New to Staff Development

Hello,
I am a registered nurse that evacuated from New Orleans (before Hurricane Katrina devastated the city) and have relocated to San Antonio, TX. The hospital I was employed with will not reopen for quite some time and I have found new work here in San Antonio.

I applied for a prn critical care position at a local hospital and when I went for the interview I was offered a position with staff development. The position is titled critical care education coordinator and my job will be to observe, develop, and educate. I will be working at the beside with the staff to understand what their needs are and how I can develop and educate the staff to work as a team with critical thinking skills.

My nursing background goes back 23 years. I was a med-surg nurse for 8 yrs before I felt experienced enough to go in critical care nursing. I have remained in critical care since. Of course, we venture to other areas for the experience and a change of pace. I have worked in long term acute care facilities and acute hemodialysis and have managed the care of a vented patient in her home. Before Hurricane Katrina, I was a clinical supervisor on an abdominal transplant unit on the night shift. My nursing education started with an associates degree in 1982 and I received my BSN in 2001. I was in the Masters program at Loyola University New Orleans, but due to the hurricane must look for a school in San Antonio and start anew.

I would appreciate help in developing a teaching guide to help me with the staff I will be working with. Most of the staff is newly hired, several had been LVNs now RNs and many RNs having worked in this one facility most of their careers. I have been lucky, because I have worked in various areas of the country east of the Mississippi. The staff have developed habits that are not appropriate for critical care. I have seen little critical thinking skills from the staff and when I ask what would be the appropriate sequence of events in a given situation, I get a blank look. Help would be most appreciated. I will be developing a four hour class to be given in January on critical thinking and it use in the critical care setting.

Sincerely,
Raul
rauls0112@cox.net