Hiring a Healthcare Course Writer vs. Creating Your Own Content

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A common scenario in healthcare e-Learning goes something like this: A healthcare organization places a strong emphasis on education. For years they avidity medical design healthcare instructorhone their patient education programs, keep staff up to date with certifications, and develop some basic healthcare courses to provide additional training. They watch a live demo, are empowered by what they see, and they begin to move forward with curriculum development. This is where the problems start.

Becoming a healthcare course writer is not an easy task. Oftentimes people know what they want to say but have no idea how to say it. If they do manage to get the words on paper, they get lost in the world of learning management systems and authoring tools. They also discover that they must function as healthcare subject matter experts as well as healthcare course writers to ensure that the course is technically accurate. Before long, months go by and the project is scrapped.

This scenario underscores the importance of hiring an experienced healthcare instructional designer. Ideas for healthcare education often land in the virtual trash can before they ever reach the storyboard stage of development. This happens because the possibility of outsourcing course development was never considered. A talented healthcare course writer can collaborate on ideas and cultivate those that already exist in order to create a comprehensive course that is technically accurate and gets the job done.

Avidity Medical Design expands healthcare training to reach a broader base of clients. Whether you need help preparing staff for the transition to ICD-10 medical coding, or you need to train nurses on the fundamentals of patient assessments, you can have a visually pleasing course created and uploaded to your learning management system.

If you need help developing an in-depth course that accurately meets the learning objectives for your particular healthcare specialty, contact us. We will work with you to achieve your goals for curriculum development.

Smartphones, Tablets, iPODs and iPADs: What Do They Mean for the Healthcare Classroom? Let’s Take a Look.

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More and more students are discovering the benefits of taking college courses online using smartphones, tablets, iPODs and iPADs. Students can review lecture material, study for finals, and take exams at home or while sitting in a café or a restaurant, for example. Although many people have taken advantage of mobile technology for general education purposes, healthcare practitioners may wonder what smartphones, tablets, iPODs and iPADs have in store for the future of healthcare education.

smartphones, tablets ipods ipads avidity medical designAccording to an article found here, “44% of medical students are digital omnivores, using a smartphone, tablet, and computer routinely in an academic or professional capacity.” This has increased over the years ever since these options were made available to students.

Mobile devices are a great way for students to learn on the go, as well as in the traditional classroom. As stated in another blog, titled, Benefits of Mobile Devices in the Classroom, “The mobile approach can encourage student engagement with the content. For example, students can answer polls, tweet questions, and look up information during lectures.” The same is true for students in the healthcare arena, who are studying to become medical transcriptionists, medical coders, and registered nurses, for example. Using mobile devices, a student who is studying to become a medical transcriptionist can respond to polls about transcribing medications in discharge summaries, history and physicals, and emergency room records. A future medical coder can tweet questions about how to assign the correct ICD-10-CM code for a postsurgical mechanical device complication, or how to assign the correct CPT codes for injections, infusions, and critical care. A nursing student can research lecture material on patient case management, sterile gloving, and right and left heart catheterization. Using smartphones, tablets, iPODs, and iPADs each of these students can enrich their learning experience both in and out of the healthcare classroom.

Avidity Medical Design can help you develop healthcare courses that support and encourage medical mobile learning. We develop healthcare curriculum designed to help your students immediately transfer what they learn in the classroom to the doctor’s office, clinic, or hospital setting. We specialize in both e-Learning and blended learning for both the educational and corporate sectors.

Sheila D. McCray, MS, CCS, CCS-P, the principal of Avidity Medical Design, has an M.S. in Instructional and Performance Technology and holds certifications in Captivate, Dreamweaver, Sharepoint, MS Office, and multiple healthcare-related areas. She is also a certified online instructor, medical coder, medical biller, and medical transcriptionist with an extensive background in healthcare information management. She designs curriculum for all areas of healthcare, as well as general education curriculum for K-12 students.

Feel free to contact us for more information on how we can incorporate innovative mobile learning strategies into your healthcare classroom.

