Have you ever walked out of a meeting or training session and realised you couldn’t recall anything said? You’re not alone. In healthcare, where time is scarce and cognitive demands are high, forgetting is more common than we’d like to admit.
The problem isn’t our attention span or intelligence. It’s our method. Traditional passive learning strategies, lectures, lengthy PowerPoint presentations, and reading-heavy modules don’t make information stick. As it turns out, easy learning leads to easy forgetting.
Poor retention and application of learning can lead to suboptimal clinical and patient practices—an outcome no healthcare provider wants.
Beyond Compliance: The True Cost of Ineffective Training
In healthcare, ineffective training isn’t just a missed opportunity. It can carry real-world consequences. When staff complete mandatory learning without proper comprehension, organisations risk non-compliance, safety incidents, and reduced quality of care. Passive, checkbox-style education may tick a regulatory box but rarely changes behaviour. Retrieval practice helps bridge this gap by turning compliance content into meaningful, retained knowledge that supports audit success and genuine capability on the floor.
Getting information ‘out’ to get it ‘in’
But what if we flipped the script? Instead of focusing solely on getting information into our learners’ heads, we focus on getting it out. This deceptively simple shift is called retrieval practice, and it’s one of the most potent, evidence-based ways to boost long-term retention and performance (Agarwal & Bain, 2019).
What is Retrieval Practice?
Retrieval practice is recalling information from memory, without the crutch of notes, slides, or Google. ‘It’s getting it out-to get it in’. This process helps us see what we know (and don’t know) and significantly strengthens the memory trace, making learning stickier and more durable over time.
Professor Pooja Agarwal, a cognitive scientist and co-author of Powerful Teaching, describes retrieval as a ‘mental workout’ that creates stronger neural connections. It’s the opposite of passive review, and that’s the point. Retrieval is effortful, and that effort is precisely what embeds learning for the long haul.
Why Healthcare Learning Needs a Rethink
As healthcare educators, we know our learners are time-poor and task-heavy. Training is often squeezed into short bursts such as toolbox talks, compliance eLearning, or orientation slides. These methods flood learners with information, leaving little room for reflection, discussion, or application.
I recall a moment from my time as an L&D Manager in Aged Care when, after a recent internal audit, the Clinical Manager pulled me aside, frustrated: “No one knows what SIRS is,” she said. This bewildered me. We’d covered the Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS) in orientation, online modules, and even toolbox talks.
The problem wasn’t a lack of information—it was a lack of retrieval practice. Applying just a few simple strategies, such as asking learners to get the new information out, which can be done in as little as one minute, is a cognitive game changer.
Four Evidence-Based Learning Strategies
To avoid repeating this ‘in-one-ear, out-the-other’ pattern, we can complement traditional methods with these four simple research-backed strategies: retrieval practice, spacing, interleaving, and feedback.
Together, they act as cognitive multipliers, supercharging learning with minimal time investment.
1. Retrieval Practice
To employ this first strategy, you could try:
- Quizzes (given days or even weeks after learning)
- Brain dumps (ask learners to write down everything they remember on a topic)
- Think-pair-share (recall individually, then discuss with a peer and share with the group)
- Prompt cards (scenarios that require recalling procedures or knowledge)
Be patient while learners think; this initial struggle is a ‘desirable difficulty’ that boosts encoding and retention.
2. Spacing
Spacing enhances learning by distributing sessions over time. Instead of cramming, revisit key content days or weeks later. This strengthens memory and reduces cognitive overload.
In practice:
- Begin each session with “What do you remember from last time?”
- Use regular short follow-ups, perhaps at the beginning of a meeting or handover, instead of a single intensive session.
3. Interleaving
Mix related topics rather than teaching one at a time. For example, in a session about mandatory aging care topics, interleave content on the new strengthened Ageing Care Quality Standards, person-centred care principles, and related SIRS responsibilities. This helps learners differentiate concepts and improves transfer.
4. Feedback
Feedback is essential. It helps learners calibrate what they think they know with what they know. Combine feedback with retrieval practice to clarify misunderstandings and increase confidence.
Sample 45-Minute Toolbox Talk: SIRS
Here’s what a simple, high-impact learning session might look like:
Session Topic: Serious Incident Response Scheme (SIRS)
| Segment | Strategy |
|---|---|
| Introduction & Brain Dump | Retrieval: “Write down everything you know about SIRS.” |
| Overview of SIRS | Brief content delivery |
| Quiz | Retrieval: “What situations are considered a SIRS event?” |
| Related Topic – New Aged Care Standards | Interleaving |
| Role Responsibilities in reporting SIRS | Application to practice |
| Think-Pair-Share | Retrieval: Discuss how you’d respond to a suspected SIRS incident |
| Feedback & Discussion | Correct misconceptions, reinforce key ideas |
| Next Session | Spacing: “We’ll recall SIRS again next week and connect it to incident documentation.” |
This structure shifts the focus from passive delivery to active engagement, and retention skyrockets.
What Does Learning Transfer Look Like?
Ultimately, we want learners not just to recall facts, but to apply knowledge in new contexts. This is known as transfer of learning, and retrieval is the key to unlocking it. Retrieval practice helps learners remember higher–order concepts, not just the facts. We want to move learners from near transfer to far transfer of learning.
Here’s how it might look with SIRS content:
| Dimension | Near Transfer | Far Transfer |
|---|---|---|
| Knowledge | Defines SIRS | Applies principles in different care settings |
| Time | Same day | Months or years later |
| Physical Context | Classroom | The nurses' station or a different facility |
| Task | Reports SIRS | Implements early interventions |
| Functionality & Format | Follows guidelines | Teaches a colleague, evaluates process, updates policy, and applies knowledge in the real world |
Multipliers That Make Learning Even Stickier
To go even further, three habits multiply the effectiveness of retrieval strategies:
- Growth mindset – Help learners see challenges as opportunities.
- Regular practice – Reinforcement isn’t one-and-done; it’s a cycle.
- Memory cues – Use stories, acronyms, and visual prompts to aid recall.
Busting Three Common Learning Myths
Many educators still rely on outdated methods based on popular but incorrect assumptions. Here’s what the science says (Brown, Roediger and McDaniel, 2019):
Myth 1: Highlighting and re-reading are effective.
These strategies give the illusion of learning but don’t promote recall or understanding.
Myth 2: Learning styles matter.
Research shows tailoring to visual, auditory, or kinesthetic styles doesn’t improve outcomes. While individuals may have learning preferences, no proof exists that presenting educational information in one format over the other will help absorb the content better. We all learn best through multiple modes of engagement.
Myth 3: Cramming works.
Cramming can work in the short term, but retention plummets within days. Spacing and retrieval, however, build lasting knowledge.
Tools to Make Your Learning Stick
These strategies aren’t fads or gimmicks. Retrieval, spacing, interleaving, and feedback are robust, research-validated tools that can transform healthcare education and delivery outcomes. Best of all, they don’t require more time - just more innovative design.
As educators, our job isn’t just to deliver great content. It’s to make learning last. And that begins not only with what we put into learners’ heads, but with how often we ask them to get it out.
Consider how you incorporate one of these strategies, perhaps the one-minute retrieval activity, into your next training session. The impact on staff capability and resident care may be more significant.
