Cross-training to overcome staff shortages in healthcare
Where once the candidate pool was plentiful, now it is sparse. Staff shortages in healthcare have become widespread, affecting practices of all sizes and specialties, in rural and urban areas alike. With dwindling candidate pools and growing needs, practices have turned to cross-training to ensure continuous operations.
The good news is cross-training is easier than you may think, especially when the right EHR and practice management (PM) software is involved. An adaptable, user-friendly system can make tasks achievable for a variety of practice staff.
By providing EHR and PM training to staff across different roles and functions, practices can ensure they are prepared to manage larger sets of responsibilities, fill in the gaps where needed, and handle unexpected situations, while empowering staff in healthcare along the way.
The Great Resignation: a turnaround in staffing
The need for medical practice cross-training is pressing.
Healthcare employment plummeted as utilization dropped at the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, according to the Kaiser Family Foundation (KFF). As practices cancelled elective care and implemented social distancing protocols, revenue suffered. More recently, health sector job openings — as with job openings in other industries — have soared above pre-pandemic levels, the KFF analysis found.
By September 2021, healthcare and social assistance job openings had climbed 51.9% higher than prior to the pandemic, according to Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) data cited by KFF.
As jobs have become available, greater numbers of employees are stepping away. At the beginning of the pandemic, fewer workers were quitting their jobs. However, by October 2021, healthcare and social assistance “quit rates” had increased 35% over their pre-pandemic levels, which can be attributed to several factors, including industry burnout.
Dealing with staff shortages in healthcare
With healthcare workers leaving their jobs, cross-training provides a way for practices to continue to operate.
Such training reduces gaps in communication and risks to patient safety. Employees have more flexibility and support. When every staff member has EHR and PM training, the pool of knowledge expands. By contrast, when only a few people know how to operate the EHR or PM system, productivity can suffer.
Here are four quick steps you can follow to initiate medical practice staff training.
1. Gauge employees’ familiarity with the system.
Speak with providers and practice staff to understand the extent to which they interact with the EHR and PM system, how comfortable they feel using it, and what gaps might exist in their knowledge. From these discussions, you can understand areas where they should focus, and you may also become aware of particularly skilled staff members who can help others learn.
2. Tap into EHR and PM training.
Find out what types of EHR and PM training, support, and ongoing guidance your vendor offers. It may be via product- or role-specific modules, or the vendor may offer webinars, user conferences, and other EHR and PM training events. Come up with a plan to involve staff members in EHR and PM education and events.
3. Share resources.
Your EHR vendor may provide how-to articles, updates, and workflow guidance, or maintain a knowledge center with white papers, blogs, and guides. Plan to disseminate educational resources throughout your organization.
4. Customize the learning experience.
In addition to cross-training staff, still another avenue is to provide custom, role-based training. This way, staff members across various roles and functions can gain an in-depth understanding of the EHR and PM requirements of their position and impart that knowledge to others.
Empowering staff in healthcare
Staff shortages in healthcare correlate to some extent with “the great resignation” that has impacted a wide range of industries. Still, there are reasons for resignations particular to healthcare that your practice can take steps to address.
A Feb. 2, 2022, MGMA Stat poll found that 59% of medical practice staff turnover was due to offers of better pay and benefits, while another 21% was caused by burnout. Another 7% retired or left the workforce, while 13% reported other reasons for their departure.
Given the toll of post-pandemic burnout, and the lure of other offers, providing opportunities for medical practice staff training can go a long way to improve the workplace. Cross-training can make employees more flexible, confident, and eager to contribute to a teamwork environment.
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