CLE and CME: What’s the Difference?
“We learn from each other. We learn from others’ mistakes, from their experience, their wisdom. It makes it easier for us to come to better decisions in our own lives.” – Adrian Grenier
Several years ago, I started working at InReach. I love my job for many reasons: great clients, hardworking and fun staff, and I’m always learning. Coming from the continuing legal education industry, I felt quite comfortable in that realm. I understood the rules, and I understood the culture.
However, to effectively do my job, I had to learn about other industries: healthcare, finance, etc. I’m still learning, but I do better understand continuing education in those other verticals, including the culture around providing that education.
What We Have in Common
After our InReach User Meeting, I noticed how much our clients share in their continuing education work. They all deal with governance, learners, marketing teams, and speakers. But industries also differ in important ways. Can we learn from those differences? Absolutely.
What InReach Legal Partners Can Learn from InReach Healthcare Partners
Learning Objectives
- Identify and publish learning objectives with every program
Healthcare partners are required by rule to expressly identify the learning objectives of their programs. Legal partners are not required by rule to do so but recognize the importance of doing so —deliver what you promise. In the chaos of day-to-day work, doing the things that are good, but not required, easily falls by the wayside, including the formal creation of learning objectives. Legal partners need to incorporate this task into programming planning checklists, and just do it!
SSO
- Make registering as convenient as possible with a single sign on
Healthcare partners are focused on providing their learners with the easiest possible shopping experience. This means navigation that gets the learner to the online catalog with few clicks, and this means providing single sign on (SSO), so their learners must remember only one username and password. Granted, our healthcare partners came later to the online education game, so the understanding of the needs to provide this type of service to learners was more commonly known. Legal partners should consider the SSO option because the convenience alone can make your learner only shop your catalog.
Evaluations
- Determine if learning objectives were met with every program
Healthcare partners must measure outcomes through evaluations and tests, as required by rule. Legal partners don’t have the same obligation, but measuring outcomes can still be valuable. For instance, many InReach legal partners now need to provide mandatory new lawyer training. When a Court or leadership mandates this programming, treat outcome measurement as a best practice. Collecting and analyzing this data helps you refine topics, adjust timing, choose speakers, and fine-tune sessions. After all, the goal is to develop better lawyers.
What InReach Healthcare Partners Can Learn from InReach Legal Partners
Licensing Cycle
- Increase available programming with a set plan and cycle programming
Legal partners provide more programming because they plan and cycle programming. For example, there is a two-day bankruptcy program every year, around the same time, and generally, using the same volunteer program planner. Deadlines are identified and adhered to in most instances. Every year the work is easier, takes less staff time, and allows staff to devote their energy to first-time programs and recent updates. This type of programming is on an annual or bi-annual basis. Overall, it results in the creation of more content, especially when the sessions are recorded. Some healthcare partners do repeat conferences annually, but they do not as frequently capture the content. It also results in saving time and allowing staff to do something new and different for learners.
Sharing Network
- Use the InReach Sharing Network™ aggressively
Legal partners aggressively use the InReach Sharing Network to create the most comprehensive catalog. In legal there are federal and state laws, and as a result there are programs created that are relevant to every legal partner. Some legal partners plan with the idea of leveraging the InReach Sharing Network™. Healthcare partners will produce what could be national programming but will add a state perspective to the program. The lesson learned here is think about the sharing network when you are planning. Of course, you never compromise when it comes to providing what your learners need, but if you can do that and still create a program that is marketable to other providers, why not?
Creativity
- Be creative
Legal partners go crazy from time to time and provide programming that teaches and entertains, musicals, tours of vineyards, history lessons, and even bringing dogs to a program! These things lighten the mood and make the day more interesting. Why couldn’t a healthcare partner do a program with someone playing Dr. Dreamy? IJS!
Let’s celebrate our differences and steal from each other like any good CE staff person would do! Questions? Contact me: nashizawa@inreachce.com.
