Contionous Education For Health Proffessionals (Coursework Sample)

Continuous Education for Health Professionals
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Health professionals need to continuously educate themselves. This is important for all Americans’ health. Throughout their careers, health professionals, including nurses and physicians, have to maintain and improve their skills and knowledge to keep up with the ever advancing technology and health informationCITATION Jos08 \l 1033 (Macy, 2008). The provision of effective health care that is of high quality to patients is dependent on continuous education. Continuing education is however in disarray. Multiple problems have been identified over the past decade in both lay and professional reports. The current practice of continuous education is not putting a lot of attention on the improvement of performance of clinicians and patient’s health. Little emphasis is being put on enhancing the performance and competence of health professionals in their daily practice. Although continuous education does not emphasize the importance of internet technology or encourage its usage, clinical questions from health professionals can get answers from it.
Studies show that the key to health care that is of high quality is teamwork, inter-professionals collaboration and improvement of systems CITATION Wor08 \l 1033 (World Health Organization, 2008). Accrediting organizations have however not found ways of aligning continuous education or promotion of teamwork in their efforts to health systems’ quality. The link between commercial interests and continuing education has been growing which another problem that is significant. Investigations on the support continuing education has been getting from pharmaceutical company by the Senate Finance Committee has concluded that the organizations can still give support to the education and still have commercial interests of sponsors. The sponsors can also target their funding for educational programs that are likely to give support to the sales of their products.
The current continuous education systems have not been meeting the needs of health professionals as they are expected. The following problems are evident in the system:
* Continuous education relies a lot on lecturing and the hours spent on learning instead of improving competence, performance and knowledge.
* The clinician’s attention in examining their practices is minimal.
* The scientific study of continuous education has very little high quality.
* The use of internet technology by continuous technology is inadequate, though it can help the clinicians with acquiring new learning skills, getting medical information when conducting patient care and also examine their practice patterns.
* Teamwork, inter-professional collaboration and improvements in systems of care are not promoted by continuous education though they are the key to improving the.
Continuous education has been undermined by health professionals who have been participating in an enterprise that is heavily financed by commercial interests and have been a threat to ethical underpinnings. It has placed tutors who teach continuous education activities in a position that is untenable in being paid by health care products’ manufacturers either directly or indirectly for what they teach. Learners are placed in obligatory position as they are offered gifts and free meals CITATION Cha11 \l 1033 (Charity Commission, 2011). This has led to compromise of judgment on how patients are best cared for. The very fabric of continuing education has become woven by bias either by reality and appearance.
The professions have to right this wrong. The free-market system imposes a responsibility of health professionals to provide care that is of high quality which is based on scientific findings that are valid and safe for their patients while manufacturers have a responsibility to generate profit and gain advantage in the market to shareholders. Potential and perception are always present even if the bias can be avoided. Although clinical management options need assessment that is objective and neutral is what continuing education needs, companies that have invested in producing health care products cannot be expected to be neutral when they assess their products in terms of harms, benefits and cost-effectiveness because they want to gain advantage in the market and have their products prescribed to patients by clinicians CITATION Afr07 \l 1033 (African Union Conference of ministers of health, 2007). Regardless of the impact of profits that the companies are getting, scientific evidence must be the basis of patient care and the content of continuous education should not be determined by commercial interests. Due to the ethical issues brought up, it is required that continuing education does not get financial support from manufacturers and distributors of health care products.
Professional competence is the main responsibility of every health professional. The main unit for accountability is the individual clinician in the delivery of health care. Since patient care is affected by the performance of health systems, continuous education has failed to take into account the systems of care. Healthcare professionals who are in well-functioning teams are increasingly being depended upon by patient care. Learning needs have to be addressed in Continuing education.
Professionals in health have a responsibility of helping one another so that the best possible health care is practiced. Meeting together through professional conferences has provided chances for cross-generational and disciplinary teaching and learning. Learning based on practice and improvement is a promising method aimed at enhancing patient care quality. Certification programs and licensure programs that are maintained are helping continuing education move in this direction.
The performance of individual health professionals is being depended upon on by patient care. Continuing education has to move as soon as possible from relying too much on lecture based formats to putting emphasis on learning that is based on practice. The quality of continuous education has to be assessed. The influence that the manufacturers of health care h...