Dee-Mystifying Health Care Education: The Good, the Bad and the Ugly

In the film “The Good, the Bad and the Ugly,” the character Blondie (a.k.a. ‘The Good’) is a professional gunslinger who is out trying to earn a few dollars. Aren’t we all?

However, as with all aspects of life, even something as precious as continuing education has many goods, some bads – and yes, just a few uglies.

At first, it is difficult to think of any part of education as bad or ugly. This is mainly because education and lifelong adult learning is a gift. It’s an achievement. It’s an invaluable part of any life.

‘The Good’ in health care education is to embrace a lifetime of learning through which we continue to increase both our knowledge and our earning potential. To have a better than good career, continuing education must be part of our lives. 

CEUs are a great way to enhance your professional portfolio. The process provides printable validation and acknowledgement of the extra learning sessions in which you are participating outside of the normal work environment.

But what about ‘The Bad’ in education? Oh yes!  In my years of practicing health care education, the one negative statement that is most disappointing to hear and is ‘The Bad’ outlaw of them all: “I don’t have time for continuing education.”  In health care we cannot afford to NOT find the time.

In the film, ‘The Bad’ has the nickname of Angel Eyes which is both a deception and a justification for a bad way of life.

By making the time, education prepares you to move up the corporate ladder or simply grow your own personal knowledge of your industry. Beyond the fact that many health care professions have mandated CE requirements to maintain licensure and certification, participation in continuing professional education programs, mandated or not, shows your employer and your patients/customers that you are passionate about lifelong learning for the betterment of your professional practice.  

There are also the obvious benefits of continuing education such as gleaning new knowledge on disease state management, new drug therapies, new technology, patient communication, new automations, and new regulations. And there is the not so obvious benefit: Education feeds Charisma. Charismatic people build and maintain great relationships, consistently influence (in a good way) the people around them, consistently make people feel better about themselves.  They're the kind of people everyone wants to be around – and wants to be. Education is their fuel. Confidence is the crux of charisma and education is the center of confidence. Find the time for your own professional development and those bad uses of time will turn to many good outcomes, including a few dollars.

We come now to ‘The Ugly.’ The ‘Ugly’ in health care is when continuing education is dismissed due to budget cuts. Much like in the film, ‘The Ugly’ is not a very intelligent character and likewise, this is not a very intelligent decision. Making it difficult for staff members to remain educated, licensed and up -to-date is just like putting a noose around quality health care.

However, like ‘The Good’, Inquisit can cut the noose with convenient, cost-effective education so you can continue to earn their necessary CEs, remain educated and improve your career.

Let Inquisit’s continuing education dee-mystify and tame the Wild West of health care and bring out your ‘Good,’ but hidden, charisma and confidence. Turn your lack of time into a better use of time for a better tomorrow.

I welcome your responses, comments and any questions or requests for additional information on the educational activities we present at Inquisit.

Register with www.inquisit.org and be the first to correctly guess the actors who portrayed “The Good, The Bad and The Ugly” in the 1966 Sergio Leone film classic and be rewarded with Inquisit IQCards for free education.