Assessing Progress on the IOM Report "The Future of Nursing"

The Institute of Medicine (IOM) released the report “The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health” in 2010, which made a series of recommendations for the roles of nurses in the new health care landscape. Now, five years later, the IOM, in addition to its sponsor the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF), has revisited the report to gauge the progress made in implementing the report’s recommendations.

The report included six target areas:

•       Advancing education transformation
•       Leveraging nursing leadership
•       Removing barriers to practice and care
•       Fostering interprofessional collaboration
•       Promoting diversity
•       Bolstering workforce data

The committee has found that significant progress has been made, including the creation of 51 state Action Coalitions. However, the committee points out that more work still needs to be done, particularly in addressing challenges related to scope of practice, education, collaboration, leadership, diversity and data. The committee suggests continuing the advancement of the nursing profession by driving activity in the following three areas:

•      Build a broader network to increase awareness of nurses’ ability to full engage in health professions practice, education, collaboration and leadership
•      Continue to prioritize diversity in the nursing workforce
•      Harness better data to assess and drive progress

These advancements aren’t going to happen on their own, and, as leaders in the healthcare environment, NPD specialists should take a strong interest in promoting these goals. Advance education and residency programs, call for philanthropic organizations to support programs, give recommendations for collegiate partnerships, create educational pathways, move the bar on generic entry-level programs and more are all endeavors NPD specialists can take on to promote progress.

Read more about the IOM report and watch the webinar. Also, be sure to read the ANPD position statement about this report.

Tips from an Instructional Designer

Michael Dalessandri, MEd, RN is the instructional designer in the Organizational Development Department for HonorHealth in Phoenix, AZ

When I was a clinical educator in the acute care hospital setting, I always felt a gap existed between ‘what’ education was delivered to staff and ‘how’ the education was delivered to staff.  I initially followed the routines and methods that my fellow clinical educators did for creating and delivering instruction, which included annual mandatories, orientation, and everything else.  However, these did not fill my gap.  I didn’t really know if my delivery was effective to improve outcomes or meet strategic initiatives; I didn’t really measure anything beyond staff’s initial reaction to my content and delivery.  Then one day, I received an email from the Director of the Organizational Development Department.  She asked all of the Clinical Educators if partnering with an instructional designer would be helpful to us in our work.  We all basically responded with, “What’s an instructional designer?”  She summarized, “This is usually a Masters of Education level prepared professional whom creates instruction.  You would give him/her the content and he/she creates the instruction.” The majority of the Clinical Educators answered, “No.  We can do it ourselves.”  However, I was intrigued, and after researching about instructional designers and instructional design academic programs, I was excited!  This would fill my gap!

Time has passed since then, and I filled that gap.  I possess a Masters of Education in Instructional Design, and I have been the Instructional Designer in Organizational Development for the past several years.  I work with both nursing and non-nursing areas to design, develop, implement, and evaluate instructional programs.  However, I will never be done with learning.  I am always looking for new projects and teams to work with to apply instructional design, and I am always looking for inspiration for new and creative ways to design instruction.  The following are ten instructional design tips that may help fill gaps within the Nursing Professional Development (NPD) work that you do.

1.    Apply the elements of instructional design first, then use design tools second.  Design tools include multimedia and print media.  Always do the front-end planning work first before creating the instruction.  Retrofitting instruction around a plan usually fails to be effective, efficient, and measureable.

2.    Become multifaceted.  Apply the same vigor you support using evidence-based practice toward using instructional design.  Include the psychology of learning, learning technology, gamification, eLearning, synchronous and asynchronous learning, videography, and assessment and evaluation techniques.  Explore how other industries use those techniques and apply them to your work within NPD.

3.    Hone your writing and storytelling skills. 

4.    Develop your own philosophy of design, your own ‘rhythm and style’.  There is no one-way or best way to design instruction.  Incorporate best practices, science, anecdotes, learner preferences, and your previous attempts. 

