This can be a hotly debated topic. Is it you personally or should your employer pay for it? Well, I guess it boils down to this – whose practicing certificate is it? Yours or your employers?
So, what is your employer’s role around your practicing certificate?
Well, they need to make sure it is current and renewed each year. The employer also has to check that the medical practitioner, physiotherapist or occupation therapist or any other allied health professional has a current practicing certificate too, not just yours. Is your employer responsible for paying for the allied health professional’s educations? No, they aren’t. The individual is responsible for ensuring they keep up to date with their education hours.
So, the question is, does an allied health professional get anything more than you do to be able to come in and attend to residents or clients. They get remunerated for it just like you. While it may not be a weekly wage, their services are still paid for by your employer, but your employer does not pay for them to go to educational updates.
So that comes down to you as a RN or EN. Who should pay for your education – you or your employer? I guess this is a question you have to ask yourself. Do you give anything more to your employer than an allied health professional? You may argue you do, but you see, your employer’s ability to provide the service is dependent not only on you, but also the caregivers and the allied health professions they contract in to service their clients or residents.
Why am I bringing this up again? Well, many RNs and ENs have an expectation that their employer will pay for their education hours, and if they won’t, they don’t attend. Now if your employer does pay for you to attend education updates in the form of paid days off, course fees etc, be grateful because they don’t have to. If you don’t have a current practicing certificate because your education hours are insufficient, that is your issue – you can’t practice.
So why then am I discussing this? Well, in some cases there is not much loyalty or gratitude paid to a generous employer. Loyalty is not something high on the values of some people. Money is and some people will think nothing of jumping ship to a get a higher paid position rather than give back to a generous employer. Your employer should expect something in return for being generous and giving you a day off and paying for your education. Do you give back to them or is your expectation that it is their responsibility to keep you employed when tomorrow you could hand in your notice and not look back.
When you next see an educational session you would like to attend, think first of how you can contribute to paying for it. Maybe you discuss a partnership with your employer? Maybe you take some annual leave or lieu days to attend so they are not paying both your wages and for someone to replace you. If they do want to pay for your fee to attend and your wages, then be grateful and show them some loyalty. Give back to them and be considerate to your employer. Work together because in the end, you are the one that keeps the knowledge you attain. Sure, your employer will benefit while you are there but if you leave, you walk out with that knowledge. It is not left behind.
Now I am not saying which is right. I have been the recipient of having an employer pay for courses for me for which I was very grateful, but I have also been an employer who had to look at the budget to see if staff could be paid for to do course and this can be quite a dilemma. So spare a thought for your employer who is trying to balance the books and if they graciously pay for you to do training, be grateful and give back to them with your loyalty.
Food for thought isn’t it?