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This newsletter is your monthly resource for the latest news, tips, and trends regarding staff education in healthcare

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Issue 12, December 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Collaboration in action: Building a simulation alliance

  Healthcare organizations have designed simulation scenarios, standards, and techniques for their...

• Professional Development Scope and Standards: What the changes to the staff development standards will mean for your professional practice

  In March 2008, a task force was formed to review and revise the American Nurses Association’s...

• Quick competency: Implementing just-in-time training

  Just-in-time training (also referred to as inservice education or on-the-job training) is basic...

• Prepping for unannounced surveys: Dealing with the most frustrating and challenging standards

  When prepping for Joint Commission surveys, “it’s best to take a look at the most...

Issue 11, November 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Stroke education for patient care technicians

  Designation as a stroke center requires that all clinical and nonclinical hospital employees...

• Applying Benner’s framework to staff development

  Most staff development specialists are familiar with Patricia Benner’s book From Novice to...

• Simulation learning modalities: Going beyond the basics

  The phrase “simulation modalities” may conjure up a variety of images. For example...

• New accreditation decision: How will this affect 2010 surveys?

  The Joint Commission has announced the adoption of a new accreditation decision for 2010...

Issue 10, October 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Bridging the generation gap with diverse, creative education

  Background For the first time in history, there are four distinct generations in the American...

• Evidence-based orientation brings PA hospital retention results

  Staff development specialists are well aware that the way new employees are oriented to an...

• Every picture tells a story

  Poster presentations are an excellent way to share knowledge and expertise, as well as give credit...

• Reporting critical test results to physicians

  According to survey results, one of the most frequently cited National Patient Safety Goal elements...

Issue 9, September 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Examining paradigm shifts with orientation needs

  Orientation is the process of helping nurses become part of an organization’s culture...

• Continuing education for staff development specialists

  In addition to providing continuing education, this year’s convention was also a celebration...

• Designing individualized nursing orientation

  Interviewing prospective nursing employees is only the first step in the successful integration of...

• Identifying competent restraint trainers

  One of the Joint Commission issues that triggers the most questions is the use of restraints. Joint...

Issue 8, August 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Hospital’s evidence-based fall prevention program starts to see results

  The Staff Educator has been following the progress of North Adams (MA) Regional Hospital’s...

• Just-in-time training: Tips for facilitating inservice education

  Inservice education is defined as simple, short-term programming that meets an immediate training...

• New drama features nurses as main characters

  Nurses have an obligation to be aware of media representation of the profession and to take action...

• Nursing research and EBP: Applauding staff nurse initiatives

  The key to successful nursing research initiatives that lead to clinical evidence-based practice...

• Preparation for unannounced surveys

  Hospitals and healthcare systems are adjusting to the demand that organizations be prepared for...

Issue 7, July 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Evidence-based practice: Staff nurses investigate better patient care through research projects

  Nurses at York (PA) Hospital are hard at work identifying best practices for patient care through...

• Right- and left-brain learners: Strategies to facilitate hemisphere learning

  There is increasing evidence that the learning preferences and styles of adult learners drastically...

Issue 6, June 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Competency: Implementing staff  development competencies 

  Last month, Barbara A. Brunt, MA, MN, RN-BC, director of nursing education and staff development at...

• Evidence-based practice: Educating nurses about fall prevention

  After identifying an increase in patient falls, Debbie Durant, RN, BSN, director of the...

• Evidence-based staff development practice: Implementation strategies and understanding ethical and legal implications

  Incorporating EBP into staff development is an ongoing process that requires you to consider the...

Issue 5, May 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Assessing the competence of staff development specialists

  Assessing the clinical competency of healthcare professionals is, arguably, the center of attention...

• Data gathering and current program analysis

  EBP in staff development requires a continual analysis of healthcare practices. Such analysis...

• Motivate your nurses to conduct research

  Conducting research and publishing findings is an important way to add to the body of knowledge of...

• Reporting safety concerns

  Each month, The Staff Educator will feature suggestions for Joint Commission survey preparation...

Issue 4, April 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Basing staff development practice on evidence

  What is evidence-based practice (EBP) in staff development? We all know that EBP in the clinical...

• Making sense of copyright issues

  Questions and concerns about copyright are nothing new. Educators in all practice settings want...

• From evidence to education: An EBP project takes flight

  After identifying an increase in patient falls, Debbie Durant, RN, BSN, director of the medical...

Issue 3, March 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Caring for the aging population: Plan for the future

  At Alexian, staff members have recently implemented several initiatives to better meet the needs of...

• Find your facility's fit

  This was the situation at Norton Suburban Hospital in Louisville, KY, whose postoperative...

• Preventing catheter-associated urinary tract infections

  The most effective method for eliminating hospital-acquired CAUTI is prevention as a result of...

Issue 2, February 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Train nurses to handle obese patients with sensitivity

  Seeking healthcare should never be described as a constant battle or a struggle, but for overweight...

• Tightening the belt

  Has the state of your department’s budget left you looking for an economic bailout of your...

• No laughing matter: Clowns can teach valuable lessons

  During their shifts, nurses travel their units, busily dispensing medication, checking IVs, and...

Issue 1, January 1, 2009 - VIEW THE FULL ISSUE

• Adding oral care helps lower VAP rates

  The Institute for Healthcare Improvement (IHI) states that ventilator-associated pneumonia (VAP...

• Falls are focus of community hospital’s first EBP project

  For reasons she can’t explain, Debbie Durant, RN, BSN, has seen a rise in the number of...

• Quick ideas keep nurses trained, but on the floor

  Sometimes it seems as though the “e” in e-mail could stand for “easy.”...