5.    When presented with the statement, “We need training/education on…” accept it and spend some time analyzing the problem/situation.  Sometimes a problem requires instruction, but sometimes it’s something else, like the need for a job aid, a process change, or an accountability issue.

6.    Listen to the needs/preferences of the ‘client’ and work collaboratively on a solution.  The initial solution or the one that is ‘given’ to you to expand or develop might not be ideal.  Ask a lot of questions to help get to the root of the issue to focus your efforts.

7.    Learn how to create sequential, progressive learning that pertains to the learner.  These range from quick, simple designs to long, complex designs.  Use sound learning and design theories to prevent you from getting lost or off track during development.

8.    Learn how to evaluate the learners more than just their reaction to the design and delivery of instruction.  Evaluation begins with analyzing the learner’s preferences for learning, e.g. eLearning, lecture, simulation, and their requisite knowledge and experience.  Context should be included, which are the settings where the instruction and performance occurs.  Then evaluate if they learned or if performance improved.

9.    Don’t spend time developing content that is already known by the learners.  This is a waste of time for you and them.  Use only the ‘new knowledge’ within the content and create learning activities that require the learners to combine their old knowledge with the new knowledge.

10. Begin with the end in mind; how outcomes are measured.  What exactly would learners be doing if they were accomplishing the goal successfully?  Then work backwards to design the instruction.

A lot of overlap exists between instructional design and curriculum design, especially with what instruction is delivered - the content.  The standards are basically the same between the two; however the chief difference is that instructional design is mainly utilized in the workplace and focuses on how instruction is delivered, while curriculum design applies more to the academic setting and focuses on why instruction is delivered.  Instructional designers use how people learn and retain information in designs to influence their performance that can be measured as outcomes. 

Instructional design is both an art and a science – an art because of the creativity involved in designing instruction, and a science because it is based on learning and design theories.  It is also referred to as Instructional Systems Design, because it takes a systematic approach to creating effective instruction.  Then of course, there are one’s own experiences that are mixed in.  Remember, the ultimate goal of instruction is really to influence and/or change performance to solve or improve a problem. 

How does your instruction influence and/or change performance to solve or improve a problem?

 *Editor's Note: Michael will be teaching a workshop on instructional design at the 2016 ANPD Annual Convention in Pittsburgh, PA. 

Making NPD Indispensable

Sue Johnson, PhD, RN, NE-BC

When I first became a Nursing Professional Development educator many years ago, I was delighted to hone my teaching skills, develop, and present interesting programs assigned by organization leaders. After a few years, I was promoted to manager and my focus changed. Suddenly, I had to gain budgeting and personnel management skills. Of course, there were courses available that taught me the concepts. Whenever I could, I still liked to keep my hand in class delivery because I loved the positive feedback.

As I gained expertise in my new role, I found significant challenges that I didn't see as a staff educator. It was no longer enough to create positive learning activities. Now, I had to become a leader and change agent whether I wanted to or not (ANPD, 2016). It became obvious that I had to be "at the table" to understand and give input on organizational decisions that affected my department. Since I was well known in the organization, I pushed myself into planning sessions with the rationale that we would provide better service if we were involved in the planning process.

Naturally, there soon were too many committees and task forces for me to handle alone. Luckily, I had a core staff of ten educators and each was fascinated by involvement with different groups and challenges. Some of you are now saying, "Sure, it's easy with multiple educators". Actually, it's easier to get a handle on smaller numbers and you can start small and make a case for additional educators as projects evolve and the need for your services increases. The trick is to align your skills with organization initiatives and interprofessional teams to achieve results (Ives Erickson, Jones, & Ditomassi, 2013). This is an opportunity to make NPD indispensable and it will pay dividends when finances are tight and staffing cuts are being considered.

