Education concepts and applications

Nursing

Long-Range Goal: All staff is to be well educated on new policies and procedures that they are responsible to know.

Short-Range Goal: Implement regular training sessions for staff.

In a hospital setup, a challenge is often to ensure that all staff are well informed on policies and procedures. Such policies and procedures may change on short notice, while at the same time taking a long time to reach relevant staff members. Staff members have indicated their need to be well-informed in order to better handle their work and treat patients.

The first step towards achieving this goal is implementing regular training sessions for staff members. The training schedule should be set up in such a way to ensure that the necessary staff is still available for regular duties. Specifically, this can be done by means of a suggested training schedule posted on all personnel notice boards at the hospital. This schedule will include three time slots during the next 14 days. Each schedule will include the names of the nurses whose hospital schedules are free during the time of training. Each person should add a signature to the schedule to indicate their availability at the specific slot. This process can be regulated by the head nurses on each floor. Head nurses can also handle scheduling problems.

In the long-term, the hospital's upper management staff will need to establish a regular communication channel with the nursing staff in order to communicate new policies and procedures as they are implemented. Such a communication channel will perhaps be best managed by a representative or two for each nursing floor. Management can then communicate the changes either via email, hardcopy letter, or some other form of communication. Once the information has been divulged, brief meetings can be held with nursing staff to determine their training needs. These needs will depend upon the type and complication level of the new policies and procedures.

The first step during the next 14 days will then to determine what the new policies and procedures entail, and the time required to train all staff thoroughly regarding these. Secondly, three time slots will be identified and the names of nursing staff listed for the appropriate schedules. The policies and procedures will also be documented and handed out to all attending trainees. Finally, two floor representatives will be appointed to help orient staff and ensure that all the new measures are implemented correctly. The role of these representatives is also to provide a communication platform for staff. Nurses can for example approach these staff members with any questions or clarity problems regarding the new implementation.

For long-term purposes, the floor representatives will remain in office, and serve as a communication channel for management to quickly and simply divulge information regarding new policies and procedures.

2.

Long-Range Goal: The night shift staff is to have a knowledge basis of where to retrieve information and to obtain resources that are not always available to them.

Short-Range Goal: Appoint persons who are responsible for retrieving and providing information.

One challenge that night personnel in a hospital face is the fact that technical and information personnel, along with the resources that they provide, are only available during daytime hours. In order to handle the issue, the first step will be to determine the extent of the problem.

During the first three days of the two-week period, interviews will therefore be conducted with night staff to determine their information and resource needs. The findings will then be compared with the availability of resources to the day staff to determine what can realistically be accomplished to reach the long-range goal.

On the first day, applications will be invited from the night staff for the position of information assistant at each particular floor. Such persons will have to have a proven record of reliability and ethics, as well as at least 5 consistent years of work on their particular floor.

During Day 5 of the 14 day period, at least three persons from the night staff will then be appointed for each floor of the hospital in order to help night staff with their resource and information needs. These persons will undergo training for 2-3 days in order to familiarize them with the hospital's information systems. The most promising applicant will be the information manager, with the other two being on standby if the manager is not available for his or her duties.

The head nurse on each floor will be available for monitoring the performance of information assistants. One of these assistants will be required to be available for the needs of staff at all times. Information and resources are at least as important to night nursing staff as for the daytime staff. Therefore it should be a priority to ensure that these professionals have everything they need to help them accomplish excellent patient care.