Presenter Do's and Don'ts

As NPD Practitioners, giving presentations using slides is nothing new. Most of us can whip up a PowerPoint in a few minutes if needed. But have you ever thought about the kind of presentation you want to give and the type of presenter you want to be? Below, find some “do’s and don’ts” for presenters.

Do’s

• When listening a great presentation, make notes as to what the presenter is doing to keep you interested and engaged.
• When listening to a not-so-great presentation, make note of what the presenter does that turns you off.
• Make sure you use powerful images that are relevant to the content, otherwise they only distract and confuse the learner.
• Connect with your audience – use emotion in your voice, personal stories, and examples to get your point across.
• Provide takeaways during your presentation that the audience can implement.
• Limit your number of slides and make every word and image count.
• Practice, practice, practice! A well-prepared and polished presentation is effective (and noticeable).  

Don’ts

• Your slides should not be filled with words – this is boring and learners tend to tune out.
• Don’t use a monotone voice when speaking and make sure you’re not just reading your slides or directly from your notes. This doesn’t allow you to connect with your audience.
• Don’t try to be funny if you’re not. Instead of trying to “dress up” your presentation with humor, simply focus on delivering an engaging message.
• Avoid color combinations on slides that are difficult to read.
• Don’t wing it – you’ll be doing a disservice to your audience and wasting their time. They are there to learn.
• Don’t forget to prepare for questions – try to anticipate the kinds of questions that might be asked and have an answer ready.

Developing Leadership Skills

Barbara Brunt, MA, MN, RN-BC, NE-BC is an Education Consultant and past ANPD President.

 Leadership is not a title - anyone can be a leader.  All NPD specialists, regardless of our role, can continue to develop leadership skills.  I have used the letters of the word leadership to outline some of the characteristics of a leader.

          Learning is critical to leadership – learning and competence matter.  We need to be lifelong learners and constantly seek out new knowledge.  We learn by making mistakes – they help us grow and are NOT failures.  Thomas Edison said “I have not failed, I just found 10,000 ways that will not work”, and “our greatest weakness lies in giving up. The most certain way to succeed is always to try just one more time.”  There are multiple resources for your professional development, such as webinars, books, online courses, etc, available through ANPD.

          Empowering others is important.   Webster defines empowerment as “giving power or authority to or give ability to”.  We need to help our coworkers and others feel significant, showing concern and caring.  Pierre de Chardin said, “The most empowering relationships are those in which each partner lifts the other to a higher possession of their own being.”  We need to lift others up to fully develop our own leadership skills.

          Accountability and aspiring for excellence are other characteristics of leadership.  Leaders take accountability for their decisions, and constantly aspire to be the best they can be.  We need to continually strive for excellence, even though we realize we may not get there.

          Driving innovation is another component of leadership.  Webster defines innovation as introducing new methods or devices.  All of us need to question why – because we have always done it that way is not an acceptable answer.  There is an increasing amount of literature providing the best evidence for our care – leaders need to constantly look for better ways of doing things.  Consider applying for a research grant, if you want to validate an innovative approach to teaching or NPD practice.

          Embracing change is a critical skill in today’s ever-changing health care environment.  Change is a constant, and we need to accept that fact.   John F. Kennedy said, “Change is the law of life.  And those who only look to the past or present are sure to miss the future.”  Not only do we need to accept change, but we need to serve as change agents to help others cope with change.  A few of my favorite quotes about change are:

Gandi – Be the change you wish to see in the world

Socrates – The secret of change is to focus all of your energy not into fighting the old but on building the new

Norm Brodsky (Entrepreneur) – Either you are an agent of change or you are destined to become a victim of change.  You simply can’t survive over the long haul by standing still. 

I think these quotes emphasize the importance of your reaction to change.

          Resolving conflicts is essential to success when applying leadership skills.  Conflict is inevitable and we need to deal with it rather than letting it fester.  Resolving conflicts is often not pleasant and we tend to procrastinate when there is something we don’t want to do; however, that will not make the conflicts go away.  The first step to conflict resolution is to recognize what factors contribute to conflict.  Some of these are:  differences in values, fear, miscommunication, treatment of others, honesty, and attitudes.  Four basic strategies for resolving conflicts are accommodation, assertion, avoidance, and negotiation. 