4 Ways to Motivate Healthcare Students to Learn in the Classroom

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applying the ARCS model of learning avidity medical designHealthcare can be a challenging subject to learn, especially since there are so many areas of healthcare that require fundamental knowledge of medical terminology, anatomy and physiology, medical coding, and other areas of allied health. If you are working as an instructional designer, especially if you are developing courses in healthcare, you must develop courses that not only educate, it also stimulate and motivate. One of the most fundamental methods of motivational design is John Keller’s ARCS Model. John Keller’s ARCS Model of Motivational Design includes four elements that are designed to motivate students to learn: Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction. Innovative educators have long used the ARCS Model to improve learning outcomes by stimulating and maintaining student motivation. The ARCS Model becomes even more critical from the standpoint of healthcare instructional design because a lack of learning motivation can have a detrimental impact on patient care.

Let’s take a look at how the four elements of the ARCS Model, Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction, would be implemented in the context of healthcare instructional design:

1. Attention – Keller uses “inquiry arousal” to gain the learner’s attention. Inquiry arousal means incorporating questions or problems in the curriculum that are designed to be solved by a group of students. Case studies that require active participation, such as those dealing with specific patient scenarios, diseases, or other illnesses can be useful in gaining and sustaining attention.

2. Relevance – The curriculum should include examples that are relevant to connect to the student’s own experience(s). According to this element of the ARCS Model, if students can correlate their prior experience(s) to the new skills that they are learning, they will be more motivated to learn.

3. Confidence – Learners must have confidence in their ability to succeed if they complete the course. They must know that they will learn valuable skills that they can transfer to the real-world environment and immediately apply in their normal workday.

4. Satisfaction – Keller states that learning should be rewarding so that students see the value of what is being taught. This makes them more motivated to learn. One way to increase learner satisfaction is to allow students to practice the new skill being taught or to apply the new knowledge being attained in a live setting. For example, healthcare practitioners could demonstrate methods of gathering vital statistics, comparing test results, and analyzing recorded data in the doctor’s office or triage unit.

Contact us to learn more about the ARCS Model of Motivational Design, and how we can incorporate this model into your healthcare curriculum to motivate your students to learn.

If you are interested in taking an online healthcare course, consider enrolling in the course entitled, “How to Learn in the Healthcare Classroom (and ANY Classroom) (in 10 EASY Steps!)” offered by Avidity Medical Design Academy. Click here to learn more about this course. If you are interested in purchasing scented candles and soaps that promote health and wellness through inspirational messages, visit Avidity Medical Scentations to see our current product offerings. 

Apply The ARCS Model of Motivational Design to Healthcare e-Learning

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applying the ARCS model of learning avidity medical designAn effective e-Learning course must not only educate, it must stimulate and motivate. One of the most fundamental methods of motivational design is John Keller’s ARCS Model. John Keller’s ARCS Model of Motivational Design includes four elements that are designed to motivate students to learn: Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction. Innovative educators have long used the ARCS Model to improve learning outcomes by stimulating and maintaining student motivation. The ARCS Model becomes even more critical from the standpoint of healthcare instructional design because a lack of learning motivation can have a detrimental impact on patient care.

Let’s take a look at how the four elements of the ARCS Model, Attention, Relevance, Confidence, and Satisfaction, would be implemented in the context of healthcare instructional design:

1. Attention – Keller uses “inquiry arousal” to gain the learner’s attention. Inquiry arousal means incorporating questions or problems in the curriculum that are designed to be solved by a group of students. Case studies that require active participation, such as those dealing with specific patient scenarios, diseases, or other illnesses can be useful in gaining and sustaining attention.

2. Relevance – The curriculum should include examples that are relevant to connect to the student’s own experience(s). According to this element of the ARCS Model, if students can correlate their prior experience(s) to the new skills that they are learning, they will be more motivated to learn.

3. Confidence – Learners must have confidence in their ability to succeed if they complete the course. They must know that they will learn valuable skills that they can transfer to the real-world environment and immediately apply in their normal workday.

4. Satisfaction – Keller states that learning should be rewarding so that students see the value of what is being taught. This makes them more motivated to learn. One way to increase learner satisfaction is to allow students to practice the new skill being taught or to apply the new knowledge being attained in a live setting. For example, healthcare practitioners could demonstrate methods of gathering vital statistics, comparing test results, and analyzing recorded data in the doctor’s office or triage unit.

Contact us to learn more about the ARCS Model of Motivational Design, and how we can incorporate this model into your healthcare curriculum to motivate your students to learn.