Visibility is vital! It's easy to cut in areas that aren't seen often. Out of sight, out of mind is true in health care as it is elsewhere. NPD must be visible to survive and thrive. Another point to consider is the worth of NPD services to the organization. I am not a math wizard, but I learned that a couple of simple (and they are) calculations for major programs can prove the department's worth to administrators and especially the finance folks. We need them as allies and they speak a somewhat different language from NPD specialists and leaders. I learned the importance of benefit-cost analysis and return on investment (ROI) to prove our department's worth to these organization leaders.

To perform benefit-cost analysis, just use the following formula:

Total benefits / Total costs = Benefit/Cost Ratio

You need to calculate the total benefits of a major program (prevention of ventilator-associated pneumonia) and determine total costs to develop and present the program to calculate the ratio in dollars (<$1=loss, > $1=profit).

For example:  According to the Finance Department, each incident of VAP costs an average of $23,000. The organization had three of these in 2013. After your education, there were no incidents of VAP in 2014. Educators taught 60 critical care nurses pulmonary toileting and proper positioning (HOB up 30 degrees) as VAP prevention techniques in a 1-hour program followed by a check-off of each nurse. Salary numbers used are average salaries and may not be correct for your facility.

The cost of preparing and presenting the education included:

Supplies-Chlorhexidine mouth washes                            no expense to NPD

Educator salary (development) 10 x $35/hr.                     $350

Educator salary (coordination) 6 x $35/hr.                        $210

Educator salary (checkoff)  0.5/hr. x 60 x $35                  $1,050

Salary for admin support 4 x $20                                     $80

Participants’ salaries   1 hr. x 60 x $30/hr.                        $1,800

Total costs                                                                                    $3,490  

Total Benefits    $23,000 x 4 =                                                         $92,000

Using the formula: $92,000 / $3,490 = $26.36 (benefit/cost ratio)              

This indicates a benefit of $26.36 for every dollar spent justifying the time and resources spent to the organization.

The other formula is even better when communicating with Finance experts because it is a language they speak. It's called return on investment and the calculation is:

(Total Benefits - Total Costs / Total Costs) x 100 = ROI

It is always expressed as a percentage. Using the same data as above:

($92,000 - $3,490 / $3,490) x 100 = 2,536%

For every dollar spent, the organization received a return on investment of 2536%. That's phenomenal and certainly demonstrates the value of NPD services!

Using these formulas, especially ROI for 5-10% of your major education initiatives (DeSilets, 2010) in alignment with the organization's strategic plan demonstrates that you are truly an indispensable department and the Finance Department will be one of your biggest boosters.

I wish each of you well on your NPD leadership journey! Now, become indispensable!!

ANPD President's Message

Joan Warren, PhD, RN-BC, NEA-BC, FAAN - President of ANPD

I can’t believe how fast this year has gone! I hope you had an opportunity to participate in our Annual Business meeting webinar.  I’m so proud of all the accomplishments ANPD has made throughout 2015, and I’m excited for the direction that the NPD specialty is headed. The Board of Directors met last week and finalized the 2016-2018 strategic plan, and we are adding the finishing touches before unveiling it in the new year. I believe the plan is very aggressive and robust and will continue to grow and advance our specialty. 

As we prepare for the new year, I want to delve into NPD specialists’ role as leaders in their organizations, a topic that has been top of mind lately. I recently attended several conferences for nurse leaders, educators and staff, each focused on the importance of nursing leadership to advance healthcare and the profession. As you know, ANPD has been working tirelessly to promote the role of the NPD specialist as a leader. Yet, we often do not have or know our organizational data to demonstrate how we impact quality, patient safety, patient experience or contain costs.  In our recent research study, the NPD Organizational Value Demonstration Project, we discovered that the majority of NPD specialists’ time is spent in orientation and mandatory education. Is this the best use of our time and talents as leaders in our organizations? Or would our time be better spent affecting care to improve quality and patient safety while reducing costs and improving patient experience? It is essential that, as NPD specialists, we know where we are spending our time and how our activities are aligned with the mission and vision of the organization. To best ensure our activities are aligned with those of the organization, we must know organizational metrics and understand what keeps our leaders up at night.  With this information, we can align our educational activities with the organization’s goals to position ourselves as leaders. As leaders we need to speak up at meetings about how we can support organizational initiatives and demonstrate irrefutably our value to our organizations.