          Serving others and seeking out a mentor are two other leadership characteristics.  Servant leadership can be helpful in getting others to work towards a common goal.  Servant leadership is both a leadership philosophy and set of leadership practices. Traditional leadership generally involves the accumulation and exercise of power by one at the “top of the pyramid.” By comparison, the servant-leader shares power, puts the needs of others first, and helps people develop and perform as highly as possible.  People love to follow servant leaders

          A mentor can open doors and present opportunities for your personal and professional growth.  A mentor is different from a preceptor.  Mentors do not have to work in the same facility or even be in the same state.  Belinda Puetz is one of my mentors.  When I was actively involved in the National Nursing Staff Development Organization, she was the Executive Director of that group.  The American University of Beirut in Lebanon was looking for a staff development consultant to do an on-site visit, and she suggested they contact me.  I went there back in 1999 and helped them further develop their staff development program.  Gladys Mouro, who was the CNO at that time, became a board member of STTI later.  I believe her letter of support helped me receive one of the STTI Founders awards, because of the emphasis on global impact.

          Honing collaboration and teamwork skills are critical skills for leaders.  With the focus on interprofessional education and teamwork, we need to work closely with other members of the healthcare team.  With the complexity of health care today, it takes a village with multiple skill sets to most effectively care for our patients. Research has long suggested that interprofessional collaboration improves coordination, communication and, ultimately, the quality and safety of patient care. It utilizes both the individual and collective skills and experience of team members, allowing them to function more effectively and deliver a higher level of services than each would working alone.

          Inspiring others and getting involved is important.  Providing a clear vision can motivate others to become more involved.  Great leaders inspire others.  John Quincy Adams said, “If your actions inspire others to dream more, learn more, do more, and become more, you are a leader.”  ANPD has a lot of opportunities for you to get involved in whatever activities resonate with you.  You can become involved by being a part of a committee, or volunteering for a task force or specific task, such as reviewing chapters in ANPD publications.

          Providing feedback is the last leadership characteristic.  The important of clear and frequent communication, both written and verbal, can’t be overemphasized.  You need to let your coworkers know what they are doing well, or if there are things they could be doing better.  My background as an English teacher has served me well throughout my career – I love to write, and my initial education provided me with the tools to communicate clearly both verbally and in writing. 

          You never know what difference you will make in someone’s life. I challenge all of you to develop your leadership skills and make a difference.  

Social Media & Learning

Can social media be used to promote learning? Learn more: http://bit.ly/1svvDUv. Share your ideas, experiences, and/or outcomes related to the use of social media in your NPD practice.

• Tweet your ideas to ‪#‎ANPDSHARE.
• Like the ANPD Facebook page and share your experiences.
• Search LinkedIn for Association for Nursing Professional Development and ask to join the group in order to begin sharing your ideas.
• Start a pinterest board on educational resources for topic of interest and share the link on any of the above sites
• Share your suggestions in the comment section below

6 Megatrends in Future of Healthcare

The World Congress on Continuing Professional Development, held March 17-19, welcomed some of the top influencers in CPD, including ANPD’s very own President Joan Warren and Education Director Mary Harper. This event featured cutting-edge topics held for CME/CPD and IPE professionals from around the globe to “Advance Learning and Care in the Health Professions.” 

While there, Mary and Joan attended a session by Ezekiel J. Emanuel, author of the book “Reinventing American Health Care.” During this presentation, he projected six “megatrends” to look for in the future of healthcare:

1. The diffusion of VIP care for the chronically and mentally ill.
2. The emergence of digital medicine and closure of hospitals (fewer hospitalized patients and more care-at-home and non-hospital environments).
3. The end of insurance companies as we know them.
4. The end of employer-sponsored health insurance.
5. The end of healthcare inflation.
6. The evolution of Academic Health Centers.

Mary points out that he also forecasted learning on the go with learner drive timelines and learner-driven platforms will be trending in the future. 

Happy Nurses Week!

Happy Nurses Week! We want to recognize the energy and commitment you give every day to being a nurse, whether you’re on the floor or in a leadership role. We applaud you!

National Nurses Week begins each year on May 6^th and ends on May 12^th, Florence Nightingale’s birthday. The first “National Nurse Week” was observed from October 11-16, 1954. That year marked the 100^th anniversary of Florence Nightingale’s mission to Crimea.  That was the only year Nurse Week was observed until the ANA expanded the recognition of nurses from one day to an entire week in 1990 and the May 6 – 12 dates have been the national standard since 1994.

National Nurses Week is a time to celebrate and recognize nurses who work in every field in healthcare, but it is also a time to reflect on how far nursing has come. And to do that we need to look at the woman who started it all – Florence Nightingale. Many of you most likely know her story: born in 1820 in Florence, Tuscany, came to prominence during the Crimean War, and laid the foundation for professional nursing by establishing a nursing school in London. In 1912, the International Committee of the Red Cross instituted the Florence Nightingale Medal, which is awarded every two years to nurses or nursing aides for outstanding service. We’ve been celebrating International Nurses Day on her birthday since 1965. And statues of Florence can be seen around England.

