Be In the Know!

Back to "School" for CNAs

Summer is almost over and thousands of children and adults are headed back to the classroom for another year.  As for many teachers and professors, providing informative and interesting educational materials can be a challenge for nurse supervisors.  Researching topics, creating inservices and handouts…how do nurse supervisors keep learning interesting?  Below is a list of ten of our favorite tips that we believe can enhance your CNA education program:

• Do use the information from your CNA evaluations to determine what topics to cover.
• Do plan ahead!  Map out your inservice topics for the year in advance.
• Do find a local health care professional who would be willing to present on a topic they know.
• Do solicit a different nursing assistant to help teach each inservice.
• Do choose a theme for each inservice, and have goodies that you can give away.
• Don’t choose topics that are not relevant to your nurse aides and their clients.
• Don’t forget your CNAs who do “self study.”  Make sure you follow up with them in person to discuss the inservice.
• Don’t just lecture or read from the inservice material:  imagine if you were in the audience!
• Don’t forget those CNAs who can’t make it to the inservice.  Make sure you review the material with them verbally.
• Don’t talk down to your staff.  They are professionals just like you.  Many of them have decades of health care experience.

We hope the above tips add a zing to your CNA continuing education program so your nursing assistants can start this fall on the right foot…and with renewed energy!

How do you keep your nurse aides engaged in their continuing education? What teaching tips do you have to share?  We would love to hear from you!

Please take ten minutes to check out this short film called Persistence.  It’s a reminder about the most important part of being a nurse:  the patient.

It’s a great piece to show your nursing assistants, too!

Take care,

Linda

P.S.  Be patient.  The “screen” stays black for about 6 seconds before the start of the film.

Did you hear about the study released by the UNC Institute on Aging?  It identified three programs being introduced to nursing homes in North Carolina in hopes of improving client care and reducing the number of sub-standard fines and sanctions placed against the state’s nursing homes.

The study was led by Thomas R. Konrad, PhD, a research professor of health policy and management at the UNC Gillings School of Global Public Health, and a senior scientist at the Institute on Aging.  Here’s what he had to say:  “The study shows North Carolina’s unique partnerships between the state, the university and nursing homes are effectively leveraging federal funds to improve the lives of those who live in, as well as those who work in, nursing homes,”

Konrad’s study was conducted in North Carolina nursing homes between 2004 and 2007.  What’s interesting is that it was funded by civil monetary penalties – funds collected from nursing homes for deficiencies in care.  The goal was to improve client care by redistributing the penalty funds back into the same nursing homes in the form of three initiatives:

1. The Win a Step Up program focused on the nursing assistants by upgrading their knowledge and skills, increasing their job commitment and providing rewards and recognition for a job well done.
2. Quality Improvement Collaboratives, in which groups of nursing homes worked together with the statewide Quality Improvement Organization to improve specific quality care measures, such as reducing pressure sores, reducing resident falls or limiting the use of restraints.
3. Culture Change Initiatives was designed to assist nursing homes with changing their structures or routines to make their environments more “homelike.”  This initiative fell in line with goals that all nursing homes have recently made a priority.

The study found that the participating nursing saw a number of improvements, including:

• Facilities using the Win a Step Up saw a decrease in pressure sores among their residents, and experienced a drop in employee turnover when compared to the previous year.  As you know, having continuity with your staff will go a long way in making sure your facility runs at its full potential.
• Nursing homes participating in the Quality Improvement Collaboratives saw a significant reduction in incontinence and a decrease in the use of restraints.  Most significantly, resident falls were almost cut in half after the study.
• Facilities using the Culture Change Initiatives also saw a reduction in the use of restraints, as safer and more comfortable alternatives were taught and implemented.  In addition, resident satisfaction increased dramatically, especially relating to resident independence and quality of life.

At In the Know, we applaud the idea of putting penalty funds back into nursing homes-especially when the focus is to increase the knowledge base of nursing assistants.  As we always say, when people learn more, they achieve more!

Till next time,

Evan

We all know that ongoing education leads to reduced turnover and greater job satisfaction. Not to mention that

Do your CNAs retain knowledge from inservices?

continuing education is a yearly requirement for nurse aides! But, how do you know the information you provide to your nurse aides “sticks?”  Here are some staggering statistics regarding adult learning retention. Over a period of three days:

• Adults retain 10% of information that is read
• Adults retain 30% of information that is seen
• Adults retain 50% of information that is seen and heard
• Adults retain 90% of information that is said and done (applying learning to real life situations)

Many factors affect adult learning retention including age, level of prior education and motivation.  In some of our previous posts, we have given you ideas on how to motivate your nurse aides by keeping education fresh and interesting.  Below are some additional strategies your organization can take with continuing education to ensure that your nurse aides actually retain the information you are giving them.

• Touch upon a medley of learning styles – As you know, our inservices may be used in a group setting or as self-study modules.  If you choose self-study, perhaps get the group in a few times a year to interact in team activities.
• Encourage nurse aide participation – If using the self-study option, set aside time to address any questions your nursing assistants may have regarding the inservice material. If using group participation, use real-life situations, etc. to stimulate discussion.
• Use variety – Adding visual aides to reading material, such as PowerPoints, greatly enhances learning retention.
• Use active learning – Group discussions and activities, problem solving activities that involve critical thinking skills, games, etc. all lead to greater learning retention.
• Review job performance – Check for retention by making sure your caregivers are applying what they have learned to their responsibilities.  Give continuous feedback and address any issues as they arise.

What do you do to make sure your nurse aides retain the information you share with them? Please share any tips and suggestions with us.  We would love to hear from you!