I encourage each of you to take the leap and put yourself out there! Take a global perspective, know your metrics, and align yourself with the goals and missions of your organization, focusing on quality and patient safety to ultimately result in cost reductions for your organization. And don’t spend all your time in areas that don’t show your true value as a leader.

While I’m excited for this opportunity to talk about our leadership role, I also recognize that we may still have some barriers to achieving it. To promote the role of NPD specialists, your leadership team wrote an article for the Career Sphere column in the American Nurse describing the role of the NPD specialist and how it differs from that of academic nurse educators. In this article, we explain that NPD specialists serve as leaders within their healthcare organizations, as we hold the key to understanding the direction our organization is going. The publication will be out in the near future.

As members of ANPD, we need to have a discussion about how we remove ourselves from activities adding little value and position ourselves as leaders. How do we innovate so we put our energy in the right areas? To foster this conversation, I ask that each of you leave a comment to tell how you have been able to innovate and position yourselves as leaders in your organization. We will post some of the ideas shared in the next issue of our bimonthly newsletter, TrendLines.

Conquering the Forgetting Curve

Cameron Mitchum, MSN, RN-BC, CCRN is a Nursing Professional Development Facilitator in the Professional Nursing Development Department at the Medical University of South Carolina in Charleston.

Most Nursing Professional Development Specialists (NPDS) have, at one time or another, lamented, “But I taught our staff that already!”   In our fast-paced, technologically advanced society, the NPDS may feel we roll large amounts of information out to learners only to have the learner forget it quickly.

The problem with forgetting, however, is not new.

In 1885 Hermann Ebbinhaus developed a mathematical formula to extrapolate a hypothesis of the nature of forgetting. Since Ebbinhaus described his Forgetting Curve his research has been supported and expanded upon by memory experts. 

The speed of forgetting depends on the information's meaningfulness to the learner, how the information is presented, and the nature of the learning barriers which must be overcome. The curve varies little among individuals and the good news is that it can be improved upon.

Spaced Interval Learning is a well-recognized method which has been demonstrated to help learners retain information.  In this model educators provide small amounts of information frequently and over a long period of time.  The results are memories which are retained and retrieved more efficiently.

Massed learning, large amounts of information presented all at once to staff, does not lend itself to easy memory retrieval. Instead of the traditional hour-long class, we can provide small amounts of pre-requisite information in advance of a class.  And instead of listening to a lecture, learners can work together to develop case studies or complete exercises to engage that part of the brain which moves new information into long-term storage.  Over the weeks and months following the class, the NPDS can provide reminders periodically which help to trigger those memories.  Such periodic boosters enhance the neuro-biology of remembering.

While most of us don’t like taking tests, the fact remains that testing is a very effective method to trigger long-term memory. Fill in the blanks, essay, and multiple choice questions offer the learner the opportunity to remember what was learned.   Immediate and long-term testing is a well validated technique to improve memory retention.

We forget quickly.  Neurobiology is the culprit.  We can help people remember by providing small amounts of information, spaced over time, which build upon information.

We can conquer the forgetting curve!

Let's Connect: Using Social Media to Our Advantage

   

Dennis Doherty, MSN, RN is a Staff Development Specialist in the department of Clinical Education and Informatics at Boston Children's Hospital. You can follow him on Twitter at: @HWE_Nurse.       

A little less than four years ago I joined a new Crossfit gym that opened up in my town.  For the uninitiated, Crossfit involves doing a different daily workout in a bare-bones gym that includes weightlifting, gymnastics, running, and bodyweight exercises.  One of my favorite aspects of belonging to this gym is the community.  It is filled with people of different backgrounds and athletic abilities.  Everyone supports each other.    

