Offering Healthcare Training Can Help Your Company Succeed

Posted by Des Sinkevich on February 2, 2022

As we head into the third year of the pandemic, skilled healthcare workers are more vital than ever. But with long hours, staffing shortages, burnout, and other challenges impacting current employees and the number of prospective new hires, healthcare employers face an uphill battle to attract the workers they need.

Higher hourly pay, hiring bonuses, and other perks can be effective in encouraging applications, but the real challenge is ensuring you retain new hires. One way to do that is to offer training and education opportunities for in-demand careers, allowing workers to develop needed skills and grow within or even outside of your organization.

The worker shortage has impacted every industry, but amid the battle against COVID-19, healthcare organizations have been one of the most affected by the large numbers of healthcare workers leaving their careers for new, less stressful opportunities. The Bureau of Labor Statistics estimated that the healthcare industry has lost at least half a million employees since the start of the pandemic in 2020. Morning Consult, a survey research company, found that around 31% of current healthcare workers are thinking about quitting their jobs.

With so many workers struggling with burnout due to long hours and staffing shortages, finding ways for them to want to stay may be difficult. But by offering education benefits and career training opportunities, research has found that employee retention increases 20-40% for those enrolled versus those who aren’t.

Obviously, research and survey data show that education benefits are a win-win for employers. But what training programs should you offer to encourage your healthcare workers to enroll? Allowing them to prepare for in-demand careers within and beyond your organization could be key.

In 2022, top healthcare roles won’t just be in nursing and hospitals; the need for workers in support roles and administrative jobs like medical assistants and home health aides is predicted to grow by 10.7 million jobs in the next five years. That means there will be a lot of competition to attract and retain employees in the industry. Preparing your workers for new opportunities will be essential to the success of your organization.

As the previous research shows, there will be numerous job opportunities in in-demand healthcare roles that don’t necessarily require earning a four-year degree. In 2022, we predict that these jobs will be the most in-demand:

• Pharmacy technician. As hospital and retail pharmacies are handling higher intakes of prescriptions due to an increase in the elderly population and are also tasked with administering COVID-19 vaccinations, skilled and certified pharmacy technicians will be vital to ensuring success. With pharmacists overwhelmed, pharmacy technicians will take on more responsibility in their roles, including filling prescriptions, working with patients and customers to ensure they receive the correct medication and understand the risks and benefits of each medication, contacting physicians to verify prescriptions, and working with insurance companies. To prepare your workers to handle the various tasks required of a pharmacy technician, offer training and certification through Penn Foster’s flexible, online Pharmacy Technician Professional Program. Healthcare workers can prepare for industry-recognized certifications such as the Pharmacy Technician Certification Exam (PTCE) and the Certification of Pharmacy Technicians (ExCPT).
• Medical billers and coders. Medical billers and coders are essential to the healthcare field, processing insurance claims and organizing, managing, and coding health information data. With the Bureau of Labor Statistics predicting a 9% increase in jobs in the next decade, offering in-depth training to prepare your employees to take on this vital role can help you create an internal talent pool to fill these positions. Penn Foster’s Medical Billing and Coding Training Program prepares learners for the demands and duties of the job, while also covering coursework aligned with the Certified Professional Coder (CPC) exams offered through the American Academy of Professional Coders (AAPC) to help your employees earn certification.
• Medical assistant. With physicians and nurses facing higher demand in services throughout the pandemic, skilled medical assistants will be needed to support doctors in caring for patients. It’s predicted that the need for workers to fill this role will increase 18% over the next decade, making it the perfect time to prepare your employees to take on this role. Learners will cover the essential skills needed to successfully perform their duties while preparing for certification like the Certified Clinical Medical Assistant (CCMA) certification offered by the National Healthcareer Association (NHA) in our online Medical Assistant Program.
• Optician. As people pay more attention to their health, opticians can be expected to be in demand, assisting patients in selecting and fitting eyewear, and other aspects of eye care. You can prepare your employees for a career as an optician – whether you offer those services at your organization or you’re preparing them for a career elsewhere – through Penn Foster’s Optician Training Program. Throughout the program, your workers will build the skills needed to be successful in their role and develop the knowledge to sit for the National Opticianry Competency Examination (NOCE) or the Contact Lens Registry Examination (CLRE).
• Dental assistant. Like opticians, dentist’s offices can expect to see an increase in patients as more and more people realize that preventive healthcare is essential. With an increase in patients, dental assistants will be needed to manage office operations, schedule patient appointments, update patient records, and occasionally assist dental hygienists. Through our online Dental Assistant Training Program, your employees will learn the skills needed to be successful in this role. They’ll also learn important professional skills that can be transferable to other healthcare careers.

Offering education and training in roles that are applicable to your healthcare organization is an obvious strategy to create a talent pipeline and prepare your employees and new hires for the duties they’re expected to perform. But why offer training in careers that could allow your employees to explore careers outside of your organization? Outskilling – training employees for jobs outside your organization – provides several benefits to employers and companies.

Outskilling isn’t a new concept – large corporations like Amazon and McDonalds started outskilling programs years ago – but it’s one that is becoming more recognized as an effective employee benefit as the pandemic has increased worker shortages and the Great Resignation caused many employees to switch careers. Through outskilling, companies may lose employees, but the long-term benefits that an effective employee training program offers will attract new, talented workers to your organization. Outskilling can improve company culture, establish positive employee relationships, and allow your company to stand out when searching for job candidates. It shows that, as a company in any industry, you’re invested in your workforce, which can mean more to potential applicants than salary ranges and other benefits.

Penn Foster’s online training programs allow employers to provide effective training to new hires and current employees, preparing them for certification, employment, and more. To learn more about offering education and training benefits to your employees, reach out to our training experts today!