Be In the Know!

Everyone has heard of Goodwill, right?  You may have dropped off some clothing or furniture that you no longer needed at a local Goodwill store.  But, if you’re like me, you might not have heard of the free online learning offered by Goodwill Community Foundation.

Recently, I happened to see a TV commercial about their online learning program.  My first thought was, “What…?  Goodwill has online training?” It turns out that this program has been in effect for more than a decade and has served over two million learners around the world.  And, it’s all free!  How great is that?

The GCFLearnFree website offers “quality, innovative online learning opportunities to anyone who wants to improve the technology, literacy, and math skills necessary for them to be successful in both work and life.” Their list of classes is extensive and includes:

• Computer basics…even explaining what all the buttons do!
• Internet basics such as email and how to “surf” the web for information
• How to apply and/or interview for a job
• Math skills…from brushing up on fractions to counting change
• Reading skills for people who would like to enhance their literacy

They also have a broad range of “Everyday Life” classes, such as:

• Using an ATM
• Reading a bus map
• Depositing money
• Reading a food label
• Making a grocery list
• Using a microwave
• Paying bills

…and many more!

All together, GCFLearnFree offers more than 750 free classes.  Many of them are also offered in Spanish on their sister site: GCFLatino.

On the website, I read dozens of wonderful testimonials so it’s clear that the classes are having an impact.  Here are what just a few people had to say:

“I just tried out the Everyday Life section of the GCFLearnFree.org website and it’s my new favorite! What a great way to teach life skills! It’s fun, interactive, and practical. “

“I just heard about your website and I love it!  I’m a teacher and it will be great to use with my ABE and ESL students.  Thank you! ”

“These courses will enable me to get a better job and be computer literate with up-to-date skills for today’s computer world.”

“Wonderful class and great boost to my confidence. As an older student, I find your classes easy to understand and use. Thank you!”

“I learned some things in this class that I probably should have learned a long time ago in school but I just didn’t get.”

Here at In the Know, I shared the GCF link with all my employees and the response has been nothing but positive.  For example, one employee wants to learn more about Excel.  Another just upgraded to Office 2010 and needs to learn the “bells and whistles”.

So, please take a few minutes to look over GCF’s list of classes.  Like me, I bet you’ll think of a number of ways you might utilize them with both employees and clients!

Happy Teaching!

Linda

Whether we’re RNs, LPNs or CNAs, most of us got into nursing out of a desire to help people.  But, like it or not, health care is a business…with both external customers (patients) and internal customers (co-workers).  How each of us treats our “customers” has a big impact on our most important outcome:  patient health and well-being.

I was reminded of that today, in a small way, when I went to the drug store to pick up a prescription.  The pharmacist greeted me and asked how she could help.  I told her my name and she brought my prescription to the counter.  She asked if I had any questions…the usual drill.  Then, instead of ringing up my prescription and sending me on my merry way, she said, “My assistant will be with you shortly.”

Unfortunately, her assistant was swamped with people who were dropping off prescriptions.  And, the “drop off” line kept getting longer as I stood at the register.  This meant that people who arrived after me were being served first.  Meanwhile, the pharmacist stood a mere five feet from the register.  I was the only person waiting to pay, so she could have checked me out in less than a minute.  In fact, in the time it took her to tell me the assistant would help me, she could have been halfway through the process!  Instead, I was forced to wait more than ten minutes for the pharmacy assistant.

OK, I get it.  The pharmacist went to school for a lot longer than her assistant.  And, I’m sure the pharmacist had plenty of prescriptions to fill.  But, she did not demonstrate good customer service to me (the “patient”) or to her co-worker.  She was in full-on “it’s not my job” mode!

We’ve probably all been guilty of ignoring the needs of a patient or co-worker with the justification that we had something more important to do or that the task wasn’t in our job description.  In my work with CNAs, I’ve heard stories that make me cringe: the nurse who brushed off the patient who asked for fresh water because that was the aide’s job (so the patient waited 30 minutes for water).  Or the CNA who ignored her co-worker’s plea for help making an occupied bed…because she didn’t like the co-worker.

