Be In the Know!

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!

It’s great to know that our inservices are helping health care organizations achieve measurable outcomes. Many customers tell us that it’s a “trickle down” effect; they save time and money with our inservices; the nurse aides add to their knowledge and skill set; and the clients benefit from being cared for by well-prepared staff.

Here are some more ways that In the Know customers have benefited from using our inservices:

“When I ordered ‘Understanding Depression’ from In the Know, I was really thinking of my employees. Gas prices were very high and it didn’t look like we would be having a increase in Medicaid reimbursement. However, since presenting the inservice, I have noticed in our aides weekly notes that they are more aware of their clients’ moods.”
Norma B.
American Healthcare Services
Mount Airy, North Carolina

“We love the ‘Importance of Activity for the Elderly’ inservice from In the Know.. We really believe that keeping our residents active, alert and stimulated mentally as well as physically provides a better quality of life. New staff members have a hard time recognizing the importance of this. However, once we have them do this inservice we notice a huge change in their attitude and we see them get more involved with the activities. Some employees even come to us with new activity ideas that they would like to try. This inservice has really made a difference!”
Teri S.
Latter Days Assisted Living
Santaquin, Utah

“To assist our CNAs in stepping up, we cultivated a group of nursing assistant preceptors. We utilized a number of In the Know inservices as their course content. This helped the preceptors become the ‘go to’ people for the other CNAs. The preceptors provide information and are seen as an ‘on unit’ resource. They also take responsibility for insuring that all the nursing assistants also complete the In the Know modules.”
Stephanie W.
Deborah Heart & Lung Center
Browns Mill, New Jersey

Are your CNA inservices helping you overcome challenges with your nursing assistants and/or client care? If not, they should be! Give us a call today at 877-809-5515 and tell us about a current problem you’d like to solve. We’ll help you find the best solution…guaranteed!

Take care,
Linda

Linda Leekley BS, RN
CEO, In the Know, Inc.

By now, you have probably heard about the terrible tragedy that occurred on Sunday, March 29th, at a nursing home in North Carolina. Our thoughts and prayers are with the people at Pinelake Health & Rehab and the family members of those who died. It appears that this horrible incident, which took the lives of seven residents and one nurse, is a case of domestic violence.

Because this is such an important issue, we are providing you with a link from which you may download a Domestic Violence Fact Sheet. This one page (double-sided) document covers some basic information about domestic violence–and how it can spill over into the workplace. Please feel free to make as many copies as you need for distribution to your staff.

If your nursing assistants would like more information about domestic violence, please call us at 877.809.5515. We will forward our entire “Understanding Domestic Violence” inservice to you, free of charge. We do this in an effort to spread the word about domestic abuse, in the hope that a similar tragedy never happens again.

Sincerely,
The Team at In the Know

Have you ever gathered your nursing assistants for an inservice meeting and found yourself staring at a bunch of tired, dull-eyed and disinterested people? Wouldn’t you rather be greeted by excited, eager to learn employees? Try implementing these 7 tips to freshen up your CNA inservice training:

1. Keep It Relaxed
Adults tend to take their mistakes personally and often feel embarrassed if they make an error in front of their peers. During your inservice sessions, try to keep the atmosphere relaxed and non-threatening. Sit with the group rather than standing and looking down on them. And make sure they know that you welcome questions as an opportunity for everyone to learn—including yourself.

2. Mix Things Up!
Have you assessed how your employees like to learn? Most adults usually learn best in one of three main ways:
1. Visually…by watching someone else perform a task or by looking at diagrams or pictures.
2. Actively…by physically handling pieces of equipment or by practicing a transfer technique.
3. Orally…by listening to a speaker or being talked through a procedure.
So, as you plan your teaching strategy, mix things up by incorporating all three learning styles. For example, spruce up your handouts with photos or relevant clip art. Ask for volunteers to teach part of the inservice by reading it out loud. Encourage relevant activities such as role playing. And, bring in any client care equipment that relates to the inservice topic.

3. Forget Those Boring Pre-Tests
While pre-tests have their place, you can liven things up by simply asking what your staff already knows about the subject. For example, if the inservice topic is Understanding Diabetes, ask the nursing assistants for a list of five or ten things they already know about the disease. You can write their responses on a board or flipchart. In this way, you are giving credit to your staff for their prior learning and experience. (And, if someone has a misconception about the disease, you’ll know to clear it up during the inservice.)

4. Give Self-Study a Try
Adult learners like to feel they have some control over when and how they learn. That’s why self-study inservices are effective. To check for compliance with completing the inservices, try this tip. Distribute your inservice materials for self-study, but don’t give out the quiz. Tell your nursing assistants that they can come to you (or a designee) sometime in the next two weeks to sit down and take the quiz. This prevents the quiz from being completed as an open-book test and provides a clearer sense of what your employees are learning on their own.

5. Ask Questions!
Many adults are better at talking than at listening. Use this to your favor by asking a lot of questions during your inservice meetings. Remember to avoid yes or no questions; instead, come up with questions that generate discussion. Encourage everyone in the group to give input at some point by making it fun. Give out play money to those who participate and have small prizes or snacks they can buy with their loot.

6. Keep Them Moving!
Remember to allow for at least one 2-minute stretch break during each inservice hour. You may also want to devise participatory activities (like role play) that require people to get out of their seats and move a little. This helps get the circulation going and improves learning!

7. Give Them a Reason to Learn
There are a number of ways to help motivate your nursing assistants to continue learning on the job. For example, provide frequent reminders of your state and/or workplace requirements for inservice hours. Or how about giving a small pay raise or a lump sum bonus to employees who never miss an inservice! You might also make prompt inservice completion a stepping stone to higher job status. For example, aides who remain current with their inservice requirements can be designated as preceptors for newly hired nursing assistants.

Incorporating just one of the above tips will liven up your inservice sessions. By adding all 7, your CNAs won’t know what hit them!

Happy Teaching,
Linda Leekley