But did you know that her parents didn’t want her to enter the nursing field? They were an affluent family who ran with elite social circles and expected Florence to get married and start a family. Florence, however, had a different idea. She started caring for the ill and poor in her village at an early age and by the time she was 16, decided that nursing was her calling. Her nickname “The Lady with the Lamp” was earned during the Crimean War when she would make rounds well past dark, armed only with a lamp, providing comfort to injured soldiers. Besides being a gifted nurse, Nightingale possessed strong math skills. She became a pioneer in the visual presentation of information and statistical graphs and is credited with developing the polar area diagram to illustrate seasonal sources of patient mortality.

As we reflect on the history of nursing, we also look forward to the future and know that with the strong, compassionate, and driven nurses we have in the field today, that future will be bright. Thank you all, and again, happy Nurses Week!

*If you are interested in learning WWFD – or What Would Florence Do – check out the new book by ANPD member Sue Johnson, PhD, RN-BC, NE-BC, What Would Florence Do? A Guide for New Nurse Managers available here.

E-learning Tips

In this day and age of on-the-go learning, NPD practitioners are tasked with developing content that goes beyond the traditional format of lecture and slides. This may seem daunting, but e-learning (or learning that occurs via electronic media) opens up a whole new realm of education. Learners can interact with the content in a way that lectures don't provide. The barrier between educator and learner is taken down. 

Below are some tips to remember when creating e-learning, but the first step would be to do some research. E-learning is more than just adding interactivity to some slides, so take some time to educate yourself about creating content and what the best platforms are to build that content within. Some software even has a free trial so you can actually play around with content and see if the platform works for you. You may want something that already has some structure built in so you can just plug in the information or you may choose something that allows you more freedom to create the content as you see fit. Test a few different softwares to see what the is the best fit for you.

One more disclaimer - the tips below are for e-learning, but can be applied to mobile learning (or learning that occurs via mobile devices such as a phone or tablet). However, mobile learning requires some different parameters when creating and launching the content, so make sure you research and understand those before building the course.

1. The first step is to know your audience. Who are the learners and what are their educational needs? Are they familiar with the topic already or is this something completely new to them? Will your learners be novices or experts? Also, there is a bit of a learning curve for some when it comes to technology, so keep that in mind when building your course.
2. When deciding what content needs to go into the course, make sure you separate the information that your learners need to know from the information that's nice to know. Ask yourself - Is this information critical? Will the learners need to know this information in order to do their job? If they don't have this information, what would be the impact? Omit content that does not help the learners do their job. For example, when teaching someone how to bake a cake, they don't need to know the history of cake baking in order to successfully bake a cake. 
3. There is a basic course structure for e-learning (which is similar to most learning structures):
• Welcome your learners to the course.
• Include instructions explaining how to navigate the course, what buttons they need to click, etc.
• Add an introduction telling the learners why they are taking the course and how they will benefit by learning the content.
• Outline the course objectives or outcome statement.
• Build your course content. Modules shouldn't be longer than 10 slides (or about 20 minutes). Learners lose attention and concentration after that amount of time. Make sure parts of your content play to different types of learners - auditory as well as visual. 
• Summarize the course objectives.
• Offer references and resources that reinforce the material.
• Give final instructions on how to maintain contact hours and exit the course.

By following these three tips, you'll be on your way to creating engaging e-learning content!

Q&A from the Clinical Placement Tools Webinar

On Thursday, March 24th, Pam Taylor, PhD, RN-BC, CPHIMS, owner of Total Clinical Placement System, presented a webinar entitled "Using Clinical Placement Tools to Streamline Student Onboarding." Below are the answers to questions posed during the webinar.

Q1:  When you discuss the attestation vs. facilities collecting personal data--I'm not sure I understand. We have built in our contracts that personal information such as immunization records are stored at the school but must be made available upon request. For our access to EMR we must have student names, birthday and last 4 of SSN and we also collect emergency contact information from each student--so based on our practices are we a "blended" method for gathering student information? I'm assuming attestation decreases our risk, but we certainly need some of the information or students will not gain access to our EMR.

A1:  Access to student data can certainly be outlined by the school affiliation contracts.  The key is to make sure that when you do collect the data that it is treated as personal information and stored/discarded appropriately.  The personal data needed for EMR access is really no different that is collected on an employee. 

Q2: Does FERRPA apply to high school students’ clinical placements?

