What Does it Mean to be a Skills-Driven Organization?

As a respiratory therapist, you have to complete continuing education courses to maintain your license to practice. But if it seems like your organization is asking you to do even more these days — earn advanced credentials, become certified in new technology, etc.—then you might be working at a facility that has bought into a new health care paradigm known as skill-building.

While skills have always been an important part of the mix in health care, these hospitals are placing a new and more formal emphasis on a model that they believe can build a better workforce more capable of adapting to whatever comes its way.

The concept centers on continuously upgrading the skills of key professionals by offering opportunities to develop new skills and grow in new directions. But it’s more than just acquiring a new skill. It is also about matching people to the right skills and assessing their willingness to learn new ones and adapt to changing environments.

Organizations can develop skills in a variety of ways—with organizations tapping into everything from tuition reimbursement and virtual courses to webinars, coaching, blogs, and more — to add greater value to their workforce.

What do organizations stand to gain from these tactics? Here are the key benefits:

Better patient outcomes: By building new skills in existing staff, organizations deliver better care to patients, improving outcomes.

Keeping staff on the job: Investing in staff continuing education makes them feel appreciated and shows the organization values their contributions. Staff members leave feeling as if they work for an organization invested in their success, which reduces burnout and increases retention.

Increased efficiency, reduced costs: When skills are continuously upgraded, the bottom line benefits as staff work more efficiently, errors decrease, and costs are saved.

Better teamwork: Skill building often involves cross-training, which requires greater interprofessional cooperation and, in turn, fosters stronger teams that can deliver more coordinated care.

Clear pathways to advancement: Organizations that value acquiring new skills can create career ladders or other pathways that give staff clear objectives to meet when seeking higher-level roles.

So, the next time your hospital or other organization asks you to engage in skill building, say yes. And remember, you can always add to your skill set anytime you want by taking advantage of the many respiratory care training opportunities available through the AARC.

Explore all the options in the AARC University.