   

This community continues outside of the walls of the gym through its private group Facebook page, where members log in to share accomplishments, articles, invitations to social outings, and a little light-hearted ribbing (okay, maybe a lot of light-hearted ribbing). Only members are invited to join the group.  Coaches post videos of the daily workouts and highlight members’ personal and athletic accomplishments.  Members can reach out for non-gym related questions like recommendations for a plumber or where to get the best haircut.  Most importantly, when someone achieves a personal best, it is celebrated on this forum.   The private group page keeps members engaged and motivated when they are away from the gym.

Joseph Kelly Photography

In July, I attended the Nursing Professional Development Certification Preparation course, a part of the pre-conference for the ANPD annual convention.  I spent the better part of two days with close to 100 NPD colleagues in a ballroom tucked deep in the bowels of the Mirage Events Center in Las Vegas.  Going into the course I was concerned that I would not be able to focus on nursing professional development with craps tables, tropical themed pools, and outdoor bars mere yards away (I can do damage in Vegas).  It turned out that this was not the case. 

As the course progressed, I saw a camaraderie that developed among the group.  People shared stories of their work, motivators to become certified, and fears of taking the exam.  Here was a group of NPD specialists with a common goal and at the end of the convention we would all go our separate ways.  Thinking of ways to try to keep this momentum going, I thought of my gym’s private group page.  If we can celebrate my personal best back squat (405 lbs.), then we certainly should celebrate this journey to certification.       

By the end of the break I had published the ANPD Cert Prep 2015 group page on Facebook.   Within minutes we had forty members join by using their smart phones or computers.  Over the rest of the conference week, members shared pictures from the course; Lauren posted the Wall of Terms & Important Stuff and Kathy captured the Play-Doh model interpretations of Change Theory.   Several days after returning home Ashley shared flash cards, which members can download and use to study.  In August several dates were posted by members brave enough to make their test date Facebook official.  Personally, being engaged with colleagues from the certification prep course has motivated me to send in my registration, transcripts, and exam fee.   In the last several weeks we have had members post that they passed the certification exam. Congratulations to Joni RN-BC and Gloria RN-BC—we will be coming your way for exam advice.

Certification has a way of "popping up" in Facebook

In my professional experience, social media has felt like a four letter word.  There are ethical and professional concerns when anyone shares what happens to our patients or in our places of employment.  I see posts by nurses sharing the difficulties of their shift or sadness over another angel in heaven.  I have heard of a student expelled from a nursing program for posting a picture of a patient.   I hear clinicians worry that social media enables families to get the wrong information about diseases.

While I admit there are potential misuses when we mix social media with professional practice I wonder if we are short-changing ourselves by not exploring uses for applications such as Facebook and Twitter to our advantage.   Social media has made the world much smaller.  Using social media to connect professionally can break down the geographical barriers we face as professionals.   My example from the NPD certification preparation course this summer illustrates how connections, bonds, and support can be maintained despite the miles that separate us. 

74% of Americans online report using social media.  I am connected to over 845 people from my childhood, college, and professional years by a click of a mouse.   I know when my favorite bands have gigs, learn of hockey trade rumors, and read the latest news via Twitter.   Through Facebook I have been able to help plan my 20th high school reunion and learn that most of my town prefers Pizza Palace over Broadway Pizza.  Why shouldn’t we connect with our professional colleagues as we do so readily with our acquaintances from other aspects of our lives?  Why not seek uses that will move us forward professionally?  Why not engage our clients by meeting them where they are?  

