Purpose & Strategies

Why create a learning alliance at Indiana University Health? IU Health, as an organization, and employees and community members, as individuals, gain substantial advantages when they invest in ongoing learning. Building an alliance between the diverse educational efforts, educators, support systems, partners and resources optimizes the potential to serve patients and their families in the best ways possible. When all of these systems have ways of connecting, it results in better ideas, more effective strategies and more efficient use of resources. The IU Health Learning Alliance is clear about the importance of learning and offers the following statements about its formation and purpose.

IU Health Learning Alliance Mission

The mission of the IU Health Learning Alliance is to support preeminence by providing an integrated infrastructure for education, training, and development that links key business strategies to the design and development of learning solutions and engaging and enabling all staff to develop and utilize their full potential in alignment with corporate objectives, strategies, and action plans.
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IU Health Learning Alliance Vision

IU Health Learning Alliance will achieve recognition as America's preeminent health care learning organization. Our vision is to move from traditional "training" that focuses on tactics, content and individual development to focusing on strategy, goal achievement and business development.

Our current "instructor centered" methods will move towards "learner centered" education using a complementary approach to individual and organizational learning. Enabled by instructional technology and the coordination of educational resources, we will move from an emphasis on "delivery of instruction" to "accessibility to learning."

We will transition from a prescriptive model ("build it and they will come") to a strategic model ("as they come, we will build it") providing "what they need, when they need it, where they need it."

Employees will take personal responsibility for learning and will be equipped and empowered to succeed in a workplace conducive to performance excellence and personal and organizational growth.

Continuous learning and quality improvement will be embedded in the daily work and career paths of all employees. Learning strategies will be results driven, measuring outcomes against goals.

IU Health Learning Alliance offerings will address key business needs while contributing to the well being, satisfaction, and motivation of staff.

IU Health Learning Alliance Values

As an organization that values and encourages life-long learning, IU Health supports the personal and professional growth and development of all employees at all levels of the organization. We value:

• An optimum balance between "growing our own/promoting from within" and the critical need to recruit new talent with fresh perspectives.
• The diverse ideas, cultures and thinking of our staff and the communities with which we interact
• Involving leaders and staff as learners and faculty
• High quality educational experiences using best-in-practice learning methodologies
• Relationships with our external partners to extend the benefits of learning to our patients, community and suppliers

IU Health Learning Alliance Goals

The IU Health Learning Alliance strives to:

• Maximize IU Health's return on investment in education, training, and development
• Unite and coordinate all educational units within IU Health's three downtown hospitals and related facilities; strengthen linkages with educational units at IU Health West Hospital and IU Health North Hospital
• Align educational resources and activities to support corporate strategic and operational priorities
• Link individual learning goals with corporate business goals
• Ensure high quality education and the optimum use of learning methodologies
• Create an environment in which all educators communicate effectively and share information, knowledge, expertise and instructional resources
• Increase the standardization of curricular content and critical learning and development activities
• Ensure awareness and convenient access to learning opportunities
• Enhance IU Health's reputation as the Healthcare Employer of Choice
• Elevate preeminence in healthcare education and development

IU Health Learning Alliance Strategies

In order to accomplish those goals, IU Health Learning Alliance will:

• Increase efficiency and cost-effectiveness through the optimum allocation and sharing of educational resources corporate-wide
• Establish a centralized infrastructure for educational governance with a decentralized system for delivering instruction and providing access to education
• Assess and document critical talent and staffing requirements and develop educational strategies and tactics to meet those requirements
• Support individual learning plans that link with corporate initiatives including Contribution Management, Quality Improvement, and Service Excellence, and leading to preeminence
• Implement educational quality standards, key outcomes measures, and the Plan, Do, Study, Act (PDSA) approach for the ongoing evaluation and improvement of educational activities
• Identify and implement methods to enhance communication, collaboration, and collegiality among all IU Health educators