Why is it so important for doctors, nurses, allied healthcare workers and others to look for professional development for health professionals? Haven’t they already spent years reaching the top of their academic game? Do they not undergo a level of training and apprenticeship that is matched by virtually no other profession in the world? Why should they keep it going after all that?
There are actually many good reasons for continuing your professional development as a health professional. Here are just some of them:
Reason 1: Medicine is Not a Static Field
The medical field has undergone unbelievable change in the course of the past century or so. It wasn’t so long ago in human history that we didn’t even have certain things that we now take for granted such as antibiotics. There were times in relatively recent history too where procedures we now understand as “routine” were potentially and often life-threatening, such as caesarean sections, and even appendectomies.
Medicine is constantly evolving, with new equipment, tools, drugs, procedures, and methods being introduced every single year. No doctor in the world is completely versed in all the latest developments, which is why attending PD is an important part of their job, and the same goes for nurses and others in the field.
Reason 2: Medical Practice is a Never-Ending Path of Improvement
Continuing on the theme of evolution, while the medical field is in a constant state of evolution, doctors and nurses too have to work on improving and adapting themselves to changing circumstances.
The hospital environment changes somewhat every time a new piece of technology is introduced and integrated. Patients' needs change as society and its habits do, and good doctors and nurses will train to keep up with those developments so that they can deliver better results to the public.
Reason 3: PD Improves Patient Outcomes
Professional development is a critical part of improving overall patient outcomes. Many PD courses are focused on how to use the latest knowledge and practices to boost results. The courses are built on the back of great amounts of patient feedback, as well as notes from senior professionals in the field who notice most of all when things aren’t being done right.
When the point of anything in the medical field is to boost patient outcomes, it behoves doctors, nurses and other professionals to respond accordingly, and attend with a positive attitude and open mind. It’s when these same practitioners close their mind to such improvements that our whole medical system starts to suffer.
Reason 4: Not All PD is Medical
Next, it’s important to remember that with the adoption of new technology in hospitals, not all training and PD is strictly medical. For instance, the installation of new reporting systems for use by allied health workers, and/or by administration staff, require all in the hospital to have an understanding of how it works. These systems are usually designed to streamline and enhance the work of the hospital, shortening processes and ultimately improving outcomes.
Reason 5: The Public Expects It
It’s critical to remember that as a medical professional, in both private and public health establishments, you are first and foremost a public servant. Yes, even when working privately, you are still serving a universal public need, and therefore the public have the right to an expectation of excellence from their doctors, nurses and other practitioners.
Attending professional development sessions, as well as actively seeking out courses, seminars and other channels through which to improve one’s skills and upgrade one’s knowledge base will ultimately translate into a better way to serve the public that depends on you.
