How blended learning can revolutionise healthcare education
By Gemma Raw
A report by Health Education England (HEE) looks at current and future provision of blended learning to support increased accessibility, diversity and inclusivity in healthcare education and training
In 2019-20, HEE was mandated to promote alternative routes into nursing jobs by establishing a blended nursing degree programme, combining digital, face-to-face and practical learning. Following the success of this programme, HEE has published a detailed guide to blended learning for pre-registration and undergraduate healthcare professional education.
The guide looks at the role blended learning can play in revolutionising healthcare education in England. As well as highlighting the potential for blended learning to improve access for those in remote, rural or coastal communities, it also shows how it can empower people to train flexibly for healthcare roles, while balancing their studies with work, family and personal commitments.
"This report presents the current positions of regulators and key stakeholders with consideration for how blended learning can promote accessibility, diversity and inclusivity," writes Patrick Mitchell, HEE Director of Innovation, Digital and Transformation, in his Executive Summary of the report. "There is a focus on how learning and support technologies can be identified and utilised effectively in the delivery of digital and online education."
Current state of play
The HEE report reviews the current position of various healthcare professions and regulators with regard to blended learning.
In the allied health professions, education practice is evolving rapidly, with change being driven largely by new technology. Blended learning and simulation are now widely used in AHP degree courses and the use of technology-enabled service opportunities by education providers is encouraged by the Health and Care Professions Council (HCPC), which regulates most allied health professionals, from occupational therapists and physiotherapists to diagnostic radiographers, therapeutic radiographers and speech and language therapists.
Education practice is also changing in healthcare science. Advances in technology and simulation are enabling innovation in the delivery of learning for degrees, as well as in degree apprenticeships for those combining their studies with paid jobs in healthcare science roles.
The Nursing and Midwifery Council (NMC) standards framework for education gives education providers and practice learning partners the flexibility to develop innovative approaches in their education training programmes for nurses, midwives and nursing associates. Pre-registration nursing and midwifery pathways include flexible routes which include a blended learning approach.
"I am proud to support the use of blended learning approaches in training and upskilling our dedicated NHS staff," commented Edward Argar, Minister of State for Health, who has written a foreword to the HEE guide. "We are committed to strengthening the NHS with a bigger and better trained workforce, including 50,000 more nurses which we are on track to deliver. Innovative approaches to training the NHS workforce of the future – such as blended learning – are vital to ensuring we fulfil this ambition."
