There are lots of opportunities for professional development in healthcare IT, especially for instructional designers. Over the past few years, I have engaged in formalized higher education, regional and national organizations, and countless webinars, conferences and seminars. Some of my experiences have been unexpectedly excellent, while others have left me wanting more. I can actually recall one event that I had paid to attend and was greatly
anticipating. At the lunch break, I decided to leave and go back to work
because it was clear my time would be better spent catching up on emails.
So my question is... how do you vet opportunities and ensure that they are a good investment of your time and money?
I think the two obvious answers are word of mouth and research. By default, both of these methods are what I typically use. However, there are times when, even after asking around in my network and performing my own research, I am still disappointed with the experience.
Do you focus on certain organizations with good reputations? Do you avoid anything offered for free? Do you attend whatever opportunity your job requires or budgets for? How do you decide which professional development opportunities are right for you?
