream, they can help to reduce medical errors and readmission rates.
View All ProductsLearn about what HealthStream's healthcare policy management software and how it can help aid your organization efforts.
View All ProductsHealthStream's education helps address diversity, equity, and inclusion within your organization, as well as promoting health equity in the communities you serve.
View All ProductsHealthStream offers professional training and education on how to best optimize your reimbursement process within your healthcare organization.
View All ReimbursementTeach your healthcare staff about the revenue cycle and claim management through targeted training and video tools from HealthStream.
View All ProductsImprove the preparedness of your staff, increase survival rates, and cut costs with the advanced resuscitation training services from HealthStream.
View All ResuscitationNurture the skills of your nurses and medical staff to help mold them into effective leaders with development training from HealthStream.
View All ProductsIn all areas of resuscitation, from neonatal to elderly care, clinical deterioration is a risk that can be avoided with the help of HealthStream's training programs.
View All ProductsHealthStream's EMS Program offers a comprehensive, CAPCE accredited EMS course library that meets National Registry annual recertification.
View All ProductsExpand the decision-making skills and effectiveness of your healthcare workforce with HealthStream's clinical development programs and services.
View All Clinical DevelopmentMake sure your clinicians have the support they need to provide competent care with clinical competency training and development from HealthStream.
View All ProductsThe suite of healthcare onboarding solutions available from HealthStream aids in nurse retention and improved patient outcomes.
View All ProductsGive your healthcare staff the decision support and skills training they need with the online products available from HealthStream.
View All ProductsHealthStream's solutions allow your healthcare workforce to be confident and competent with the knowledge they are upholding the highest of standards.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s learning management system and comprehensive suite of competency management tools empower your healthcare workforce to deliver the best patient care.
View All ProductsDelivers everything you need to request, gather, and validate information about a provider to create a single source of truth for downstream processes.
View All CredentialingMake sure your healthcare staff can schedule out appointments and work schedules with ease using HealthStream's line of software solutions.
View All Scheduling & Capacity ManagementHealthcare scheduling software designed to optimize staffing requirements & elevate patient care
View All ProductsPrecisely align staffing and needed resources to enable efficient patient flow and high-quality, cost-effective patient care.
View All ProductsHealthStream’s free nurse schedule app, NurseGrid™, is built to help you care for your staff and engage with their specific needs.
View All Products