Learning and Development when money is tight or the budget non-existent.
Welcome to this blog post on free online learning and development courses for healthcare professionals! In today's fast-paced world, staying updated with the latest skills and knowledge is crucial, especially for those working in the healthcare industry.
Whether you're a nurse, a doctor, an administrator, or a healthcare leader, continuous learning is essential for personal and professional growth, developing your team and providing the best care to patients. Ongoing education is a stimulant for engagement and motivation. It can provide a boost and encouragement for yourself and your teams and make them feel valued and appreciated.
Luckily, there are several platforms that offer free online courses with relevance for healthcare professionals. In this blog post, I’ve curated a list of such platforms that provide high-quality, relevant, and accessible learning opportunities. Many I have personal experience with and recommend. The variety is huge, so think about your development needs, what you want to learn and why. Consider your learning style and time commitment. Browse the selection below and see what best suits and appeals to you, what you want to learn and which layout and design you like and best fits your learning style.
So, grab your notebooks, phones, laptops and tablets and get ready to expand your knowledge and skills with these fantastic resources!
Acumen is my first recommendation. I’ve done a number of inspiring courses where I’ve felt stretched and learnt a great deal - much of which I still use. You can choose from on-demand courses or team courses. They have a great ethos and that appeals to me along with the international platform.
I’m signed up to start the Path of Moral Leadership which starts in May as a team course - if you’d like to join me it would be great to form a team.
With a more clinical focus, I found the World Health Organisations’ online platform incredibly useful when I had to upskill at the time of COVID in order to teach others.
This is a British digital learning platform - a massive open online course (MOOC). I did a free course and enjoyed the style so much that I paid for a year’s membership and did as many courses as I could. Great variety and many relevant for those working and leading in healthcare.
In Aotearoa, the Open Polytechnic has a number of certificate courses that it offers for free. Great for expanding knowledge and building a wider perspective. I’ve not used this platform, but having explored it am a little tempted to start a course.
Open Learn is from the Open University in the UK, this was a dangerous rabbit hole for an avid learner to fall into. Loads of courses with a huge topic range. Many short courses, of just a few hours of commitment, are perfect for the busy person.
I’ve done a couple of short courses when they have been offered as a free resource. Usually skills focused and specific, many with a job and career focus - such as preparing for an interview or writing a good cover letter.
NHS Leadership Academy
A site that is full of useful information and resources. I completed the Edward Jenner Programme free online a number of years ago. That course has been updated, but it still looks free. There are also a number of short courses that are offered for free.
The Health Quality and Safety Commission in Aoteroa will often host free webinars aligned with their current programmes. They also hold an archive of past events that you can access.
edX is another MOOC - massive open online course. From the US and created by Harvard and MIT. What I liked about the platform, in the one course I’ve done with them was the ability to access the content for free and then have the choice to have further assessment and certificate if you wanted. While this comes at a cost at times this is important.
Another MOOC, this time from Standford University in the USA. In 2014 Coursera received both the Webby Winner (Websites and Mobile Sites Education 2014) and the People's Voice Winner (Websites and Mobile Sites Education) awards.
Want more ideas, examples and reflections?
One of my genius strengths is being a learner, and I have shared in this blog my experiences of learning platforms, specifics of courses and how I’ve applied the learning to my work. Take a browse through the posts for more inspiration.
