Video learning improving healthcare standards

Healthcare institutions are turning to more advanced methods of learning to boost the skills of their workers.

Whether it's through online training or video courses, an increasing number of professionals in the medical sector are recognising that technology is a great way of developing employees and ensuring they are fully qualified to handle an emergency.

For instance, doctors in the south of the UK recently launched a library of footage showing beginners how to administer anaesthesia safely. The collection - which is the first of its kind in the world - consists of 30 videos recorded during procedures carried out at University Hospital Southampton.

Dr Oliver Ross, consultant anaesthetist at Southampton General Hospital and founder of Southampton Overseas Health and Medicine, came up with the idea for the training and he described it as a "vital and respected support tool for anaesthetists in training across the world".

The video library was initially designed as part of the University Hospital Southampton NHS Foundation Trust's international partnership with Nepal, which was set up in 2007 to boost skills and training methods across the nation.

Now, however, it is also being rolled out in healthcare institutions across Rwanda, Uganda and Malawi.

While the video learning serves as a beginner's guide to anaesthesia, it also doubles up as a refresher course for healthcare workers who feel they might need to brush up on their skills in the practice.

Those who view the footage are able to see scenes demonstrating spinal anaesthesia, caesarean sections, intubation and extubation and use of general anaesthetic ketamine.

Technology is a great way for companies - no matter which sector they operate in - to brush up their employees' skills hassle-free and at a low cost. E-learning provider Virtual College offers a wealth of training modules that healthcare professionals are sure to benefit from, plus it also boasts its own Lean Healthcare Academy.