Hire a Healthcare Instructional Designer for Continuing Education

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Finding the time to work on continuing education courses can be difficult within the confines of a medical office or hospital. However, developing the right healthcare courses does not have to be difficult. Working with Avidity Medical Design to create healthcare courses simplifies curriculum development, making it easier for all healthcare professionals to get the training they need.

healthcare instructional designers, healthcare instruction, healthcare certification coursesMany healthcare professionals need continuing education credits to maintain their certification or licensure. This means that healthcare courses need to include the most up-to-date information on changes in processes and procedures for specific healthcare specialties. Medical coders, for example, need to know how to accurately assign diagnosis codes in ICD-10 by October 1, 2014.

We can design continuing education courses for the traditional classroom, the online environment, or both. All training is Just-In-Time (JIT) training, meaning that healthcare professionals are given the essential information they need to get up to speed quickly, while minimizing disruption to their workday. With JIT, everyone gets the training they need to complete certification requirements and to immediately apply what they learn in the clinic, ER, ambulatory surgery center, ICU, or billing department, for example.

Contact us to learn how we can help your staff prepare for certification, maintain their current certification, or expand their skill set.

Avidity Medical Design can prepare your staff for upcoming certification exams or licensure renewal by combining a variety of instructional design methodologies to suit your needs.  With a healthcare instructional designer, every medical office can receive the highest level of training and improve patient care.

Healthcare e-Learning for Rural Healthcare Professionals

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The continuing ascension of e-learning presents increasing access to education and training virtually from anywhere, at anytime, especially in the most rural parts of America, where access to resources are typically few and far between.  The resource with the highest priority for access in rural America is access to healthcare. Although healthcare is typically thought of in terms of patient access, it can also be thought of in terms of continuing education for healthcare professionals.

healthcare curriculum development avidity medical designRural healthcare professionals are as significant as their urban counterparts, especially with respect to the need for ongoing professional development.  Continuing education courses are necessary for maintaining certification and professional licensure.  The ongoing requirements for maintaining a nursing license, for example, are the same for nurses in both rural and urban areas.

E-learning for rural healthcare professionals transcends boundaries for specific healthcare specialties.  Given the increasing centralization and bureaucratization of the healthcare industry (i.e, Obamacare, HMOs, PPOs, and so on), continuing education for healthcare professionals is crucial to ensure high-quality patient care.

Consider a company such as Avidity Medical Design, which develops curriculum for all areas of healthcare.  Sheila D. McCray, MS, CCS, CCS-P, the principal of Avidity Medical Design, offers customized learning solutions for both the educational and corporate sectors.  Customized e-Learning courses help rural and urban healthcare organizations meet state licensing requirements, retain staff, and meet short- and long-term goals for healthcare training and professional development.

Contact us for more information on healthcare curriculum development, review and analysis of your existing healthcare courses, and additional healthcare training opportunities.

Bringing the Online Classroom to Life

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The educational system in the United States is changing at all levels, especially at the secondary and post-secondary levels. Some of the changes are due to budget cuts that have hit the educational system especially hard over the past several years.

The U.S. Secretary of Education, Arne Duncan stated on April 17, 2013:

Education is more than a set of numbers on the ledger line. Education is not just an expense–it is an investment. In fact, it is one of the most critical investments in the future that we, as a Nation, can make. America cannot win the race for the future without investing in education–it is that simple.

Avidity medical design instructional designerA gifted instructional designer needs to use the right software to develop effective curriculum regardless of budget cuts that may change the shape of the educational landscape. Furthermore, the curriculum must allow students to immediately transfer what they learn in the classroom to the real world environment. Avidity Medical Design uses Adobe Captivate, Lectora, Camtasia, and other e-Learning platforms to develop curriculum that allows learners to immediately use what they learn.

Today’s students have many opportunities for social interaction – opportunities that did not exist 20 or 30 years ago. For these students, online learning is simply an extension of their online social interactions through Facebook, Twitter, and other social media networks. Just as conversations come alive on Facebook, for example, student learning should come alive in the online classroom. Creative instructional design combines elements of various instructional design models to create a vibrant learning experience that engages students on a variety of different levels and in a variety of different subjects.

Contact us to learn more about how we can bring your curriculum to life, stimulate your learners, and motivate them to learn more about the subjects that you are teaching.

ICD-10: Ready or Not, Here It Comes

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ICD-10 avidity medical designThe only thing constant in life is change. This saying has always been true.

