It’s vital that all immunisation practitioners feel confident in their roles as immunisation specialists. That’s why attending vaccination immunisation training courses is a mandatory part of the job.
However, immunisation training isn’t a done and dusted type of training. All types of healthcare professionals must be kept up-to-date with specific training requirements in order to deliver top-quality, effective, and most importantly safe ongoing immunisation programmes. The health of the public depends on your knowledge.
If you’re in an immunisation healthcare role, taking part in regular training updates keeps you well-informed with current immunisation knowledge. Training is based around ongoing evidence-based knowledge – you must have the know-how and know-why. Without continual training, immunisation specialists may fall behind on the national minimum standards of immunisation healthcare.
So what are the UK national minimum standards for immunisation training? How often should you attend immunisation training? And how often should immunisation training be updated?
At RIVA Training we’ve the answers you’re looking for. We know firsthand how important immunisation and travel healthcare training is.
What are the aims and objectives of immunisation training?
First, it’s important to understand the aims and objectives of the UK’s national minimum standards for immunisation training. Let’s start with what does the training involve? And why is consistent, regular training so important?
According to the national minimum standards of immunisation training, attendees of immunisation training should be trained to:
- Provide accurate and up-to-date information about diseases and vaccines to patients. To pass on this knowledge, practitioners must be taught via regular training.
- Give a safe, effective and high standard of care. This means practitioners must be regularly re-trained and updated in the best practices and methods of immunisation healthcare.
- Confidently and competently promote vaccines. Practitioners must understand the ethics of safe vaccine promotion and the reasons why concerns of vaccine safety are so common. Empathy and compassion towards vaccine hesitancy is crucial.
Ultimately, the objectives of the UK’s national minimum standards can’t be achieved without regular attendance from healthcare professionals. But what other ways can the national minimum standards be reached?
- Promoting nationwide consistency across all immunisation practices. The standards apply to all immunisation organisations, including both the private sector and NHS.
- Organisations running immunisation training should structure their courses around core curriculum areas of knowledge. Rest assured RIVA delivers only the highest quality and comprehensive immunisation and travel health training and advice.
How Often Should You Attend Immunisation Training?
Let’s look into the recommended immunisation update training frequency – and how often healthcare professionals should attend immunisation update training.
According to the national minimum standards of immunisation training, once professionals attend their first formal taught course, it’s recommended they then attend update training sessions or courses at least once a year.
However, it’s important to note that once-a-year training sessions are the very minimum. With public health practices playing such a critical part in the UK’s healthcare system, practitioners whose job it is to advise or immunise members of the public, should attend training as regularly as possible. At RIVA, we believe you can never have enough knowledge or inspiration.
What are training updates?
An annual training update of immunisation ensures all immunisation practitioners demonstrate competence and have the right understanding and skills for their roles. Attending annual training sessions and courses ensures they have the knowledge and ability to deliver only the highest standard of service of public healthcare.
What about professionals who are new to immunisation?
How often should health professionals attend immunisation update training if they’ve only just joined the field of immunisation?
Well, the same goes for new immunisation professionals. Once they’ve attended their first basic training, new practitioners should attend update training at least once a year.
However, we recommend that all professionals new to immunisation attend a variety of specialised immunisation training courses to ensure their knowledge covers all areas of the field – from travel health to occupational health to military immunisation training.
We also offer a two-day introduction to immunisation course for those who are new to practice or require a comprehensive update on delivering immunisations
What about senior immunisation specialists?
They’re also required to attend annual training sessions.
Those with managerial and clinical governance responsibilities should make sure that full staff training is included in regular audits of the immunisation service they provide. Clinical governance requires careful coordination and planning of essential staff development and training.
Who needs to take part in immunisation training?
Any professional involved in immunisation should be given access to full immunisation training – whether you work in the NHS or private sector. These roles might include paediatricians, pharmacists, midwives, healthcare assistants, and occupational health practitioners.
However, immunisation training is most important for professionals who directly advise on or administer vaccines as part of their everyday clinical practice – for example, GPs, public health visitors, and nurses. At RIVA, we believe regular and specialised immunisation training is particularly important for healthcare professionals in these kinds of roles.
How can RIVA help?
It’s really down to the discretion of the healthcare professional to decide how often they should attend immunisation update training, but to meet the UK national minimum standards, you must attend immunisation training annually.
And this is where RIVA can help. Our vaccination and immunisation training courses help you stay up-to-date with mandatory immunisation training. Rest assured, all of our courses meet the UK national minimum standards for immunisation training.
Are you looking to continue your professional development and update your skills? If so, you’re more than welcome to attend. Our nationwide pre-bookable courses cover a variety of areas in the immunisation and travel health field. Browse our selection to see which one/s best suit your educational needs. They’re suitable for all qualified healthcare professionals who provide vaccinations, vaccination support, or other travel health-related services.
Contact us today if you’ve questions about any of our training courses or would simply like more information on any of our specialisms. We’ll gladly respond within 48 hours.
