Building a healthcare team with the right diversity of skill sets is an ongoing challenge for healthcare organizations. Various studies show that advances in medicine and technology are reshaping how healthcare jobs are done, specifically jobs where organizations need employees with more specialized skill sets.

The Rising Need for Nurses: 

The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics expects the need for registered nurses alone to grow by 12% over the next 10 years. That need has a lot to do with an aging population which creates more demand within the healthcare system. 

The number of healthcare workers beginning to retire is large in numbers.

Moving forward, these ever-changing needs within healthcare organizations need to have a strong internal team with training strategies for their workers that will attract the best talent and essentially upskill their workforce. 

Invest in Learning Opportunities: 

So, how do these organizations get their teams working at their best? Because the healthcare industry is always changing, having the ability to create a culture of continuous learning to stay current within the field and specialties is imperative. 

Management should support their workers in their pursuit of professional development and ongoing education. Such continuing education can include internal resources for professional development, or opportunities to further their careers through certifications and degree programs. 

Management can do this by looking for external partners that can assist with this process, and will allow employees to develop those specialized skills. Today, these opportunities are so easily attainable thanks to online programs. It gives full-time employees the chance to gain the knowledge to do well. 

Organizations do well when their workers do well. Whether it’s the receptionist, the charge nurse, or physician, encouraging a culture of learning will allow you to become an effective healthcare leader with optimal outcomes. 

Implementation

Being able to spearhead implementation amongst workers with different skills and abilities takes a certain finesse. A successful team consists of a balance between different dynamics.  

Having the ability to recognize the presence or absence of certain skills within a team is crucial. 

Such skills can include decision-making, leadership, conflict management, or the simplicity of being able to communicate with others, whether that be in-person or via email/phone.

With the support of ongoing training and learning advancements, you are positioning growth within the organization that is not only valuable, but it sets the tone for a healthcare team with little turnover. 

Empower Your Team: 

Investing in your employees by checking in on them, making career advancement opportunities, and making sure that management has that internal pipeline for advancement put in place.

To have a team do their best, it’s imperative that healthcare administrators look at the future of their business and create a plan. This will ensure that if an employee with specialized skills were to leave, that knowledge and skillset won’t be missed because your team will have developed the same set of skills needed for the specific positions they work in. 

The long term goal should be identifying who the next healthcare leaders should be and how they can invest in, not only their careers but the careers of their staff, and the overall success of their organization.