We all get busy, caught up with fulfilling the responsibilities of our daily assignment.  But who suffers in the above examples? The patient.  Each and every time.

There’s no way around it:  every interaction between two nursing co-workers has an impact, either positive or negative, on patient care. If you think your staff could use a reminder of this fact, consider downloading our FREE inservice, Customer Service in Health Care.  It focuses on issues like internal and external customers, customer expectations, the price of poor customer service, handling customer complaints…and much more.  Like all our CNA inservices, it provides an hour of inservice credit.

And feel free to share your customer service stories–for example, a story of exceptional customer service by one of your CNAs or a cautionary tale of what not to do!

Happy Teaching,

Linda

As we celebrate Memorial Day, 2011, all of us at In the Know send our deep gratitude to every past and current member of our Armed Forces.  In addition, we would like to honor the 77,000 nursing personnel who work with Veterans in the VA health care system—including the more than 11,000 certified nursing assistants! Thank you for all you do to promote the health of Veterans across the United States.

Here are a few things you may not know about the VA health care system:  (Thanks to the VA’s website, www.va.gov, for these facts.)

• The VA was a leader in the development of home care.  During the early 1930s, a special category of VA “follow‑up” nurses visited Veteran patients at their homes in rural, isolated areas.

• Until 1976, nursing assistants outnumbered RNs.  Today, there is approximately 1 CNA for every 4 RNs.

• In the early 1990s, some 2,300 VA nurses were in the ready reserve of the armed forces at the time of the Persian Gulf crisis.  More than 600 were called to active duty and another 300 were put on alert status. Approximately 3,200 VA nurses are Veterans themselves.

• In 2005-06, VA nursing staff responded heroically to hurricanes Katrina and Rita by assisting with evacuation and continuing care of hundreds of VA hospital patients.

• The VA is working hard to address the nursing shortage by instituting several scholarship and tuition reimbursement programs that support nurses in continuing their education. Examples of such programs include: Education Debt Reduction Program (EDRP); National Nursing Education Initiative (NNEI); Employee Incentive Support Program; and Tuition Support Program.

• Every year, nearly 30,000 student nurses gain clinical experience in a VA setting.

• Three years ago, the 4000^th VA nurse graduated with the help of the Employee Incentive Scholarship Program.  The awards from this program cover tuition and related expenses such as registration, fees and books.

To do our small part to honor the hardworking VA nursing staff, we are offering any VA health care facility three free inservices. Each facility may choose their three topics from among our vast library of CNA inservices.

There is no gimmick associated with this offer, no strings attached and no deadline. If you work at a VA facility, simply email us at info@knowingmore.com or call us at 877-809-5515.  If needed, we will assist you in selecting the best topics for your facility.  Your order will be filled promptly—and include our sincere gratitude for the work you do every day.

Happy Memorial Day!

Shelly Sun, CEO of BrightStar

Did you happen to see Undercover Boss on CBS this past Sunday?  That’s the show where executives from large companies go incognito in their own businesses.  They do it to learn firsthand how their employees really feel about working for them.  It’s always interesting, but this week’s episode revolved around BrightStar, a nationwide company that offers home care, child care and health staffing.

The CEO of BrightStar, Shelly Sun, disguised herself and shadowed several BrightStar Caregivers in different areas of the country.  One was a certified nursing assistant, Arlene, who had been assigned temporarily to a nursing home in California.  Arlene represented CNAs quite well, performing her job with warmth, sensitivity and professionalism.  She was honest with “Linda” (Shelly’s alter ego) about the pros and cons of the job, while always maintaining a positive attitude.

The hour-long show also showcased Caregivers in home health, assisted living and child care.  It was so good to see health care workers on television doing what they do in real life–rather than the fictionalized stereotypes we see so often.  You know what I mean…those shows where all the health care workers forget about their patients and spend their time “making whoopee” in the supply closet!

So, a big thank you to CBS for showcasing health care workers in such a good light.  All of us at In the Know send a heartfelt congratulations and shout out (Woo Hoo!) to Arlene for her dedicated work as a nursing assistant.  And, we are proud to be the CNA inservice provider chosen by BrightStar to serve all of their locations nationwide.

