Upskilling for Healthcare
Many famous people give this advice from Ralph Waldo Emerson to Martha Stewart to Henry Ford, in numerous commencement speeches, and at many universities throughout the years. Now we have a new term for this advice which is “Upskilling.” Upskilling is primarily intended for professional development, not personal development, however, we know for healthcare workers it is important to develop both areas. The concept of Upskilling encourages personal responsibility for one’s professional learning and training. Upskilling means to keep striving for the next big thing by constantly training and learning a new skill that can be utilized to advance in your career or your profession. Upskilling means building on what you know today so you can learn and build on something new tomorrow. Then repeat 365 days a year.
Upskilling is NOT correcting a skills gap. Skills gaps are when a job candidate does not have the skills to fulfill the job requirements. For example, hiring a graduate nurse into an ICU position. There is a definite skills gap that must be filled by ICU internships and/or ICU academies before allowing the most unskilled nurses to care for the sickest patients. Those training programs can be a launching pad for Upskilling, but it is not Upskilling. Upskilling is used to augment the knowledge, skills, and competencies that will help the employee advance their career.
Upskilling would be taking those nurses after they have completed their internship and building on those skills. Upskilling in nursing could look like becoming proficient in utilizing a specific form of equipment (ECMO or Balloon Pump for example) where you utilize the skills learned in the internship and then build upon them. Becoming certified in a specialty would also be a form of upskilling and building on that foundation.
Upskilling, however, is not done, however without forethought and goals. Healthcare workers should meet with their supervisors regularly to discuss goals and ways to meet those goals. Those goals should be S.M.A.R.T. goals (Specific, Measurable, Attainable, Relevant, and Time-Based). The goals must be evaluated and discussed regularly, but most importantly; those goals need to be employee-directed. Oftentimes, however, employees do not know what is needed or what skills or competencies are available to them and therefore need direction in goal setting. The goals must be able to meet the employee’s needs, not just the institution’s needs. Research shows that healthcare workers are more likely to stay with an organization when they have goals to reach that are goals to benefit the employee not just the institution. Supervisors need to be able to evaluate each employee and assist that employee in an honest evaluation of his strengths and weaknesses and help direct the employee to resources that will enhance the strengths and improve their weaknesses. In addition, the institution must be willing to provide those resources to empower its employees to develop their careers by reaching those goals.
What does Upskilling look like in healthcare? It involves a dedicated institution that is willing to pay for the education needed to be successful in meeting the employee’s and the institution’s goals. This includes routine continuing education that must be done on quality metrics, staff meetings, etc., but also employee-specific education. Access to a multitude of education opportunities that will help the employee meet their career goals. Institutions must be responsive to the needs of the employees and be willing to adapt and implement new upskilling opportunities when they arise.
This may include a multitude of things such as:
Employee assistance for
Personal mental health
Family counseling
Financial counseling
Debriefing following stressful work or home situations
Tuition Reimbursement for degree completions:
LVN/PN to RN
RN to BSN
BSN to MSN
MSN to DNP, Nurse Practitioner, or Ph.D.
Equal type reimbursements for non-nursing employees
Certification test education classes
In-house classes to prepare for exams
On-line classes to prepare for exams
Sending staff for specific certification education
Certification test reimbursement and
Recertification Reimbursement
Vendors being brought to the institution for in-services/ updates on equipment
Providing access to skills labs to practice new skills in virtual situations
Providing education on leadership and social skills
Providing paid time to complete any of the above education requirements- this time should be included in their weekly requirements and not in addition to the time they must work on the floor.
Access to evidence-based practice databases (UpToDate, CINAHL, Cochrane)
Providing unlimited access to continuing education like that provided by Health.edu
All of these Upskilling costs may seem exorbitant until you look at replacing employees. It is estimated that the cost of recruiting, replacing, and orienting a newly hired registered nurse costs an institution approximately $80,000. When you compare the cost of upskilling to the cost of losing an employee, the cost of upskilling is minute. Employees leave places of employment where they do not feel valued. Employees are 2.8 times likelier to be engaged when they have had conversations with their managers and those conversations discuss and meet the employee’s needs. In this sense, Upskilling is a win-win situation. Employees will stay where they have been invested in, and the institution wins by having highly effective, engaged employees who are valued and value their work environment. Yes, it is a risk that the employee will leave after you have provided this wealth of education, but they would probably leave anyway so in the meantime, you have happy, well-educated staff. Creating a culture of Upskilling is worth that risk.