At StarFish Medical, we embody a culture of learning and ongoing improvement to comply with medical device regulations, improve efficiency and deliver continuous innovation and risk mitigation.

Since launching our first eLearning course in 2021, we’ve expanded our offerings to include training on Quality Management Systems (QMS, software applications, business processes, leadership development, and team development).

Importance of eLearning LMS to Medical Device QMS

Elearning is a vital part of our training strategy, especially in a highly-regulated industry like ours. It is incredibly important to provide training and learning support to our employees that is adaptable, simple to maintain, scalable as we grow, and consistent. By incorporating elearning into our training strategy, we promote a culture of continuous learning and ensure that every team member has access to the most recent information and abilities, where and when they need it.

A More Engaging, Effective Start for New Hires

In the past, the traditional core training was problematic:

• It could take up to three months before an employee could complete their core training.
• There was often more than one trainer for a given QMS training course, and the training materials, while being accurate, were not presented in a consistent way (person-dependent, for example).
• The sequence of the training was not possible to choose.
• The version control of the QMS training was challenging.
• The synchronous quality of the training meant there was very little flexibility for scheduling.
• Learners (especially when new to an organization) may have felt unsure about asking questions for clarification or going back to revisit some of the material.

Thanks to our adoption and use of elearning, we’ve been able to reduce mandatory QMS training time by 72%, allowing new hires to start working independently much sooner. The convenience of accessing training on any device—whether it’s a smartphone, tablet, or PC—means that employees can complete their training at their own pace and in a way that best fits their schedule. The elearning material is consistent, and the self-serve model of asynchronous training means that employees can determine the order, speed, and frequency that they access and engage with the elearning. Questions that follow can be sent to the trainers via email and that information can then be captured for the FAQ section of the training.

Using Kirkpatrick’s Level 1, 2, and 3 evaluation via electronic surveys given immediately following training, we discovered that learners found elearning more interesting than the conventional in-person classes. They agreed that:

• the training would be beneficial and applicable to their daily jobs
• they had a better grasp of the training content’s meaning and goal both in general and with respect to their individual roles
• there was a noticeable increase in their dedication and self-assurance in using what they had learned, which enhanced the onboarding process.

Expanding eLearning Across the Organization

Almost all of our eLearning is developed in-house to improve relevance to StarFish practices and QMS. We regularly add content in all areas. eLearning now includes a variety of eLearning offerings.

QMS training helps to ensure compliance, software and application modules help staff members become more proficient using our software applications to perform basic tasks, and team and project-specific initiatives are supported with elearning modules.

Enhanced Training Compliance with LMS

Our Learning Management System (LMS) introduced in April 2023 makes it easier to maintain training compliance metrics . The single source corporate training LMS allows us to reliably administer and maintain the most recent approved versions of training materials and records essential for demonstrating competence to maintain ISO-13485 compliance. We are regularly audited and asked to produce evidence from a randomized selection of employees, representing a range of job descriptions, resumes, and training records that demonstrate employee competence. The LMS has also reduced costs and increased ROI through scalable training and easy updates.