If you missed Undercover Boss with BrightStar, you can watch it on the CBS website.  You can also see more of Shelly’s thoughts about her experience here.

Picture an average health care facility.  Think about all the supplies, paper, equipment and food that get thrown out every day.  Can you guess how much trash all of us health care providers are generating every year?  While the exact number is impossible to determine, researchers estimate that hospitals add nearly 6 million tons of trash to our landfills every year.  And that’s just hospitals! Add nursing homes, clinics, home health agencies, public health departments and so on…and that number gets even scarier.  We may be tasked with doing no harm to our patients, but what about the environment?

There is good news.  Across the nation, healthcare workers are leading a revolution in waste management!  While some waste is unavoidable, much of it can be eliminated.  And, American healthcare workers are making changes.  Even “small” ideas can lead to reduced waste—and huge savings.

Here are examples of what is working:

• Switching from disposable to reusable sharps containers saves a medium-sized facility as much as $175,000 a year.
• Eliminating plastic trash bag liners in administrative areas saves $20,000 a year.
• Replacing paper towels with air dryers saves $45,000 a year.
• Switching from disposable to reusable food service items saves $500,000 and prevents 400,000 pounds of waste.
• A Health System in Portland, Oregon switched from disposable coffee cups to an all-plastic recyclable cup. Employees were also encouraged to bring their own mug to the cafeteria for a discount. This resulted in a savings of $24,000 and waste reduction of 28,333 pounds per year!

And then there’s paper.  Anyone who’s worked in health care knows that we kill a lot of trees.  In fact, researchers estimate that nearly half of those annual 6 million tons consist of paper and cardboard.  As more health care facilities move to computer-based charting, this figure may drop.   In the meantime, does your organization recycle paper and cardboard?  If not, how about asking the powers-that-be to get with the program?  Then, rally your nursing assistants and other co-workers to make recycling at work a habit.

Even if you or your nursing assistants are not into “being green,” there’s a more personal reason for providing cost-efficient care.  For the average health care workplace, supplies take up 20% of the budget.  Inefficient use of those supplies “steals” money from the budget that might go to employee raises and benefits!

So, remind your nursing assistants to use supplies wisely and pay attention to waste.  Every time they throw away an unused item, they are costing the consumer money, adding garbage to our nation’s landfills and possibly denying themselves a raise!  And be sure to ask them for their ideas on minimizing waste–and doing no harm to the environment.

Has your budget for continuing education been cut or put on hold during this economic downturn?  When money is tight, it’s typical for many organizations to look at staff training as “non-essential”.  But, consider these results from a recent study of nearly 1200 companies, comparing the impact of recruiting externally with that of developing current employees.

• 75% of the 1,189 companies involved in the study felt that training their own staff was more beneficial to their business than recruiting people from outside.
• 50% of the companies discovered that training staff made them more likely to stay.
• 33% found that continuing education increased staff motivation, and
• Almost 50% saved money in the process.

In an article about the study, senior researcher, Emma Parry, said: “With training budgets often the first to go in a recession, this research demonstrates that ‘growing your own’ is an effective way for organizations to obtain the skills that they need while saving money.”

“I wasn’t surprised by the findings, but it is nice to have the evidence,” she said, adding that it makes sense that money spent on advertising, interviews and orientation programs can often be better spent on existing staff.

“It also helps staff retention because employees are more likely to stay if they are being developed. They are more committed and are more likely to go the extra mile if they feel the company is helping them to expand their skills,” she said.

Parry added that the problem was that companies often didn’t see the value of investing in training until it was too late. “Sometimes training is seen as nonessential, and when budgets get tight, companies start to look at what they can save money on. But to be honest, cutting training is a false economy.”

What’s the bottom line?  Organizations must focus on nurturing the employees they have if they are to survive, grow and succeed.  This is especially true for certified nursing assistants due to the increasing demand for their services. As the above study shows, effective training reduces staff turnover and absenteeism, improves motivation, increases productivity and helps boost customer satisfaction.

