Making Staff Leaders
Posted by Kim on March 20th, 2007 / Print This Post
Our friends over at the National Clearinghouse on the Direct Care Workforce have linked to a PDF article that is WELL worth your time. Print it out and plan on a good half hour or so to read this. This article is about leadership skills among the front line workers- CNA’s, dietary staff, ect.
Highlights:
Page 3
Some facilities look at CNAs and see shining stars. One such organization took some of these heavenly lights and put them in
charge of a special club for assisted living residents who had some memory impairments but weren’t ready for the special Alzheimer’s unit. The new group leaders received training in recreation and activities and ways to socialize with and support residents. “These caregivers take great pride in the fact that they are now coordinators and in the deep connection and
involvement they have with these residents,” said the administrator.
Page 4:
One of the easiest and most popular means of building leadership from the ground up in long term care facilities is to give staff opportunities to mentor new hires and subordinates. “You can have a position that says senior aides are able to teach and model best practices of organizations. They can assist in orientations and help identify and address barriers to keeping employees,” says Powell. Some companies are going online. “We started nurturing our medication aides by providing monthly online training that includes leadership skills,” says Sandi Flores, RN, head of Community Education, a provider of assisted living and residential care education in San Marcos, Calif. “We found that when we give them leadership skills, retention rates just
soar,” she says. “You can take this to the bank. I say, ‘Give me a little money for staff training, and I can save you
thousands on staff turnover.’”
A creative and impressive idea for Assisted Living:
The program starts with a three month orientation period, during which caregivers take classes about dealing with dementia, assisting people who need physical assistance, and related topics. If they complete all the requirements by the end of this period,
caregivers become a PCA 1 and get a monetary bonus. They then can go on to become a PCA 2, which requires additional training and a minimum of nine months employment at the facility. At the completion of this phase, caregivers get a pay raise, a certificate of achievement, and formal in-house recognition. At level PCA 3, caregivers become certified care associates. “These are specially selected people,” says Kanaskie. “They have to demonstrate exceptional performance, express interest in customer performance, and demonstrate leadership skills.” Candidates at this phase must interview facility leaders and complete a project—something that improves resident care or makes life easier for staff.Past projects have included organizing a resident choir and leading group validation services for patients with dementia.
“This program enables motivated caregivers to become highly competent —if not experts—in their role. They feel good about their ability to do their jobs. They put extra work into it, and we recognize their efforts,” Kanaskie says.
Like I said, this is in PDF format. It should be printed out and read in hand. I found it to be extremely motivating and plan to bring it to work and show my DON. If they did these types of things at my work I GUARANTEE the turnover would decrease. We don’t get paid much. We don’t get recognition for the HARD work we do. THESE things would improve morale and would show that management CARES and wants to see everyone do better. AND I daresay having a program or two like some of these would help keep unions OUT too.
March 22nd, 2007 at 9:33 pm
This couldn’t be more timely. Today we opened up a new training on our campus for “job coaches”, CNAs who will be mentoring new employees. The focus is not on technical skills, but rather culture, resident specifics, and knowledge advancement. We are approaching this program with the philosophy that every new employee should go through a screening process that ensures basic technical skills.
We want our job coaches to have an opportunity to instill culture (facility values and rules) and resident specifics (how I want my bed made, my eggs cooked, or my lights dimmed) rather than how to make a bed, provide peri-care, etc.
Our job coaches are being taught about the educational process, most importantly that not everyone learns the same way or has the same personality. Initially we have chosen some of our “best” CNAs, but already after one training session we are reminding ourselves that just because a worker has advanced skills does not make them a good teacher. This is one important differentiation.
Every front line worker (is this a term other organizations are using?) should see themself as a ROLE MODEL for all new employees. Any time you break the dress code, park in the wrong parking space, or leave your Coke in a resident refrigerator, you are giving every new employee a small slice of permission to follow your lead.
Workers that outwardly express their genuine interest in resident outcomes really do affect the other workers. Believe that fact and you will become a part of the culture change.
March 24th, 2007 at 12:02 am
Kim I am going to print this and will comment after I have read it all. Sounds interesting. Matt, I like what you’re saying there. Very true about the “best” aides aren’t always the best teachers. And some don’t want to teach!
March 29th, 2007 at 9:50 pm
I showed this to my DON, who really liked most of it but she could not see taking 3 months to orientate anyone. Not nurses or aides. Or non aides. So I explained it to her as a mentor type program and that went over better for her. Even then she thought 3 months was excessive. But she’s willing to look at how we train now; and how to maybe bring some of these ideas onto the units.