Flip charts teach nurses and save them time
Education managers are constantly trying to find ways to teach busy field nurses without taking up too much of their time. Georgia Baptist Home Care Services of Morrow, GA, has an idea that does the trick.
The agency put together an educational flip chart that grabs nurses’ attention as they walk into the agency. The charts change each month.
"We realized that it’s tough for nurses in the field to come in for even an hour’s inservice," says Debra Cheney, RN, clinical liaison for the full-service nonprofit agency that serves the middle of Georgia with 12 branch offices.
"So we wanted to have something quick that they could look at, with little tips," Cheney adds.
The agency uses the flip charts to teach staff about changes in policies and procedures, new ways of billing patients, medications, and other topics, says Billie Davis, BSN, MED, staff development coordinator.
"Each branch has their own flip chart," Davis says. "We have an educational person in each region, and each does something different."
The flip charts usually take two to three hours to complete, Davis adds.
One flip chart on medications included information about the signs, symptoms, side effects, and interactions of various new drugs. The agency’s pharmacist provided new materials and information for the chart.
They try to keep the flip charts interesting with pictures, drawings, and computerized banners. "Nurses come in and out of the branches all day, and we put it at a door they normally walk through. If it’s colorful enough, they’ll look at it," Davis explains.
An example might be a silly picture or drawing of a frazzled nurse to help illustrate a flip chart on stress, Davis suggests.
Cheney made a flip chart about the forms nurses have to fill out for case conferences and about their role in the case conference. The forms included a 60-day summary, a case conference form, and their previous goals.
"I created with markers a picture frame, and in the center of it I put the different forms that had to be completed and brought to the case conference," Cheney explains. "Then on top of that I superimposed, in highlight, a face, which was the patient."
The flip chart told nurses that their role was to prepare to discuss patient concerns such as the lack of food; suspicion of neglect; patient’s confusion; patient’s financial needs, and any changes in the care plan.
When the flip chart isn’t large enough for all the information, education managers can use a second page or banners hanging off the first. Georgia Baptist has used funny pieces of information on banners to further entice nurses to take time to read it. "It makes it fun to hunt for information," Davis says.
"Every one of the nurses is reading it because this is fun," she adds.
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