When it comes to measuring and analyzing learning, knowing what data to look at and what questions to ask of that data can be challenging. In the introduction to this series, we broke down initial steps to recognizing the components of your existing learning ecosystem.
We also covered the importance of gaining access to all of the L&D data across your learning ecosystem, cleansing the data, and aggregating it so you can create and analyze reports that enable you to take action. Now, let’s look at a few places where you can start looking at data to make an impact quickly.
Example 1: Opioid crisis
Opioid awareness is at the front of so many minds and efforts at the moment. But how can L&D help?
Well, recognize that, specific to pain management, patient and physician conversations need to happen to raise awareness of the dangers and probability of addiction.
That’s why it’s important to ask your patients if these conversations happened. Utilize patient survey responses to identify learning gaps in your physicians—such as missed conversations—that may be present and then modify your training programs accordingly.
The Centers for Disease Control (CDC) offers specific communication recommendations for these collaborations. Base your post-visit questionnaire on these recommendations to gain a better understanding of:
- establishing doctor/patient trust,
- establishing treatment goals,
- facilitating risk/benefit discussions, and
- ensuring follow-ups and evaluations have been established.
Depending on patient response, you may notice opportunities to better train physicians on empathic interviewing, conflict resolutions, and establishing goals.
These simple actions can be life changing. It's hugely impactful to see not only what knowledge learners have acquired, but also if they’re effectively applying that knowledge in the real world.
Example 2: Patient surveys and observation data
In addition to identifying learning gaps, patient survey responses can be compared next to training data to see if and/or how your training programs are impacting care.
You already have access to observation data, which could be as simple as a checklist or as detailed as a spreadsheet with data from monitoring tools associated with your CPR mannequin or event data from your AED.
Reviewing observation data for handwashing hygiene or mock Code Blue training, for instance, to expose training gaps is one of the most accessible ways to help develop your colleagues and help your patients.
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Example 3: Compliance audit data
Finally, take advantage of compliance audit data. Yes, COMPLIANCE. While not the most exciting topic, compliance reporting is possibly the most immediately effective use of learning analytics.
Simply aggregating clean data from multiple systems has proved invaluable for things such as compliance reporting.
If you typically spend hours pulling from multiple reports when a compliance officer or the legal department asks for a consolidated report, you can use:
- a learning record store (LRS) that aggregates your data for easy access, or
- a learning analytics platform (LAP) to create and deliver an L&D report with real-time data.
And let’s not forget that an LAP also can alert managers when certifications need to be renewed or completed, regardless of certifying body or platform.
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Up Next: Real-world healthcare training measurement examples
Ultimately, learning analytics empowers L&D teams to democratize reporting, letting the data be a guide and a call to action to improve training and performance. In the final blog post, we’ll explore how two healthcare organizations use their learning ecosystems and learning analytics to make significant impacts.
About the author
Bill focuses on evangelizing the message of utilizing learning analytics to improve the workforce. He is known for making complex solutions easy to understand and showing how software can create safer and more enjoyable organizations.
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