how can i be a good HH preceptor

[HHNurse<3]

Hi there,

I started precepting for the first time this week and am having some challenges already. I am a very fast paced person, and my preceptee is new to home health and her english skills are not great. I am trying to be patient and considerate, but was wondering if there are any pointers people may offer. I started out by letting her shadow me for 2 days, and today came with her for an SOC, then sent her back to do the paperwork at the office while I did my revisits. When I got back to the office she hadn't done anything! She said she was afraid and didn't know what to do (even though I gave her all the forms and I told her in advance not to worry, just try, and I'd go over it with her when I came back) but she didn't listen. Another nurse told me to "baby" her for the first few SOC's and walk through the paperwork point by point. Any pointers on this note?

On another note, the english problem is a concern. When she called to make the appt. the patient wanted to speak to the supervisor and request another nurse because they couldn't understand her and at the visit she was very flustered and made the patient nervous. How concerned should I be about this? I know a certain amount of it has to do with confidence which she will gain over time....

Any pointers or insight would be appreciated~

Thanks!

[caliotter3]

It sounds to me that if you don't baby her, she will bail very soon. I doubt whether she can handle the responsibilities of the job. Is it possible that she could be assigned to only do routine care visits instead of SOC and other duties? I don't see her mastering the paperwork fast enough. When I was in school a classmate had a distinct English problem. She was employed at our clinical site as a care tech then got hired as a nurse intern. One of the regular employees remarked to me how they couldn't understand how this came about because her care and her paperwork were atrocious and below par. She never finished anything. It happens. I get the impression that you will have to start at the bottom with her. The visit note. A typical visit for wound care, a typical visit for ____, and on and on. After you show her a new task, tell her she will start doing that on her own. Start with one visit a day and work on paperwork for that visit. Then go up to two visits, etc. Have her do "office time". Before doing a visit, have her prepare in the office, by looking up any important info, gathering supplies and paperwork, etc. Go with her on her first two or three visits for support. I really don't know what else to say because most new hires are expected to hit the ground running or to require minimal help to adapt. What really worries me is that she sat in the office and did nothing. There was no one she could have asked? She didn't look for something in the office to help her, like an example of the SOC? Lack of initiative is a poor sign, especially in someone who is deficient and knows it. Don't know how patient your supervisors expect you to be with this person. And as far as the patients being able to understand her. Just don't know. Good luck with this project. Hope everything works out.