Staff Education and Evaluation for Vessel Health and Preservation

Effective teaching and subsequent evaluation of the competence of practitioners is crucial if patient safety is to be assured. Learning is a very complex process, and despite many years of research, it remains difficult to articulate how educational and training methods enable effective learning. We are, however, aware that the actions and attitudes of both the teacher and the learner affect the outcome of the teaching and learning experience. Unfortunately, many individuals teach others without formal knowledge of how learners learn. Often the teacher lacks the concept to understand, explain, and articulate a process during the learning process. This chapter intends to give a general overview of teaching and learning; it develops by exploring and discussing the issue of competency attainment and competency evaluation. Issues of continuous assessment will be considered as will the notion of lifelong learning.