A2:  Yes, FERPA covers all ages of students.

Q3: Does the clinical placement tool support scheduling multiple sites?

A3:  Clinical Placement tools should support multiple sites.  This is a question to ask the vendor in the selection process.  TCPS PlacementPro does support multiple sites.

Q4: Are you able to schedule in and out patient environments?

A4:  Clinical Placement tools should support the in- and out-patient environments.  This is a question to ask the vendor in the selection process.  TCPS PlacementPro supports any healthcare environment.

Q5: Will you elaborate on what components of pre-implementation data to collect?

A5:  Pre-implementation data that can be useful to collect prior to implementation for data supported ROI calculations include:

• Number of clinical placements (Be sure and use a standardized definition of a clinical placement!  I traditionally use a single shift, single day, and single unit during an academic term or portion thereof for a single school as the definition.)
• Time spent approving/denying clinical placements by all involved employees
• Time spent creating reports related to clinical placements.
• Time spent on development, preparation and delivery of Student orientation by all involved employees
• Time spent on development, preparation and delivery of Faculty orientation by all involved employees 

Additional data needs could be identified based upon your target goals for implementing student onboarding tools.

Q6: Will you cover cost?  Do organizations tend to pass this cost onto the school or students?  What has been the response from schools?  Does this impact the # of schools requesting placement?

A6:  I’ve seen the cost of related to clinical onboarding tools absorbed by the facility as a community engagement/marketing/employment pipeline support line item.  I’ve also seen it passed back to the school either as a specific charge for providing clinical opportunities, or by requiring them to join a collaborative to share the cost.   How the implementation of the onboarding tools is approached (as a process to streamline placement requests and subsequent orientation requirements) with the schools can go a long way in their acceptance of the fees related to the use of technology. 

Q7: What about the CMS Inpatient Quality requirement that student's flu vaccines are required to be submitted to the facility for reporting? Would this be PHI covered by FERPA?

A7:  CMS does not require any specific student data – only the number of students (trainees) in the facility between October 1 and March 31 that had a flu vaccine, the number that had a medical waiver, and the number who declined.    Healthcare organizations collecting more information about the immunization (date, provider, lot number, etc.) pushes the data in over into the “employee record” category that must be protected under Federal guidelines for storage and disposal.

Q8: Can requests from schools be staggered based on priority schools?  Such as BSN schools scheduling,

A8: Clinical Onboarding tools should not set policy.  It is up to the facility to respond to placement requests based upon their own goals and policies.  In TCPS PlacementPro, DEUs may be identified, specific patient care areas may be designated for BSN only, etc.

Q9: Can you clarify what data needs to be collected for standard regulatory bodies?

A9:  Students in the healthcare environment present a challenge in data management since they are technically NOT employees, but are in the healthcare organization and often providing hands on patient care.  Regulatory agencies only mandate that student screening qualifications match what is done for employees.  This does not mandate data collection that is held by the healthcare organization.  Proof that the screening was done and that the data met organization criteria is sufficient for regulatory surveys.  Affiliation agreements should mandate what screenings and pre-requisites are needed that can include criminal background checks, urine drug screens, immunization records/waivers, and current CPR training.  Remember that if your affiliation agreement requires certain data to be on file with the school, then an attestation statement from the school that all data requirements are met on each student is sufficient.  If this data is transferred to the healthcare organization, remember that it must be treated as employee data, and protected/discarded appropriately since it contains sensitive information.  Student Onboarding tools can store the attestation data which is a huge time saver for the school.  Having access online to this data when The Joint Commission or State visits provides immediate access rather than waiting for the school to respond with to an audit request related to the visit.

Q10: Can you give an example of a collaborative arrangement?

A10: Collaboratives are generally formed between a group of facilities and schools (or it could one facility and the schools that send students to the facility) that come together to use a common set of clinical onboarding tools and work together to standardize related processes. I have worked with both types of collaboratives to implement onboarding tools.

Q11:  How can you implement an onboarding system like this for students when you are also required to provide staff education programs and new hire orientation?

Q11:  One of the goals for implementing clinical onboarding tools is to streamline this work so you can meet those other responsibilities.   While you may need to phase in the various tools based upon your own needs, the outcome should be decreased time spent once the system is in place.

Q12:  Does the scheduling tool keep requests private from the other school requests?

A12: Our placement scheduling tool readily shows if another request is in the system for a given placement to alert additional schools requesting the same placement that a decision between schools will have to be made if they submit the placement request.  This feature often saves time for the school and minimizes multiple requests for the same learning opportunity.