I will share two ways I am attempting to use social media to our advantage.  Recently the chairperson of a unit-based council approached me for advice on ways to engage the membership.   They meet every two months and she felt that each meeting was spent doing work that should have been completed between meetings.   She said that people are too busy when they are at work.   Nurse’s work schedules are irregular so it is difficult for members to connect between meetings.  I challenged her to use a Facebook private group to connect between meetings.  Work groups provide updates on action items and discussions can be on-going.   Will members respond positively to this approach?  I am not sure, but I think we can accomplish more by taking a chance than the current non-productivity the chairperson reports.  

One of my roles as NPD specialist is co-coordinating new graduate nurse orientation.  My colleague and I have been thinking of ways to support our nurses in their transition to practice.  We would like to connect our new grads with experienced nurses who have gone through the program.  Our hope is that connecting with someone who has more recently walked in their shoes will benefit our orientees.  Again, busy assignments and varying schedules can make it difficult to maintain these connections.  This fall we will pilot using social media as a forum for our new grads and former new grads to meet virtually. 

My institution offers shuttle buses to take employees to satellite parking lots and public transportation.  Over the last couple of weeks I have observed that at least half of the passengers on these trips have their eyes glued to their smart phones.  Many are looking at Facebook pages and Twitter feeds.  Is it possible that we are missing out on captive audiences by not bringing nursing professional development to these platforms?  I encourage us all to think outside the box for ways that we can connect, engage, and motivate through social media and share ideas with our colleagues on the ANPD Facebook Page.

Are we missing our captive audience?

Apps for Educators

Jobeth Pilcher, EdD, RN-BC, and attendees of the Bring Your Own App! Crowdsource a Toolbox for Mobile Learning session during the 2015 ANPD Annual Convention developed a list of useful apps for nurse educators. You can find the list here: Apps for Educators.

Celebrating our Role: A Tribute to NPD Specialists

Joan Warren, PhD, RN-BC, NEA-BC is the President of the Association for Nursing Professional Development (ANPD). 

Greetings and congratulations to all Nursing Professional Development Specialists!

We are celebrating NPD week in honor of all of us and the work that we do every day as NPD specialists. As practitioners we should be proud. Our role is unique and diverse. As our recent NPD Role Delineation study found, we fill several important roles.

First, transitioning new graduate and experienced nurses for success in their practice specialty is a key role. As an NPD specialist role we prepare student nurses to transition to the “real world” of nursing.  We also partner with experienced nurses as they transition to new practice areas or new levels of leadership. Through this NPD role new graduates as well as experienced nurses gain competence and confidence, are retained by the organization, and are prepared to meet the needs of our constantly evolving healthcare environment. Not only do we impact the professional growth of individual nurses, we impact the organization. Successful role transition ensures high quality and safe patient care.  Our impact on positive patient outcomes and nurse retention saves organizational dollars. Take a moment this week to walk the halls and meet with the many nurses you transitioned into practice.

As NPD specialists we are also facilitators of learning. In this role, we are accountable for educating staff for the future. Every day we are challenged to create and implement cost effective, efficient, and timely education for staff. We use innovative teaching methods and technology to facilitate knowledge retention and competence. Not only are we expected to be knowledgeable about patient populations, we must be experts in learning - two very diverse yet complimentary skill sets. Take advantage of NPD week to highlight the many innovative education programs you have conducted and demonstrate how these have impacted nurses’ knowledge and patient outcomes.  Both staff and leadership should know!

Next we are change agents. Healthcare is rapidly changing and we are essential in translating new knowledge into practice and then motivating and educating staff to adopt these new practice changes. As an adaptive expert, we must implement sustainable rapid cycle change and must be knowledgeable about strategies to influence practice change and ultimately patient outcomes.

As change agents, we must ensure that changes we promote are evidence based.  The Institute of Medicine Roundtable on Evidence-Based Medicine (2008) set a goal, that by 2020, 90% of clinical decisions will be supported by the best available and most accurate evidence. Our role as Champion of Scientific Inquiry serves as a driving force in translating knowledge into practice. As a consumer of research we guide nurses in interpreting evidence and managing practice change to improve patient outcomes. Take a moment this week to highlight the many practice changes you facilitated and the resulting patient outcomes.

