Posts Tagged ‘In the Know Inservices’
CNAs on TV!
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.
Home Care Rising to the Top
Twenty years ago, when I worked at Duke University Medical Center, I remember clearly how some of my co-workers viewed their colleagues in home care. I was precepting a newly hired nurse to our oncology unit. A number of the “old timers” on the unit whispered to me, “Good luck training her! She doesn’t have any skills…she’s been working as a home health nurse!” The general consensus seemed to be that home care was the “red-headed stepchild” of the health care industry.
Things have definitely changed! Home care has now taken the lead as the fastest growing sector of the health care industry. Here are some statistics to prove it:
- According to the Agency for Healthcare Research and Quality (AHRQ), the number of patients needing home care after hospitalization is up by a whopping 70 percent!
- The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics projects a 22 percent employment growth through 2018 for health care in general, but home health jobs are expected to increase by more than 46 percent.
Many of those job openings will be for home health aides. As home care agencies struggle to fill positions, it will be more challenging than ever to develop and maintain a team of top-notch HHAs. That’s where In the Know can help. With more than 140 topics, we’ve got an inservice that addresses nearly any issue that might arise for your home health aides. If you would like assistance in putting together either an orientation program for newly hired aides or a continuing education program, please give us a call.
Oh…and my colleagues at Duke were wrong. That former home health nurse did just fine on the unit! And, a couple of years later, I moved on from the hospital to work in home care myself.
Congratulations to home health for finally being recognized in the media as such an important part of our health care system. And, a big thank you to all you home health nurses and aides out there for the vital work you do!
Are Your CNAs Emotionally Competent?
Much of the day-to-day work of a nursing assistant has to do with competencies. For example, does the CNA know how to make an occupied bed, transfer a person safely from a bed to a wheelchair or take an accurate blood pressure reading? But are task-based competencies enough to ensure quality client care?
If you ask Daniel Goleman, the answer would be no. In the 1990s, he researched and wrote the book, Emotional Intelligence. His theory was that people could enhance their personal and professional success by mastering five key emotional competencies. How do you think your nursing assistants rank when it comes to emotional intelligence?
1. Awareness of Self and Others.
People with a high “emotional IQ,” also called “EQ,” should be able to identify their feelings accurately. Imagine your CNAs are working with a difficult client. Can they tell if they are feeling irritated, hurt or angry when the client is unfriendly? Can they look past their own emotions and realize that their actions affect how other people feel?
2. Managing Their Moods.
Emotional intelligence includes controlling impulses and handling anger constructively. Let’s revisit that scenario with the combative client. If your nurse aides feel angry when caring for a disruptive client, can they manage that anger without taking it out on the client—even in subtle, non-verbal ways?
3. Motivating Themselves.
Having a high emotional IQ helps people set goals and work towards them with a positive attitude—even when faced with setbacks. Do your nursing assistants have an inner drive that keeps them inspired and determined to do their best, no matter what the challenge?
4. Empathy.
Can your nurse aides put themselves in someone else’s shoes—to see and feel the perspective of a client or a co-worker? For example, when it comes to a grouchy client, can they see past the angry surface to understand the fear and loneliness that is fueling the client’s hostility?
5. Managing relationships.
Working as a CNA is all about relationships—with clients, family members, co-workers and supervisors. How skilled are your nursing assistants at resolving conflict? Do they cooperate with their clinical team members? Can you count on experienced aides to share what they know with new employees?
According to author Daniel Goleman, the mastery of these five competencies results in enhanced emotional intelligence. You might be thinking, “So what?” Well, studies show that emotionally intelligent employees communicate more effectively, manage change better and have higher levels of productivity—all great qualities for anyone who works in health care.
In an ideal world, it would be great to have a system in place at every workplace to assess for emotional intelligence during the hiring process. However, it’s never too late to develop and improve the emotional intelligence of your current employees. You can find a number of resources—both in print and online—to assist you with EQ training. Or, you can avoid reinventing the wheel by sharing some of the following In the Know inservices with your nurse aides. Each one offers knowledge and skills that promote a high “EQ.”
Customer Service in Health Care (It’s free! Just fill out the registration form.)
Building Trust & Confidence with Clients
Dealing with Difficult & Combative People
Happy Teaching!
Linda
Are Your CNA Training Dollars Few and Far Between?
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!
Do Your CNAs Consider Themselves Well-Trained?
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
Are Your Nurse Aides Observant?
Your CNAs make observations about their clients all day long. Therefore, it’s incredibly important that each of your CNAs know what, when and how to report what they see. Not only should your nurse aides know the procedure for reporting and documenting client care, they should also be aware of what observations are considered abnormal. After completing our new inservice topic, “Recognizing and Reporting Abnormal Observations”, your nurse aides will be able to:
- Distinguish between normal and abnormal observations in their clients.
- Identify the specific course of action to take with each abnormal observation they may encounter.
- List at least three abnormal observations they might make in regards to: vital signs, mental status, nutrition and pain.
- Distinguish between objective and subjective observations.
- Demonstrate the ability to recognize and properly report abnormal observations in their daily work.
Would you like to see a sample page from the inservice? Click here to view the PDF file.
Interested in ordering this topic? Click here to visit our website. If you would prefer to order over the phone, call us toll-free at 877.809.5515 and one of our helpful associates will be happy to assist you!
More Measurable Outcomes from CNA Inservices!
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.
