Awards, fairs celebrate teaching, learning
Health Education Week provides opportunity
Several departments at Rapides Regional Medical Center in Alexandria, LA, display a plaque they received for outstanding patient education efforts. Called the "illuminator award," it is given during patient education week in November 1996. In keeping with the theme of the awards event, a little stuffed light bulb is attached.
"We gave out illuminator awards for a couple of reasons," says Sharon Moore, BSN, patient education coordinator at the medical center. "First, we wanted to put the word out that we thought patient education was very important. And the other reason was to honor those who really do a good job with their patient education."
Each year medical facilities across the nation use patient education week, which is sponsored by the Chicago-based American Society for Healthcare Education and Training (ASHET) to emphasize the importance of health education to employees and the general public. It provides the perfect opportunity to remind people about preventive measures, such as blood pressure checks and cholesterol screenings. Also, people can learn about all the services that are available through their local health care system.
Two recognition weeks combined
This year, ASHET combined its two recognition weeks one for patient education and one for staff education to create Health Education Week. This year’s event is scheduled for Oct. 12-18, 1997. The theme, "Learning for Life," was selected to show the desire for lifelong learning in the health care workforce and to emphasize the need to help the community learn about living healthy lives.
If patient education managers choose to promote education with an awards event, they need to set in place a method for nominating and selecting recipients, advises Moore. To nominate recipients, Moore and the patient education committee created a nomination flier to find staff or departments who were good teachers. People were nominated by their peers.
In 1996, everyone nominated won since it was the first year for the illuminator award.
"The first year, since we did not have an overwhelming amount of people nominated and we were doing it to promote good will, we decided to give everyone an award," Moore says. "This year, we will devise a selection process."
Individual winners received a patient education T-shirt and a certificate. A letter commending them on their efforts was sent to the winner’s supervisor. Group winners from departments also received the certificate and letter but were given a plaque instead of T-shirts.
Outreach big hit
While some patient education managers choose to reward outstanding patient education efforts inhouse, others choose to use the week as a means for community education. DCH Regional Medical Center in Tuscaloosa, AL, staged a health fair at a local mall.
"We tried to show the community what our medical facility had to offer and, at the same time, provide some health education," says Sandra Warren, MSN, RN, patient education coordinator at the medical center. The one-day event was held mid-week from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.
The fair had 30 displays that included nutritional services focusing on fat in the diet, respiratory therapy giving pulmonary function tests, the diabetic center conducting blood sugar screenings, and occupational therapy providing a hot wax hand bath. The health care facility provided 400 flu shots, 800 blood sugar screenings, and 480 cholesterol screenings. (For specific tips on how to organize a successful event for Health Education Week, see story, p. 112.)
Rather than hold a health fair at a public site, patient education staff at Johnson Memorial Hospital in Franklin, IN, chose to keep the activities inhouse. The location fit the purpose of the patient education resource fair, which was to help familiarize staff with the education tools and efforts taking place in each department as well as alert the public. All departments were invited to participate, and several community groups also received an invitation. Outside participants included the public library with a display featuring its health care resources, the health department which promoted immunizations, and a pharmacy that supplies special equipment such as walkers and canes.
Janette Helm, MA, RN, CHES, director of education and training at Johnson Memorial, says, "We’re always working on the continuum of care issue and trying to communicate patient needs from before the hospital stay to after the hospital stay. There is a lot that goes on outside our walls with the short length of stay, and we wanted to include those components."
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