Juggling staff and patient education duties
Tips for keeping all the balls in the air
Often a person in charge of patient education has other job duties, which might include staff education as well. Juggling responsibilities can be difficult, so how do you keep both balls in the air?
One method is to look at ways to combine the two. As a patient education specialist at Luther Midelfort in Eau Claire, WI, Carol Figi, RN, sits on several disease management teams that consist of experts in such diseases as diabetes, hypertension, asthma, and pneumonia. Her role as a team member is to provide the resources for patient education, help design systems for its delivery, and promote accurate documentation.
However, sometimes when she serves on these special teams she not only wears the hat of patient education specialist but staff education specialist as well. At these times she determines what needs to be developed first the staff education portion or patient education.
If something new is being introduced, such as a new test, medication, or surgical procedure, she makes staff education a priority. Staff must be educated and confident enough to provide patients education on the topic, explains Figi. Once staff have been educated, they are more prepared to learn about the patient education portion, she adds.
In these instances, she does not put patient education entirely on hold; instead, she weaves patient education principles into the staff education or models steps for patient education. For example, she often uses analogies to get points across to staff and explains in the learning packet or at the class that the same examples used to teach staff can be used to teach patients.
Figi suggests beginning at a basic level using patient level language and then progress to more detailed clinical knowledge when explaining a new process or test to staff.
If patient education materials take priority and are developed first, use them to educate staff, says Figi. In this way two things are accomplished: Staff members are being educated at a very basic level and they are becoming familiar with the tools and resources available to guide their patient education interventions.
"When you design staff education, go ahead and design the patient education right into it. Also include patient education materials for staff learning," says Figi.
Try to determine how staff and patient education complement each other when addressing a particular topic, advises Doris Doherty, BSN, RN, patient/family education coordinator at Franciscan Skemp in La Crosse, WI.
Doherty says her job title is deceiving and her job description would be more accurately described by the title quality improvement educator. Actually, she spends about half her time on patient education and half on staff education. Yet when working on patient education projects, she is careful to watch how staff education might overlap. This especially works well when staff education relates to skill building, she says.
For example, currently blood pressure is a main focus of the disease management steering committee of which she is a member. To address this issue the committee has decided to update all the patient education materials regarding blood pressure. At the same time, basic staff education is being addressed, such as proper techniques for taking blood pressure and what is considered a safe, marginal or dangerous blood pressure. Tied to this, staff education is a competency in which a person can see a demonstration of the correct technique for taking blood pressure and do a return demonstration.
"It really does all come together," says Doherty.
If staff understand the educational materials patients are given, they are able to use that knowledge to develop their own knowledge, and with better skills everybody benefits, Doherty says - not only patients and staff members, but providers benefit as well because they get a much better idea of how the patient is doing, she adds.
A match not always made
Unfortunately, patient education and staff education do not always match well, says Doherty. "Now, I have four projects I have been working on from both the patient education point of view and staff development point of view, and as long as I keep those together I do just fine. It is some of the other, extraneous obligations that come with the job that can be overlooked for a period of time because there are only so many hours in a day," she states.
For example, sometimes a department asks for a review of certain patient education pieces that don't tie in with the four major projects. In such cases, Doherty looks for additional time such as those months that have an occasional extra Tuesday and, therefore, no meetings are scheduled.
In addition, setting in place a process that provides additional help in certain cases can be one solution to an overloaded plate. In the case of material review, the patient and family education committee that meets once a month will sit down and review materials.
Another way to balance the various duties is to create a format for education that is followed every time. This is the case with skill building. Certain areas for staff education are targeted by surveying staff members to see which personal skill level concerns them the most. Then educational modules are developed that are followed by competencies. This method was used for health literacy and a program on cultural diversity is in the works. Simpler projects following this format include the blood pressure education.
It helps if staff education duties are shared with other people, as is the case with both Doherty and Figi. For example, Doherty does not cover nursing orientation, which is a big chunk of staff development. Figi has colleagues who sometimes join her on disease management teams and work on the staff education portion allowing her to concentrate on patient education. Whether they can help depends on their workload, however.
To get additional help, you need to keep asking, says Figi. When she first started in her position, about 30% of her time was devoted to patient education and now about 80% of her workload is in this area. Keep talking to your supervisor and providing examples of your workload, she advises. Also let them know what percentage of your time is devoted to patient education.
"Keep that open communication with people who can help you determine how to keep from short changing patient education," says Figi.
In addition, learn to say no. Doherty says when she is overloaded with projects and someone asks her to join a new workgroup they are forming, she tells them she will attend meetings when the group comes to the point of designing educational pieces. "I end up being an ad hoc member as needed for some of those planning sessions" she explains.
SOURCES
For more information on juggling staff and patient education duties, contact:
- Doris Doherty, BSN, RN, patient/family education coordinator, Franciscan Skemp, 700 West Ave. South, La Crosse, WI 54601. Phone: (608) 785-0940, ext. 2-2193. E-mail: [email protected].
- Carol Figi, RN, patient education specialist, Luther Midelfort, 1221 Whipple St., Eau Claire, WI 54702. Phone: (715) 838-3610. E-mail: [email protected].
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