Two Articles on the Upskilling of Healthcare Workers as a Healthcare Issue of Concern

Rimmer (2018) has posited that doctors have to undergo additional training in order to be successful at using emerging healthcare technologies. This particular article addresses doctors as the healthcare workers of concern, but it has been chosen because the very same situation is true for the nurses. This article talks of a report that states that training is needed by doctors in areas such as artificial intelligence algorithms, genomics, and digital literacy. As mentioned above, that is the same treatment that nurse practitioners should also receive. The article goes ahead to stress that training is a must for healthcare staff in order to cope with emerging healthcare technologies. NURS 6053 week 2 Assignment: Analysis of a Pertinent Healthcare Issue Fralic (2013) on her part observes that the American healthcare system is undergoing change that is radical and monumental. She states, correctly, that with change there is need to re-strategise and re-organize to deliver quality healthcare. To do this, upskilling is a must to keep up with healthcare technologies. In other organizations in the healthcare sector, the same situation portends. They, too, are adopting the same approach of retraining to upskill nurses, doctors, and other health workers so that they can cope with the recent technological changes and continue to offer quality and safe patient care. Strategies to Address the Organizational Impact of Upskilling Since the reality of upskilling in healthcare organizations is inevitable, it is essential to develop strategies that aim at addressing the organizational impact of this issue. Three strategies are especially helpful. First, the organization needs to introduce new technologies gradually to allow for adaptation and training. Second, upskilling should be made a policy initiative that features in the organization’s goals. Third and last, upskilling should be properly budgeted for like any other expense if it is to succeed (Fralic, 2013; Rimmer, 2018; Teague, 2019). Under no circumstances should upskilling be considered as an afterthought. These strategies impact my organization positively in that they are geared towards giving the organization a competitive advantage. On the negative side, however, budgeting means that this strategy will consume resources that the organization must set aside. References Fralic, M.F. (2013). Upskilling for new-era healthcare: Lessons from high impact readings. Nurse Leader, 11(4). http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.mnl.2013.05.008 Rimmer, A. (2018). Upskill doctors to make the most of new medical technologies, report says. BMJ, 361(k2861). Doi: 10.1136/bmj.k2861 Ross, J.R. (2019). Upskilling could be an ideal treatment for healthcare’s employment woes. Retrieved 4 March 2020 from https://www.cardiovascularbusiness.com/topics/healthcare-economics/upskilling-could-be-ideal-rx-healthcares-employment-woes Siwicki, B. (2019). Here are 6 major issues facing healthcare in 2019, according to PwC. Healthcare ITNews. Retrieved 4 March 2020 from https://www.healthcareitnews.com/news/here-are-6-major-issues-facing-healthcare-2019-according-pwc Teague, T. (2019). Will healthcare employees need to be upskilled or reskilled as technology advances? Retrieved 4 March 2020 from https://www.whatisbluesky.com/blog/will-healthcare-employees-need-to-be-upskilled-or-reskilled-as-technology-advances