Certified healthcare professionals often have mandatory or voluntary continuing education and skill development opportunities to help them stay up-to-date on the latest healthcare advances. According to the International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, "The expertise of multiple providers is often necessary to provide the full scope of care a patient with a SUD needs." Staff members may choose to expand their skills and become experts in multiple areas of addiction and mental health treatment. Driftwood Recovery ensures staff members have the resources to gain additional skills and undergo annual retraining. Continuing education allows clinicians to provide more effective addiction and mental health treatment to individuals in recovery.

Why Is Continuing Education Important?

Continuing education is vital in healthcare. Every year, science discovers new ways of understanding and approaching treatment for various conditions, including substance use disorder (SUD). Studies have shown that "the purpose of continuing education is to update and reinforce knowledge, which should ultimately result in better patient care." In addition, "Some health professionals see CE [continuing education] as a means to attain credits for the licensure and credentialing they need to practice their occupations." Driftwood Recovery values the improved quality of client care and increased clinical skills of staff participating in continuing education.

Continuing education and annual retraining do the following:

• Ensures staff members provide more effective treatment for mental health and addiction recovery
• Facilitates professional growth and helps clinicians move to new positions within the organization
• Fosters trust between clients and the care team
• Ensures healthcare professionals remain competent and capable of treating clients with different needs

Management at Driftwood Recovery understands the importance of continuing education and provides staff members with opportunities to grow their skills and become more experienced in treating substance abuse and mental health disorders. Everyone plays an important role in providing support and guidance to clients. Clinicians are encouraged to build their skills and pursue interests that benefit their careers and the client experience. Driftwood Recovery supports staff members by ensuring they have access to continuing education resources. Clinicians, clients, and their families benefit when healthcare professionals take advantage of additional education and training.

Increased Skills Reduce the Risk of Client Relapse

Individuals in treatment for substance abuse often face many challenges and barriers in achieving long-term sobriety. More experienced clinicians reduce the risk of client relapse by identifying potential issues and offering solutions before they impact treatment. Clients are less likely to experience significant complications during treatment if they work with an experienced and well-trained care team.

Improving skills in healthcare reduces the burden on clinicians and improves client outcomes by doing the following:

• Decreasing the risk of misdiagnosis
• Ensuring clients have access to the best treatment options
• Decreasing stress on healthcare workers

Clients may feel more comfortable with staff who appear confident navigating unexpected challenges. Staff members build a foundation of trust with clients by using the skills they learn in training to address issues affecting client recovery.

How Does Driftwood Recovery Support Continuing Education?

Staff members can cross-train within the organization to build essential skills or continue their education to attain additional certifications. Management helps clinicians and support staff pursue their passions in mental health and addiction recovery.

Some of the ways Driftwood Recovery supports continuing education include:

• Adjusting schedules to allow for classes and training
• Encouraging different departments to collaborate and share knowledge
• Providing access to training materials and continuing education opportunities

Any staff member can take advantage of the benefits and policies supporting continuing education and skill development. Driftwood Recovery's management team encourages people to follow their passions and develop new skills to better serve clients.

Learning New Skills to Improve the Client Experience

A client's experience in treatment impacts the trajectory of their life. A positive treatment experience has the potential to completely turn someone's life around for the better and ensure a healthy outcome. The connections clients build with staff members, the skills they learn, and the routines they establish directly affect their ability to maintain sobriety after transitioning out of structured care. Learning new skills ensures the care team has additional tools to help clients heal and recover from substance abuse.

Some of the skills staff members may develop during training and continuing education include:

• Communication and social skills
• Skills for evaluating and assessing client needs
• The ability to identify and address health disparities

Clinicians often gain additional resources they can use to help clients heal and grow during early recovery.

Continuing Education Helps Clinicians Retain Essential Information

Continuing education helps staff members gain additional skills and retain essential information. Continuing education also helps staff members support clients through every stage of recovery by ensuring they have access to high-quality, effective care. In addition, clinicians attending classes to gain additional certifications or licenses will have more knowledge to share with clients and coworkers. Learning more about existing skills or developing entirely new areas of expertise improves the effectiveness of care programs. Clinicians at Driftwood Recovery are more likely to retain essential information and provide creative solutions to unexpected challenges if they have more extensive training and education.

Many healthcare professionals work in positions where they must regularly renew their certifications or participate in continuing training. Clients and staff at Driftwood Recovery benefit from continuing skill development, yearly retraining, and continuing education. The field of mental health and addiction recovery is constantly changing to accommodate new insights and research. Remaining up-to-date on the latest treatment options ensures clients and clinicians have more positive experiences. Staff members work closely with one another to ensure every clinician stays updated on their areas of expertise, improving the collaborative experience. Everyone benefits when professionals develop new skills through education and training. To learn more about our programs and services, call our office today at (512) 759-8330.