Perhaps one of the most rewarding roles of NPD specialists is the role of mentor. Think about it - we influence and change people’s livelihood. Helping others to help themselves to become successful in achieving their personal and professional goals is a rewarding experience. Reflect on the many nurses you assisted in obtaining certifications or advanced nursing degrees and how these nurses have advanced professionally in their careers either at the bedside or as nurse leaders.

Leadership is the most important role we have as NPD specialists. In today’s healthcare environment we must demonstrate leadership to be successful in our roles. Yet we often fail to think of ourselves as leaders.  Learn from Miss Colorado and do not refer to yourself as “just the educator”. If we are to be true organizational leaders we must be engaged at all meetings.  Since we are experts in facilitating learning, practice change, nurse transitions and patient care, it’s important for us to highlight our expertise and let members of committees know our value to the organization.  Further steps to enhance your leadership include the following:

• Learn and be able to articulate your hospital’s, department’s, and unit’s quality, patient safety and patient experience scores.

• Know your organization’s strategic plan and be able to explain your role in helping to achieve it. 

• Lead teams and share your outcomes.

• Don’t wait for others to acknowledge you – take an active role in sharing your value.

• Participate in ongoing learning, growth and development opportunities to enhance your leadership abilities.
  

Finally, as NPD specialists, we must advocate for our specialty practice.  This is our week to articulate the value of the role of the NPD specialist. As you continue to advance in your practice, enroll in an advanced nursing degree program or obtain certification.

This week’s blog is full of suggestions for optimizing our roles and promoting our specialty.  Develop your action plan – not just for this week, but for the whole year!

Have a wonderful NPD week………

Leveraging Technology

Stacey Brull, DNP, RN, NE-BC is the Senior Director of Research, Education, and Informatics, as well as the Magnet Program Director, at Mercy Medical Center in Baltimore, Maryland.

I believe I realized the way we were teaching could be more effective when I was sitting with my then 6-year-old daughter and she showed me an app called Toontastic.  Toontastic provides a venue to tell a story using cute characters and fun backgrounds.  My mind started thinking, "What if we used a tool like this in education?  What if we told a story about a patient who received a nosocomial infection because the nurse didn’t wash her hands?"  And, thus, my journey into the world of apps, social media and e-learning began.

My story may or may not be unique to you.  Everything I know about leveraging technology has been self-taught.  Many people want to know how I started.  I want to share with you what I have learned along the way. 

1.       Start small.  I remember my very first self-imposed project using an e-learning authoring tool.  I was determined to provide a unique educational twist for nurses during Nurses Week.  I wanted to inspire staff to “think differently” and began working on my e-learning masterpiece. After many, many hours of trial and error utilizing a software program that I barely understood, I was able to pull together a matching game with some strange, sort of eerie music to go with it.  I tried to take too much on and didn’t have the expertise at the time.

2.       Realize there is a learning curve.  It is easy to watch a company’s advertisement on the internet and think creating innovative teaching methodologies is easy.  Most of the programs I have worked with took time for me to learn to a point where I felt comfortable using them.  Watching videos and taking a few classes online helped me understand the various programs.  However, another option is to use a program you already know, such as PowerPoint, and experiment with some of their more advanced features. 

3.       Utilize experts when you need them.  Experts can be in the form of content experts or technical experts.  There are times when you just need someone to help you or point you in the right direction.  I have utilized nurses, other fellow e-learning gurus as well as programmers, developers and graphic designers in my projects.  Online support communities are also a great venue to ask questions or find experts. 

4.       Look for freebies.  There are a fair amount of free resources for educators on the internet.  Once I bought a very expensive graphics package only to find out I couldn’t modify the pictures. If I had trialed the program, I would have figured that out pretty quickly.  Instead I purchased it in the interest of time.   Take the time to practice using the free trial and ask questions.   It may even save you money and time in the long run.

