Recently, I overheard a conversation in which some managers were lamenting the challenges of scheduling staff training in the office. Resources are already tight—in terms of time, staff, and budget—so how do you afford to allocate resources to staff training?

A changing of the guard

Staff training is increasingly necessary for a workforce in transition. The health care industry in general and Medicaid in particular are undergoing a demographic shift as a generation of boomers who have been working in the field for decades is starting to retire. With this transition, there's a probable void in expertise and a loss of institutional knowledge at just the same time we see a hiring challenge for the Medicaid community (states, vendors, and the federal government). Along with the need to understand the business of Medicaid, health care reform is turning the health care field into a data-driven enterprise, requiring sophisticated analytical and tech-savvy skills.

Overcoming the training obstacles

This looming reduction in available workforce is as daunting for larger agencies as it is for small offices. It's challenging to gather adequate numbers of staff to make time-sensitive, in-house trainings worth it. Smaller organizations already have limited resources, making it more challenging to offer training. In today's learning environment, students and employers are finding the option of online training appealing because it is not confined to a campus or constrained by work schedules.

With historic changes occurring in health care, Medicaid professionals need consistent, updated education. At the Medicaid Learning Center (MLC), we've been providing online education and certification programs for years so we've learned from experience: It is useful to periodically ask yourself—and key members of your organization—some really honest questions about your current and desired training processes.

Assessing your training needs

  • What is your current method for training your new hires?
  • Can your organization benefit from MLC Certified Medicaid Professionals (MCMP)?
  • What is your protocol for continuing education for current employees?
  • How are you updating your training to incorporate the new and changing rules?
  • How many people participate in your trainings?
  • Do you need a standard curriculum or something customized to meet targeted needs?
  • What do your trainings currently cost?
  • Is it worth the investment?

To give you some ideas on options, you can read more on our website about what we're doing at the Medicaid Learning Center to equip professionals to understand Medicaid, Medicaid IT Architecture (MITA), Health Information Technology (HIT), and health care reform. We've worked hard to provide hands-on knowledge Medicaid professionals can use every day because, in our view, that's how to get the most value out of your training resources.

Ultimately, finding an education model that works for your organization, meeting the most people's needs in the most efficient manner, is a preferred outcome. The cost of education counts, obviously, in a time when organizations already have to do more with less. But even more important is the value of having an adaptable, well-educated workforce that can make the most of the vast quantities of knowledge available in these changing times.

The content of this article is intended to provide a general guide to the subject matter. Specialist advice should be sought about your specific circumstances.