Self-reported continuing professional development needs of medical laboratory professionals in Ghana

(2023) 21:74 Essuman et al. Human Resources for Health https://doi.org/10.1186/s12960-023-00859-9 Human Resources for Health Open Access RESEARCH Self‑reported continuing professional development needs of medical laboratory professionals in Ghana Mainprice Akuoko Essuman1, Nii Armah Addy2, Samuel Essien‑Baidoo1, Irene Esi Donkoh1, Felix A. Botchway3, Justice Afrifa1, Prince Agyeman4, Leticia Awontayami Amaama1, Samuel Amoah5, Felix B. K. Sorvor6 and Richard K. D. Ephraim1*    Abstract Background Because of the essential nature of the work of medical laboratory professionals, continuing develop‑ ment in knowledge and skills is indispensable. The study aimed at identifying and prioritizing the development and training needs of medical laboratory professionals in Ghana. This is expected to help in developing focused con‑ tinuing professional development (CPD) that meets the needs of practitioners as well as the changing medical trends. Methods An online cross-sectional survey in February 2022 using a structured questionnaire was conducted. Respondents were asked questions that collected demographic and work-related data about them, their partici‑ pation, preference, and challenges in being part of CPDs. Finally, a list of topics based on (i) quality management systems, (ii) technical competence, (iii) laboratory management, leadership, and coaching, (iv) pathophysiology, and (iv) data interpretation and research were asked with the option to rate them on a 3-point scale (most, moderate, and least) in order of importance. Results A total of 316 medical laboratory professionals participated in the study. Overall, the most frequently selected topics for training based on domains for CPD training and ranking as most important were (i) quality man‑ agement systems, (mean = 80.59 ± 9.024; 95% CI = 73.04–88.13); (ii) pathophysiology, data interpretation, and research (mean = 78.0 ± 6.973; 95% CI = 73.97–82.03); (iii) technical competence (mean = 73.97 ± 10.65; 95% CI = 66.35–81.59); and (iv) laboratory management, leadership, and coaching (mean = 72.82 ± 9.719; 95% CI = 67.44–78.2). The factors affecting the choice of training needs included the medical laboratory professionals’ current place of work, years in service, the reason for attending CPD activities, the period for attending the last CPD, being in a supervisory role, and the number of staff being supervised. Face-to-face presentations, training workshops, and hands-on workshops were the most preferred modes of CPD delivery with financial implications and workload/time constraints being the main challenges impeding CPD participation. Conclusion The identified needs will help in developing CPD programs that address what medical laboratory professionals prioritize as training needs. Stakeholders should incorporate these training needs into future pro‑ grams and address the challenges highlighted in this study to have more relevant training for medical laboratory professionals. *Correspondence: Richard K. D. Ephraim Full list of author information is available at the end of the article © The Author(s) 2023. Open Access This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License, which permits use, sharing, adaptation, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, as long as you give appropriate credit to the original author(s) and the source, provide a link to the Creative Commons licence, and indicate if changes were made. The images or other third party material in this article are included in the article’s Creative Commons licence, unless indicated otherwise in a credit line to the material. If material is not included in the article’s Creative Commons licence and your intended use is not permitted by statutory regulation or exceeds the permitted use, you will need to obtain permission directly from the copyright holder. To view a copy of this licence, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/. The Creative Commons Public Domain Dedication waiver (http://creativecom‑ mons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/) applies to the data made available in this article, unless otherwise stated in a credit line to the data. Essuman et al. Human Resources for Health (2023) 21:74 Page 2 of 11 Keywords Continuing professional development, Medical laboratory professionals, Healthcare, Online survey, Training needs Introduction Advances in global health and medicine mainly due to the emergence of new diseases, the discovery of advanced diagnostic techniques and facilities, and increased demand for laboratory services necessitate that medical professionals consistently maintain their competencies more than ever [1, 2]. It is therefore noteworthy that a pragmatic review of the knowledge and skills needs of medical professionals including medical laboratory professionals (MLPs) must be a rational precursor to the development of any training program directed at solving these needs [3, 4]. Continuing professional development (CPD) embodies a lifelong process of active participation in learning activities that assist in developing and maintaining continuing competence, enhancing professional practice, and supporting the achievement of career goals [5]. CPD activities can take the form of traditional classroom faceto-face sessions to online learning with the same goal of creating a qualified workforce capable of successfully meeting the needs of the populations they serve [6]. Because of the enormous benefits CPD has on patients care and the professional development of health workers, it is important to promote the continuing professional development of health workers [7–9]. CPD contributes to improving the quality of care and health outcomes, such as reducing the likelihood of patients dying or the odds of failure to rescue them [10]. It also promotes motivation, commitment, and satisfaction among professionals [9] and, as a consequence, their retention and performance [7]. Like many other countries [3, 11, 12], CPD is a mandatory requirement for the renewal of a license to practice as a medical laboratory professional in Ghana. When not properly structured to meet the needs of workers and patients, it would be difficult to derive the needed benefit CPD is supposed to have on our health care system. It is reported that self-motivation, relevance to practice, preference for workplace learning, strong enabling leadership, and positive workplace culture are key factors that optimize the impact of CPD among health workers [13]. Meanwhile, in the rapidly changing healthcare context, it is reported that health workers participate in CPD when they have reasons to do so [14]. It is key, therefore, that strategies aimed at promoting the participation of health workers in CPD address their real needs [10]. Human resource needs are said to revolve around existing and expected professional practice requirements, enabling competence and capacities, and learning and change requirements [4]. Unfortunately, t (...truncated)