Healthcare professionals are busy. They often work long hours, have several critical patients to look after and eventually need to eat and sleep. However, with new technologies changing the way medicine is done, many medical professionals feel they need to stay up to date on the latest technology. Keeping up with all of the changes can be difficult and overwhelming. However, putting in the effort to stay up-to-date can help with career advancement and increase confidence on the job. Here are some suggestions on how to stay up to date.
1. Subscribe to a Medical Journal or Magazine
Many medical journals and magazines talk about the advancements being made in the healthcare industry. Subscribing to one or two can help you stay familiar with new terms and ideas and help you decide if there is a particular technology you should learn more about. Glancing through a journal while on a break or before bed won’t take a lot of extra time out of your day and is a low-key way to stay educated.
2. Go to Trainings/Classes Offered by Your Employer
Many hospitals and other medical practices offer classes and trainings on new technology, techniques and procedures. Take advantage of these opportunities as often as you can, and volunteer to participate in situations where you can practice the things that you learned.
3. Get Certification
Some procedures, such as Advanced Cardiac Life Support (ACLS) and Pediatric Advanced Life Support (ACLS) have training and certification available online. Being certified in these areas can help with career advancement and educate you on current guidelines. Some people go as far as obtaining a Master of Science in Health Care Administration. Visit this page to find out about more healthcare degrees and certifications.
4. Talk to the Experts
If there is a particular area you want to learn about, find out who the experts are in that area and go to them for help. Often a professional association or government agency can steer you in the right direction, or you may be able to go to a researcher who helped develop the technology. Some of these associations may offer trainings, an informative website or a newsletter to help you learn about the technology you are interested in.
5. Join a Professional Healthcare Association
If your employer doesn’t hold many trainings or seminars, you may want to consider joining a professional organization that seeks to keep its members informed on the latest technological information. Many of these associations offer newsletters, conferences and trainings to their members, and the association can help you filter what you really need to know from what you don’t.
6. Have a Plan
Without some sort of strategic plan for your education, you may become too overwhelmed with all of the information and give up all together on staying up-to-date. Instead come up with a strategic plan on what areas you need to stay up-to-date on and how you are going to go about it. If your main concern is staying updated on electronic medical records, find a magazine, website or class that you can use once or twice a year to learn any new regulations or processes. If your main concern is technology used in surgeries, focus your time on learning about this technology.
Karen Merrick is a professional blogger that provides information on finding a Maryland transvaginal mesh lawyer. She writes for Blasingame, Burch, Garrard & Ashley, P.C., Maryland mesh complication lawyers as well as many other locations.