One of the biggest changes that will occur in 2014 is the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10 on October 1, 2014. Results of a recent Medical Group Management Association (MGMA) survey show that less than 10 percent of physician practices are ready for ICD-10. MGMA president and CEO, Susan L. Turney, made it very clear that immediate action is required to prepare for the October deadline:

“The critical coordination that must take place between practices and their software vendor, clearinghouse and health plan partners is simply not happening at the pace required for a seamless implementation.”

In the same MGMA survey, over 85 percent of physician practices were concerned or very concerned about expected changes in clinical documentation, loss of clinician productivity, and loss of coding staff productivity after the transition from ICD-9 to ICD-10.

It is time for the majority of healthcare providers and organizations to begin preparing for the upcoming transition to ICD-10. The shift to ICD-10 means that physicians, coders, and other HIM professionals must be up to speed on the changes to diagnosis code assignment and ready to assign ICD-10 codes accurately, completely, and efficiently by October 1, 2014.

I hear and I forget

I see and I remember

I do and I understand

Avidity Medical Design will help you understand the changes that will occur with ICD-10. We will also develop customized ICD-10 curriculum to prepare your staff for ICD-10 coding prior to the scheduled implementation on October 1, 2014.

Management Participation is Fundamental to Successful Healthcare e-Learning

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When it comes to healthcare e-learning, multiple studies show that management should be involved in each stage of the curriculum development process. This is crucial for obtaining quality deliverables and measurable results that accurately reflect changes in healthcare. When you are looking for an instructional design service, ask how they will address management participation.

healthcare e-learning avidity medical design Specializing in creating blended learning solutions for both the educational and corporate sectors, we have an extensive background in healthcare as well as instructional and performance technology. This positions us to respond to the frequently expressed concerns of many managers:

Management Expertise: We understand the role of key stakeholders with regard to choosing the right content for curriculum development. If you are already working in the healthcare field, you may play a role in choosing the subject matter, mapping course objectives, determining your target audience, prioritizing the schedule for course deliverables, and maintaining cost efficiency. We can work with your priorities.

Real World Impact: Of course, e-learning is advantageous when it comes to cost and convenience. However, it also needs to deliver results and significant value. We can demonstrate that employees will be able to immediately transfer what they learn in our curriculum to their real world environment.

Full Customization: The best instructional design strategies incorporate higher levels of Bloom’s Taxonomy, which can be adapted to meet the needs of different students and different workplace settings. Our healthcare courses are tailored to your needs. You can choose a single topic, or create your own topic from a combination of healthcare subjects. We design curriculum in medical coding (including ICD-10 training courses), medical billing, medical claims processing, medical transcription, health information management, healthcare statistics, healthcare reimbursement, anatomy and physiology, dental assisting, and many other areas (including areas not directly related to healthcare). We can also train your healthcare trainers.

Avidity Medical Design specializes in all areas of instructional design for the healthcare industry. Contact us now to see how we can help you start developing your next course, and how we can help you meet your short- and long-term objectives for content development.

Welcome to The Avidity Medical Design Blog

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Sheila D. McCray, MS, CCS, CCS-P, ACDIS-Approved CDI Apprentice, ACDIS-Approved CDI Outpatient Apprentice, is the principal of Avidity Medical Design Consultants, LLC, and Avidity Medical Design Academy. She holds a B.A. in Journalism with a specialization in advertising from Temple University, and an M.S. in Instructional and Performance Technology from Boise State University.  She also holds certifications in inpatient and outpatient medical coding, medical transcription, medical claims processing, clinical trials research for pharmaceutical development, microbiology, desktop publishing, and other specialties. Based in Texas, she has worked in the healthcare field since 1987, beginning in Pennsylvania, and continuing in Virginia. ​As a certified professor, she has taught for several online universities throughout the country. As a healthcare instructional designer, she teaches and develops hybrid curriculum for online students and online instructors, in all areas of allied health and health information management. She also develops her own line of online courses for Avidity Medical Design Academy. ​Follow the Avidity Medical Design Blog to stay up to date on the latest developments in healthcare. For instructional design consulting services, visit http://aviditymedicaldesign. To take an online healthcare course, or to review current course offerings, visit http://aviditymedicaldesignacademy.com. Check back regularly for updates on future healthcare courses currently being developed.