Don’t let a tight budget diminish the quality of your continuing education program.  For starters, be sure to download our free inservice, Customer Service in Health Care.  And, if you’d like help creating a cost-efficient CNA inservice plan, give us a call at 877-809-5515.  We offer options suitable for every education budget!

Have you seen the latest online newsletter from the Joint Commission?  It details a number of the “most challenging requirements” for the first half of 2010…in other words, the requirements for which organizations are getting cited.  This is great information, especially if you expect a Joint Commission survey any time soon.

Here are some examples:

• 31% of home care agencies surveyed this year were found non-compliant in following physician’s orders!
• 23% of home care staff were found to be less than competent to perform their jobs.
• Home care staff failed to reduce the risk of client falls 21% of the time.
• A whopping 24% of Medicare-certified nursing homes were deficient in hand hygiene!
• In skilled nursing facilities, residents were not assessed or reassessed properly 17% of the time.
• 16% of skilled nursing facilities had an ineffective emergency plan.
• Hospitals didn’t fare any better.  47% of them were cited for improper fire safety equipment.  And, 27% of them did not maintain a safe environment for patients.

Armed with the above knowledge, you can take steps now to prepare your nursing assistants for future Joint Commission (or other) surveys.  And, we can help!  In the Know has inservices covering all of the above topics…and much, much more.  If you have pressing issues that you feel might come up during a survey, give us a call.  We can help you put together a pre-survey inservice plan that will help your CNAs sail through with no deficiencies!

And, if you’d like to see the Joint Commission statistics for yourself, check them out here.

Last week, the results of a Penn State study on occupational injuries were revealed.  It should come as no surprise that nursing assistants and home health aides were high on the “injured list”.  However, the researchers found that on-the-job injuries caused a lot more than just a few aches and pains.  They also led to increased CNA turnover and, potentially, a bad reputation in the community!  Here’s what Deirdre McCaughey, assistant professor of health policy and administration had to say:

“In our research, we saw a cascading effect.  Employees who had no training or did not believe their training prepared them well had more injuries.  Those employees were also much less likely than non-injured employees to recommend their organization as a place at which to work or seek services.”

Here are some other findings of the study:

• Employees who felt ill-prepared were three times more likely to be injured than employees who were well-trained.
• Employees who felt poorly supervised were also more likely to be injured–not just once, but multiple times.
• Cutting back on training to shave the budget increased employees’ injury risk and turnover rates.  In the long run, this boosted costs rather than saving money!

You’ve probably experienced it firsthand.  When money gets tight, education is one of the first things to go…especially at the nursing assistant level.  But are you really saving money?  What are the injury and turnover rates at your workplace?  If asked, do you think your CNAs would consider themselves both well-trained and well-supervised? Would they recommend your organization as a place to work or as a place to receive care?

At In the Know, we strive to provide quality CNA continuing education to meet every budget.  If you’d like to discuss how you can maintain a top-notch team of (healthy) nursing assistants please give us a call at 877-809-5515.  With more than 130 inservice topics, including modules on safe transfers, back care, the CNA/Nurse relationship and personal wellness, we can meet your CNAs’ learning needs.

Happy Teaching!

Linda

If your client population is comprised mostly of seniors, the National Mental Health Information Center has some terrific (and free) resources for you.  As you probably know, mental health is a big issue for seniors.  In fact, people over age 65 have one of the highest suicide rates of any age group in the United States!

At the National Mental Health Information Center, you can download (at no charge) toolkits, fact sheets and staff workshops all aimed at preventing suicide and promoting optimal mental health among senior citizens.  All you need to take advantage of these materials is Acrobat Reader.

As your nurse aides provide personal care and assist with ADLs, it’s vital that they also pay attention to their clients’ mental health status.  If you are looking for additional mental health resources, don’t forget In the Know inservices.  We offer the following related topics:

• Understanding Depression
• Working with the Mentally Ill
• Understanding Schizophrenia
• Understanding Common Phobias
• Understanding Suicide

Because your CNAs spend so much time with your clients, they are in a good position to notice changes in mental health.  So, be sure to arm your nursing assistants with the knowledge they need to make (and report) appropriate observations about their clients’ mental health.