Acute care hospitals and extended care facilities are the architects of a new model for workplace education that goes beyond transplanting standard curricula to classrooms in hospitals and nursing homes.

 

They asked the workforce boards and community colleges to create an educational model that includes:

 

College preparation courses...

enabling workers to pass entrance examinations and succeed in college

 

Basic education curriculum...

giving workers the reading, math, science and social skills to do their jobs and communicate with patients, supervisors and co-workers

 

Delivery systems...

minimizing the time workers must be away from their jobs by supplementing classroom instruction with learning on the job, tutorials, peer group sessions, labs and libraries and classroom with computers

 

Flexible scheduling...

allowing supervisors to schedule time for students to study when it least interferes with their work

 

Competency-based assessment system...

giving supervisors and department heads the ability to measure employee skills and enabling students to enroll in courses that meet their individual needs

 

Career coaching and mentoring system...

helping to manage the academic, family, and work challenges facing workers when they become students

 

 

Features of The Health Care Learning Network

 

• Basic education and college preparatory courses available on demand
• Courses of study individualized to address gaps in knowledge of each worker
• Job-focused English, math, and science curricula incorporating health care language and job requirements
• Technology supporting "any-time" learning in a variety of venues

 

The Learning Network model will be completed Spring 2006.