5 Reasons Why Standardizing Competencies in Healthcare is Hard

Healthcare is complex. While many industries have standards of practice for tasks performed, the complexities in healthcare make standardizing competencies challenging. Beyond the differences in medical history from patient to patient and the need for facilities, departments, and teams to have flexibility in how they operate day-to-day, other essential obstacles make standardizing healthcare competency management challenging, including: 

1. Diverse healthcare workforce: Healthcare involves many professions, including physicians, nurses, allied health professionals, and administrative staff. Each profession has its unique set of competencies, making it difficult to standardize across the entire workforce.
2. Evolving healthcare practices: The healthcare field continuously evolves, with new technologies, treatments, and best practices constantly emerging. It can be tough to keep up with these changes and update competencies accordingly.
3. Varied healthcare settings: Healthcare is delivered in various settings, including hospitals, clinics, long-term care facilities, and community-based organizations. Each care setting has its own unique set of competencies that must be considered when creating standardized competency plans.
4. Regulatory and accreditation requirements: Different regulatory and accrediting bodies often have their own competency requirements that must be met. These requirements can be difficult to reconcile and may create inconsistencies in the standardization process.
5. Stakeholder involvement: Standardizing healthcare competencies requires the involvement of various stakeholders, including healthcare professionals, educators, employers, and regulatory bodies. Coordinating these stakeholders and aligning their interests can be strenuous.

Because healthcare and patient needs are complex, it can be an obstacle to standardizing competencies. Plans must be flexible and meet the needs of the department, care team, and, most importantly, the patient. That’s why Dossier has created an all-in-one digital competency management platform that enables 100% visibility, supports end-to-end management, and provides an easy solution that keeps everyone in every department one step ahead. Learn more about how we can help your organization, schedule a quick demo.