Number/percent of trained providers who perform to established guidelines/standards Number/percent of trained providers who perform to established guidelines/standards Definition: Number or percent of program-supported pre-service education or in-service training participants, students, or learners who perform to established guidelines/standards adopted by the organization for which they work. The trainees should be assessed after a specific period following the training (e.g., three or six months after the training). “Trainees” refers to individuals who have participated in one or more training events. “Guidelines/standards” refer to the written criteria adopted by the organization to outline the processes/or implementing of specific procedures. This indicator is calculated as: (# of trained providers carrying out specific procedures according to established guidelines or standards / Total # of trained providers evaluated) x 100 Data Requirement(s): Listing of trainees; specification of the skill and established standards for the skill; assessment of skills level of trained providers conducted by an expert observer This indicator can be disaggregated by age, sex, urban/rural status, cadre, sector, and type of trainee. Data Source(s): National guidelines/standards for service delivery; and checklists and notes of an expert observer Written tests can determine knowledge/stated practice of performance to standard. Purpose: This indicator measures the retention of skills acquired during training and the application of such skills to the job at hand; it also identifies possible candidates for retraining, or alternatively, for promotion. It measures both the adequacy of the training to impart these skills and the ability of the trainees to assimilate and to retain the information and skills over time. This indicator goes beyond the indicator, Number/percent of trainees assigned to an appropriate service delivery point and/or job responsibilities, to ensure that providers can do their work (a variety of skills/services) according to the standard of the workplace. It measures performance in a work routine or a work day rather than just the skill learned in training. Evaluators can apply this indicator at a specific interval post-training (e.g., 6 months, 12 months) among those who attended the training course or event. Alternatively, evaluators may apply it to all service providers in the system to capture both the coverage of training and the quality of the instruction (i.e., number/percent of providers who perform to established guidelines/ standards). Issue(s): If a trained provider fails to retain the skills acquired, it is important to explore the reasons. Possible explanations may include a lack of continued practice due to low client load, too much time lapsed since the training, or lack of reinforcement on the job. Conversely, a provider may improve his/her competency by continuously performing the task during the months following the training. In fact, this indicator reflects less the quality of the training than the subsequent work environment of the training (e.g., type and frequency of supervision, demand for the skills). Related content Quality of Care in Sexual and Reproductive Health Services Filed under: Family Planning, FP, FP/RH, Indicators, Reproductive Health, RH, service delivery, training