5.       Set a goal.  Lastly, I would recommend setting a goal for yourself or your team to utilize one new technology per year.  Without a goal, you may find yourself putting it off.

I hope this entry has been helpful as you take on innovative teaching strategies.  I love the breadth and depth of what our organization and team of nurses have done to reshape professional development at Mercy.  Take a minute and look at the infographic I created about  shared governance to get a sense of how technology can work for you.

http://sharedgovernance.org/?page_id=1603

Let me know what you think or if you want to discuss ideas further, please do not hesitate to contact me.  I will most likely be in front of my computer.

What do you look for in a leader or mentor?

We posed this question to those who are newer in their roles in various organizations across the country. These are some of the answers we received:

"I look for someone who is patient, likes to teach and coach not only new nurses, but seasoned ones as well. They must be able to take criticism from those they lead as a charge nurse. They must be able to adapt to all kinds of changes/interruptions and be flexible. As a charge nurse they must be able to present new initiatives or changes in a positive manner, even if they disagree with them (and never let the co-workers know they disagree)." -- Charge Nurse

"I look for someone who is trustworthy, patient, and knowledgeable in their field." --Educator

"As a new NPD Specialist, the thing I have struggled with most is structuring my role with the ANPD standards in mind as well as meeting the needs of the organization. It's definitely a balancing act. The transition would have been much easier if I had some clear direction and goals from a mentor." -- NPD Specialist

"As a newer educator, I am looking for guidance in my role as a mentor - i.e. making sure I am doing the job appropriately, aligning our competencies so we are prepared for TJC visits, and proper record keeping for all associates. In addition, I am looking for new and creative ways to do my job to keep up with the changing educational needs of the staff across all generations as it is a challenge to keep things new and exciting. I am always looking for educational opportunities, but looking for the mentor to help guide me towards those professional opportunities." -- Educator

"A mentor is someone who values people and me as a person; someone who listens AND has the wisdom to guide. I look for someone who leads with kindness and who is not afraid to feel/be attached while not crossing professional boundaries. And someone who is positive, who makes it safe to fail because you can grow from those experiences." -- Nurse Manager

"The biggest attribute is someone who wants to be a leader or mentor. Yes, they have to have the skills and knowledge base, but if they really don't like to teach or lead, they won't do a very good job. They need to be a good listener, approachable and non-judgmental, respectful and well-respected, and a person of integrity." -- Clinical Nurse Education Specialist

"For me, a mentor should be driven to advance the nursing profession and willing to treat others as they would like (not expect) to be treated. I would love to be mentored by someone who is nurturing, patient, experienced, knowledgeable, self-sacrificing, and professional." -- Nurse

"I have had staff nurses tell me a role model nurse has the following characteristics: confident in the practice, very knowledgeable and a resource, willing to pitch in and help when needed, expert in the topic they are teaching, never resorts to gossip, praises in public and offers constructive criticism in private." -- NPD Specialist

"To me a mentor is made up of a few characteristics, which are obviously tied together and similar, but each has a specific meaning or value to me. A mentor is someone who values my opinions, experiences, and goals and has the resources and knowledge to help me reach them. It is someone who has the ability to actively listen, but to interpret what I say in a new way and realize the potential of my ideas. It is someone who provides me with opportunities for success, but has the understanding to let me find my own way, even if it is different from the mentor's choice. Mostly, a mentor is a person with whom I can develop a trusting relationship, where I feel empowered and inspired to continue learning and growing in a professional manner, and know the mentor will always be there to encourage and guide me while keeping my best interests (personally and professionally) at heart." -- Critical Care Nurse Educator

As a leader and mentor, do you embody these characteristics? Are there elements you could improve upon? When assigning mentors to those who are new in their role, do you take these qualities into consideration? 

If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader. -- John Quincy Adams