E-learning has evolved in many ways across all sectors of business, healthcare since it was first coined in the 1960’s1. E-learning refers to the use of software and online tools as a means to deliver educational content. Jump ahead 40 years, to 2020, the year of notable change in most of what we do day to day, online learning has become less of a companion learning tool and more of a primary method of learning. The worldwide COVID pandemic has forced this adaptation this year, and in this industry, we’ve been forced to re-tool the delivering of training content, moving from in-person, live training to virtual training activities. Although nothing can completely replace in-practice learning, e-learning and virtual classrooms fill the gap in learning when distance, time and the occasional pandemic, cause us to rethink our content delivery options.
E-learning can be robust and comprised of both live and on-demand content. This flexibility is critical for healthcare practices, as we face varied peak busy times and broken periods of availability. Due to this need for flexibility, E-learning platforms and live, web-based learning have advantages over traditional learning models in the aesthetic space. Traditional live methods require practitioners to be taken out of treatments for extensive periods of time for training, impeding revenue generating time, which is a costly proposition for most practices. Staff turn-over or team expansion retraining requirements, again, costing valuable revenue generating time. Due to time, room capacity and other logistical constraints, traditional learning practices restricted training to trainees who were performing the treatment, leaving front desk, consult coordinators and other team members without important information to help market and prescribe the treatments.
E-learning gives a practice access to on-demand theory content, allowing employees to train during downtime and between clients in the practices. E-learning allows any employee to receive training, which means an entire practice can have an in-depth knowledge of the treatments, allowing them to confidently recommend them to your patients and participate in the success of an aesthetic provider. Live-streamed practical education condenses the hands-on training into focused practical training for the shortest period of time possible. It also allows for flexible sessions, meaning that not all practical content needs to be covered in one day with all treatment providers. A good example of this is with multi-platform technologies that require the trainees to learn multiple treatments and indications. Typically, a one or two-day training format is passing the trainee an overwhelming amount of information regarding modalities and parameters to learn in a relatively short period of time. New e-learning models allow the trainees to learn in stages; by modality or indications and in smaller groups or one-on-one, as the cost of live attendance is reduced with virtual methods of learning.
At Salient Medical, we’ve taken an industry-leading step to virtualize our learning initiatives, internally with our team members, and externally with our customers. This evolution in our training methods and delivery will help our team stay current faster and to better service the evolving needs of our customers. From listening to our customers’ needs and analyzing how to best meet and exceed those needs, we are launching the Salient Medical Academy.
At the Salient Medical Academy we use an easy to navigate learning management platform that gives the trainee a clear and seamless path for following content. Our Academy has three categories of content available for customers; basic device operation, advanced practice content and catalogues. The basic device operation courses allow users to learn the theory and practical application of their device and indicated treatments, through a rich learning experience of presentations, quizzes and visually elegant, instructive video tutorial content. Advanced courses teach trainees best practices for success, blended treatment programs, and laser safety, just to name a few. The catalogue features content for all Salient Medical devices and products such as specific webinars, live workshops, studies, and other relevant content that allows clients and practitioners to browse complementary treatments at their leisure. All forms of course content are available on-demand.
At Salient Medical, we strive to be an industry leader in Canada, looking at novel ways to meet and exceed market needs, elevate the customer experience, and constantly developing ways to produce more support for our clients’ practices. Their success is our success.
Sources:
Nicholson P. (2007) A History of E-Learning. In: Fernández-Manjón B., Sánchez-Pérez J.M., Gómez-Pulido J.A., Vega-Rodríguez M.A., Bravo-Rodríguez J. (eds) Computers and Education. Springer, Dordrecht. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4020-4914-9_1
