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The healthcare field is transforming as technology and other areas of the field advance. In order to keep up with the transformation, healthcare resources and sources of education are also changing and adjusting. It’s not only education providers, but also full-time and continuing education students that need to stay abreast of how the field is changing. The more aware students are, the more succinctly they can choose health education resources and potential employers that match their career ambitions.

Here are a few trends individuals employed – or about to be employed – in the healthcare field should keep in mind:

The changing nursing student

As the average nursing student morphs from younger individuals to an older and more ethnically diverse population, health education resources such as nursing schools must respond with flexible schedules for individuals working full-time jobs and raising families. For students, an influx of online courses allows students and continuing education learners to accelerate their pace or slow down and take courses when it’s most convenient for their individual schedules.

The digital classroom

Simulators are seeing increased use in classrooms, allowing students to take a safe and supervised step into the real medical/surgical world without harm to an actual patient. Including simulations as a part of a curriculum provides students the opportunity to explore and master a skill for themselves—outside of a textbook. From desktop simulations of patients to introducing patients as live actors, healthcare students are getting a first hand look at what it means to interact with a patient. The American Heart Association’s HeartCode® advanced cardiac life support (ACLS) course, the cognitive portion of which is offered by Health Ed Solutions, employs voice-assisted manakins to give students real time practice performing lifesaving skills to better prepare them for their future careers.

Benefits of health education research

When the nursing field conducts research it improves the nation’s health and provides an evidence base for patient care. Nursing schools and the healthcare field have an opportunity to improve patient outcomes and encourage healthy lifestyles in communities through research implementation. Additionally, students entering health education have a valuable chance to participate in health education research, lending their own expertise and learning, hands-on, before graduating and entering the workforce.

Health education resources abound with technological advancements

Healthcare is experiencing an ongoing explosion of telehealth and telemedicine, which bring patients and providers closer together regardless of physical proximity. Today technology plays a large role in diagnosis and treatment. Moving forward, health education resources will need to incorporate computer technology skills to best prepare their students for a career anywhere in the healthcare field. Paramedics, EMTs, nurses, etc., will need to have a strong level of comfort and familiarity with technology as they all work to save patients’ lives.

The age of education

Health education is no longer simply focused on healthcare professionals and first responders staying up to date on best practices. Average laypeople are now taking their health into their own hands, making them well-informed consumers seeking medical assistance. Therefore, healthcare professionals should take note of this altered relationship between patients and providers. Instead of merely mending patients, providers must be equipped to answer questions from a much more informed – and sometimes misinformed – public.

Health Ed Solutions can serve as a valuable education tool as interested individuals pursue careers in the healthcare field. This leading provider of online certification for healthcare professionals and first responders offers health education resources and information on health education research that can be useful as individuals look to excel within the field.