Educational programs target gaps in knowledge at SNFs, LTACH
Hospital experts share tips via videoconferencing
When nurses at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital began using videoconferencing to hand off patients to nurses in a post-acute facility, the hospital team noticed that some of the nurses in the receiving facility often had gaps in knowledge.
“Some were not familiar with the equipment we were sending with the patient, or they didn’t know how to care for a patient with a central line. In addition to explaining it during the handoff report, we decided to create a series of educational sessions that we could deliver via videoconferencing for the staffs at all of the participating facilities at once,” says Jean McCormick, RN, MSN, clinical nurse educator for the Portland-based health system’s telehealth program.
McCormick made a list of the gaps in knowledge she had observed during the videoconferencing session and developed a series of monthly one-hour programs, starting with a four-part series on care of central lines.
The “brown bag” educational programs are held at lunch time on the third Thursday of each month. McCormick produces the programs and brings in hospital experts to discuss each topic and to demonstrate procedures or how to use equipment.
The staff at the facilities that participate in the teleconferencing handoffs watch the programs on a television. After the presentation, staff from all the facilities are invited to discuss how they deal with a particular situation or specialized task. “It facilitates a lot of discussions and gives the nurses a chance to share ideas,” she says.
Program topics include how to perform a stroke assessment, basics about heart failure, use of ventricular assist devices, and wound and ostomy care. For the program one month each year, McCormick asks nurses from each site to submit three cases, walks through each one, and asks the nurses to discuss what they have learned. The December program includes highlights from every topic that has been discussed that year.
“This is a way the hospital can contribute to the knowledge base at the skilled nursing facilities and make sure our patients will receive high-quality care. At the same time, every patient in the facility will benefit from the education we provide,” she says.
When nurses at Oregon Health & Science University Hospital began using videoconferencing to hand off patients to nurses in a post-acute facility, the hospital team noticed that some of the nurses in the receiving facility often had gaps in knowledge.
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