IAHCSMM webinars offer new way to learn and earn CE credits
Why webinars are a good choice for healthcare professionals
Convenience – Webinars are available over the Internet and can be accessed directly on any Internet-accessible device. This means they can be quickly and easily accessed anywhere and at any time. Because of this benefit, many professionals are using webinars as a time-efficient, cost-effective way to train staff and enhance their knowledge and skill sets.
Affordability – There are no travel costs associated with participating in a webinar (and IAHCSMM members can participate in the webinars for free). Although webinar participation is a convenient, affordable way for individuals to advance their knowledge and gain continuing education credits, the webinars can also be beneficial for general staff/group training (e.g., for staff orientation and inservices).
Efficiency – Most webinars are relatively brief in length, yet they feature a lot of valuable educational content. This allows participants to acquire useful information that can help them improve quality, safety and performance on the job — but without a significant time commitment.
Long-term Benefits – An online webinar library allows participants to review the presentations multiple times to help them revisit the materials for reference and apply the contents on an as needed basis.
An ongoing commitment to education and knowledge advancement lies at the very heart of any quality-focused Central Service/Sterile Processing (CS/SP) professional. Whether an individual is new to the profession or is a seasoned veteran (or falls somewhere in-between) and is looking for educational resources to elevate their knowledge, stay current on industry standards and best practices, brush up on the basics, or sharpen their technical or managerial acumen, IAHCSMM has them covered. And now, IAHCSMM is offering webinars to the ever-growing array of educational resources available.
“Webinars provide a terrific learning opportunity — and the fact that they are accessible from a desktop computer, laptop, tablet or even a smart phone makes them even more beneficial for today’s busy professionals,” said IAHCSMM Education Director Natalie Lind, CRCST, CHL, FCS. “Continuing education (CE) credits can be easily earned whenever and wherever is best for the individual.” As of press time, nearly 400 webinars have been viewed, which supports the notion that CS/SP professionals are interested in educational offerings that offer greater flexibility and accessibility.
The series of webinars is offered at no cost to IAHCSMM members (non-members pay $15 per webinar). The webinars cover a variety of topics that can be used for general CS/SP learning, and fall under the following categories: Employee Enrichment, Employee Training, and Management. Current webinar topics include:
- Central Service Attire Overview
- Fostering a Mentoring Culture in Your Department
- General Safety for Central Service Departments
- High-Level Disinfection
- Implant Processing
- Loaned Instrumentation
- Risk Assessment
- Understanding and Developing a Competency Program
- Survey Readiness
- Environmental Cleaning
- Preparing Your Staff for Certification
- Sterilization Containers
- Basic Instrument Inspection
Additional webinars are currently under development and the webinar library will continue to grow across all categories to help employees and managers advance their knowledge and help them brush up on some of the essential basics,” said Lind.
Following each webinar, users will take a brief survey to receive 1 CE credit that can be applied toward certification renewals. Visit www.iahcsmm.org/webinars for more information and to gain access to the full webinar library. Please note: Once a webinar has been purchased, the user will have access to view the content through their IAHCSMM account portal. If one’s membership is in good standing, the cost of each webinar will show as $0 in the shopping cart; simply complete the $0 payment to gain access to the webinars.
