CNA Inservice Tips & Tricks
It’s officially summer when the pace of every day life is supposed to be slower and more laid back. Hmm…how’s that going for you? These days, it seems like we’re all running at full speed throughout the year! However, at In the Know, we work hard to make your life easier…at least when it comes to inservicing your CNAs. Our customers report that implementation of our inservice program is simple. And, many of them have offered their own tips for sailing through annual inservice requirements. Here are just a few of those tips:
“I add information and questions to my In the Know inservices that are facility-specific. And, on each unit, I maintain a self-study folder box so that the CNAs always have access.”
“I utilize members of our team to present different inservices. For example, an African American assistant administrator presented the ‘Understanding Cultural Diversity’ inservice to help CNAs understand that it is so much more than race. Medical social workers presented the ‘Understanding & Supporting Advance Directives’ inservice. And, a corporate compliance officer presented the ‘Maintaining Confidentiality’ inservice.”
“When I do a training, I copy the learner’s section of the inservice, the quiz and any puzzles or games–and distribute them to the aides. The aides are very involved in the training. Usually, we split up in groups during the inservice meeting and I assign a group leader. We do some problem solving. This allows the aides to practice critical thinking. Then, we get together and discuss each other’s ideas.
“I develop a workbook for each In the Know topic which includes several copies of the learner’s section and a separate instructor workbook. This has been especially helpful for the night shift.”
“To save paper, we try to recycle copies of each In the Know inservice throughout the year. However, aides are welcome to keep their own copies if they wish.”
“We mail In the Know inservices to employees with their paychecks once a month. It works great!”
“I print out the Certificate of Completion from my In the Know Supervisor Toolkit. I make one copy for the company file and one for the employee to take home.”
“To let our employees know when and what the monthly inservice is, I ‘advertise’ it by writing a short article in our company newsletter. (The newsletter comes out one week before the inservice meeting.)”
“I allow my home care aides to do their inservices on a self-study basis. I pay them for an hour and provide them with a due date. When I grade their quizzes, I let them know how they did and hand out certificates. They really enjoy receiving that pat on the back. Also, if a number of aides miss the same quiz question, I use that as an opportunity for further education. It lets me know what they don’t understand.”
“Sometimes, I give the nursing assistants material from the inservice to preview. Then, on the day of the meeting, they present their section of the inservice.”
“I’ll pull some interesting facts or statistics from each inservice and write them on separate slips of paper which are distributed to each participant. Throughout the inservice, I have each person read his/her fact to the group. This promotes participation, even among shy employees.
We hope these tips give you some ideas for streamlining your own inservice program, whether or not you use In the Know modules. And, from all of us at In the Know, Happy Summer!
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