THE NEED FOR SKILLS DEVELOPMENT IN HEALTHCARE (Updated1).

Skills in the healthcare can be viewed from different perspectives. Skills set that involves the development of manual dexterity in the use of equipment, materials and tools for carrying out various diagnostic and treatment procedures are those that this write up will focus. These skills are just required to operate equipment and promote the use of tools that aid health workers in delivery of services to their patients. Unfortunately, health professionals do not want to be associated with tools thinking that it is better associated with vocations like Carpentry, plumbing, and other artisans related vocations. It is not true. On arrival at the hospital anywhere around the world the immediate contact after initial registration with the records is a medical doctor's physical examination of the patient and this require stethoscope and if dental clinic dentist's mirror. For effective diagnosis the laboratory must be engaged. Again the use of equipment, tools and materials become indispensable for quality care. Where then is the use of tools and equipment regarded as belonging to the artisans alone? In the dental care the use of equipment and tools and materials from the beginning to the end of oral care proofs an efficient dentist. Manual skills are therefore very indispensable as it is about handling of tools and equipment for service delivery. Research is replete with the use of tools in healthcare beginning with the use of plants and animal for testing and discoveries of new diseases and treatment options. In the administration of drugs the use of tools and equipment has been identified as aiding efficiency. Despising the notion that healthcare is tool and equipment based is therefore parochial and signifies inefficiency.
Dental Training and practice.
How did dental training and practice start and what do we think about equipment and tools? An indispensable truth is that dental surgery degree programme last for a minimum of four to six (4-6) years depending on country but it is clear that acquisition of manual skills is an unavoidable part of clinical skill development.
When does a dental student begins his journey into skill development? The first four years is a long journey into the faculty of dental sciences but an important stage is when he gets to see in practical terms all that he has been taught in the classroom. The said time was when he gets to the dental laboratory to probably see and handle artificial teeth, dental model of the mouth, variety of tools, equipment and materials needed for the rest of his training. The long journey into clinical training begins with the exposure to skills acquired in the dental laboratory namely: skills for operating and controlling high and low speed machines; skills for manipulation of materials from liquid state to the solid state;  skills for understanding different behaviours of materials for fabrication of dental prostheses and patient care; skills for understanding behaviours of different patients; skills for overcoming fears of handling materials and equipment and the eventual benefits of gaining confidence to handle them; skills for resilience in the face of difficulties; skills for management of materials and equipment productively; skills for mitigating risks in handling equipments and other hazards. Dental laboratory procedures and courses are expected to help undergraduate dental students face the future in further clinical training and the future as dentists.
Skill in Healthcare
Healthcare is replete with the use of materials and tools. A number of them are hereby listed: X-machine, ECG, dental chair, .........; hand tools; scalpel, stethoscopes etc. Needless to list so many of them as they are well-known but certainly they are just many and are evolving. Therefore, it is a simple understanding that manual skills are a must for anyone to work as a health professional. Health professionals are those who are involved in patient care and hence no one working in the health sector is excluded in the use of tools and equipments in service delivery.