Investing in training may be one of the most vital actions a care provider can take; however, there is often confusion among management regarding how best to approach this aspect of professional development. Web-based modules are easy to complete; however, they do not always have a lasting impact on behavior. In this article, we discuss five solid reasons why group learning with an expert instructor is valuable and relevant. No matter whether you need to reconsider your choices for on-site care training or develop a plan for next year, our guide will help you make the right choice.

Why Face to Face Training Still Matters in Health and Social Care

Being a carer means having to work with people. Every day, the carers are forced to work with the service users, their families, colleagues, and a host of other people amid very complicated emotions. It is impossible to master all these interpersonal skills such as empathy, good listening, and proper communication behind the computer screen. Through the classroom, the skills can be observed and practiced.

In the classroom setting, the learners have the chance to escape from their stressful shifts. Since every person in one particular group attends classes for learning from the professionals, there cannot be anything that would disturb the process. To sum up, since every single person has decided to learn at the beginning, everything becomes much simpler.

Benefit One Real Time Interaction and Immediate Feedback

A key strength in a live session is the possibility to ask and answer questions instantly. If the learner has any doubts about certain information, he/she can ask for additional clarifications, such as asking the trainer to give an alternative explanation or an example related to the care setting and slow down. The case of an online course is even more obvious: if the learner fails to understand the material, he/she just skips the slide.

Feedback is also important for the process of education. During the process of role-play and discussion, a trainer will see the body language, tone of voice, and words used by a participant, and will be able to give him/her some helpful recommendations. It is extremely hard to automate such a type of training, and that is why many institutions still choose a live session as their preferred method of delivery.

Benefit Two Stronger Team Communication and Relationships

The training of the whole team together does not just consist of knowledge transfer but creates the opportunity for people from various teams and shifts to meet at one place after months of separation. Support staff, senior carers, nurses and administration staff get a chance to share their perspectives and see what kind of pressure other people are under.

Such discussions usually result in useful changes being made to the process of working. Teams develop common approaches to handovers, how to report concerns and how to formulate a common perspective on high-quality care. Such things are based on trust between colleagues which makes the basis of safety and consistency of the care provided. The managers have an invaluable opportunity to observe their teams.

Benefit Three Practical Hands On Skills Practice

There are particular skills that would require physical training alone. Handling, movement, basic life support and safety while using equipment are among the skills that experience alone would give the learners confidence. The instructor would show the way things are supposed to be done, see the learners doing the same and correct anything that could go wrong.

Through practicals, there would also be an opportunity for the staff members to train on how to deal with challenging situations in a safe manner. The learners will learn how to deal with a situation involving a distressed patient or even a relative of the patient. The mistake made at this stage does not pose any danger to anyone.

Benefit Four Higher Engagement and Better Knowledge Retention

Care professionals would definitely agree that the web-based training is basically something to be ticked off. The process of watching the presentation and answering the multiple choice questions can do nothing but trigger thoughts, whereas the process of face-to-face communication includes stories, conversations, activities, and even some jokes in order to engage the learner.

In terms of adult learning theory, individuals are likely to remember the information better if they are involved in the process and can relate it to their experience. It is the responsibility of the facilitator to motivate the participant to give examples from his or her practice and question his or her beliefs. Since learning is basically social and emotional, individuals are more likely to remember it. Therefore, it leads not only to the obtaining of a certificate but also to good practices.

Benefit Five Tailored Learning for Your Care Setting

Each care environment will differ. Each care home, a supported living facility, and an agency offering home care services will have their own issues, and generic materials will not be able to cover them all. Face-to-face delivery allows the training session to be modified depending on the audience. An experienced trainer can modify the training in numerous ways:

l Through use of relevant examples and case studies based on your own service and its residents

l Tailoring the level of difficulty and speed according to whether trainees are new or experienced

l Addressing the issues of most concern to your organization regarding policies, procedures, and risk management

l Responding to specific incidents that occurred recently, comments made during inspections, or change in guidelines

l Taking into account the varying literacy levels, languages, and styles of learning of your employees

l Organizing the sessions in accordance with the rota of the service to avoid disruption to its delivery

It allows the training to be relevant right from the start, thus ensuring high engagement of employees.

How Face to Face Training Supports Oliver McGowan Training Requirements

Mandatory Training on Learning Disability and Autism based on Oliver McGowan case is the officially recommended training for health and social care workers in England. The training was created after the death of Oliver McGowan, a young man who had autism and a mild learning disability, with the aim of providing health and social care workers with skills and knowledge to deliver safe, empathic, and knowledgeable care.

One of the important aspects of the training is the use of lived experience of the people. Listening to the story from the first hand from the person with learning disability or from the autistic person is invaluable and can not be replaced by listening to the text from the screen. Most of the organizations notice that the face-to-face delivery of the live session makes the session more valuable since the staff can ask questions and reflect on their own attitude.

Oliver McGowan Tier 2 training Face to Face Compared with Online Learning

Both methods serve their purpose. Online learning is very flexible, easily measurable, convenient for delivering knowledge-based content, which could be completed by the staff in their own time. The Oliver McGowan Tier 2 training programme consists of both e-learning and live interactive sessions; it is important for providers to consult the most up to date information available on the NHS England website regarding the delivery methods for each component of the programme.

The delivery of online learning brings flexibility and lower costs especially for larger groups. The disadvantage of this method is that there is limited interaction since it may be difficult for learners to pose questions and share experience and practice new approaches. Live delivery of learning is costly in terms of preparation (e.g., location, covering of rota, travel etc.), however it is worth the effort since there will be deeper discussion, greater engagement and application of learning.

How to Get the Most from Classroom Training in Your Care Team

Preparation can make a huge difference to the process of the training. Ensure that the staff is made aware of the importance of the training as well as what they should expect from it. This will prevent them from thinking that the training is something that has been imposed on them. Ensure that you plan the time for training in advance, as well as the rosters so that the calls from the service do not interfere in the training process.

During the training process, ensure that there is interaction and allow the managers to also participate in the training sessions and not just sign off the attendance. Post training, follow up important things in supervision, set small goals for implementation and discuss subjects in team meetings. Moreover, get feedback from the staff about their learning in the training session and areas which need more help.

Finding Health and Social Care Training in Bristol

Select a training course that employs trainers having some experience in the care setting that has a proper curriculum and is flexible enough to adapt its training course according to your specific requirement. You may also think about class size, location of the training sessions, whether the training will be arranged at your facility, and how the certification process will be done.

The information about the review or recommendation made by any other care facilities can be helpful too, and you can also ask how the trainer updates himself with the change in guidelines. It is always better to choose the trainer who lives nearby to your place since he is aware of the local services.

Conclusion

However, when it comes to face to face training, it happens to be one of the most efficient methods that can be used to train and develop caring, confident, and competent care teams. The advantages such as instant feedback, good relationships, experience, engagement, and appropriate content make face to face training more effective than any other online training. However, although online training has its own advantages, the combination of both training methods may prove to be the best way to enhance performance. With adequate planning and teamwork, the training programs can be quite efficient.