I need to teach an Inservice for Leadership Clinical

Kooky Korky, BSN, RN · Dec 28, 2010

I guess it depends on what area the nurses are in (M/S, ER, OB, etc.) and how much time you must fill (limit yourself to).

Also, you could ask the nurses directly if they have some topics they want taught.

You can always check some journals that address the population of nurses you'll be teaching. What are some of their topics?

Or go rogue and do something like Nurses and Tax Deductions, Nursing in the Bahamas, or Employment Perqs of Plastic Surgery Nursing in Tahiti. :jester: Just kidding but it was fun to dream for a moment.

amarilla, RN · Dec 28, 2010

Good reply from Korky above; it really depends on the type of floor, the relationship you have with the nurses, and the culture of the unit. Personally, I loathe most inservices on my floor because not only is attendance is required...

but they are scheduled for 30-60+ minutes during my assessment rounding/first med pass. Without fail. Not only is it unfair to the patients to take the whole staff off the floor for up to an hour, but it is unsafe and puts my whole shift behind. Please be considerate that there aren't many of us who can spare more than 15-30 minutes without perhaps popping out to check on our patients and returning.

As for topics, I'm not sure I want an inservice on something we already do. I have 6-10 patients and already handle discharges, patient education and charting everyday, for example. Recent inservices that have been interesting to me have focused on new things - changes to documentation going live hospital-wide, new equipment being introduced, changes in common protocol such as universal patient bracelets or new guidelines for CPR. One particular meeting - which I went to on another unit, voluntarily - introduced research projects going on in the hospital, spoke about nursing's role, and how we could get involved. Very cool!

Good luck!

Penguin67 · Dec 28, 2010

Do a short survey of the staff,a needs assessment, where you ask them what they are interested in hearing an inservice about. Give them a list of your ideas,and see what they check as being topics of interest. Then give space for them to write inI their own ideas. Also,ask your preceptor and the nursemanager for ideas, as they usually know what issues deserve an inservice. Have you considered being creative and doing a power point inservice, so nurses could study it on their own time?

HouTx, BSN, MSN, EdD · Dec 28, 2010

I echo the PP who recommended that you diverge from the 'norm'. How about a topic that is going to have a HUGE impact on U.S. healthcare in general, and nursing specifically.... Accountable Care Organizations? This is the direction we are headed, and very few nurses know anything about it even though it will result in a complete shift in how physicians are paid and how they relate to hospitals. Nurse Leaders need to know more in order to ensure that they & their staffs have a seat at the table when decisions are being made.

I am also very happy to see that the OP is excited about Leadership Clinical- Have a great semester!!!

llg, PhD, RN · Dec 28, 2010

I agree with the general direction of this thread. Experienced nurses don't want to listen to some student tell them how to do things they (the RN's) have been doing for years. Pick something totally out of the realm of what they do every day ... something they might be curious about that isn't part of their regular routine ... something that is unlikely to be provided by their employer.

Possibilities?

1. Nurse-related internet sites and guidelines on how to use the internet safely and sensibly

2. Intergenerational dynamics. Working with people from different generations

3. Something related to their own health and fitness

4. Changes in nursing education over the past 5 years (Many nurses wrongly assume that schools are still the same as they were back when THEY originally went to school

rollyp80 · Dec 29, 2010

Thank you all for your input....It is very much appreciated. I like the idea of asking what interests the unit nurses, but our leadership clinical has us working on many different units, different positions (managers, supervisors, staff, etc.). We are to create our own work days, and utilize what we learned in Leadership lecture. After my first day on my own today, I'm extremely excited. I feel like I'm getting a grasp of what being a nurse is like, meeting many new people and creating my own workday and accomplishing so much.

Since I won't have the ability to actually ask the unit what they would like to learn, due to time constraints and not actually getting to that floor till next week, I'll have to use some of your inputs. I do realize, as mentioned prior, it might be a little difficult having a nursing student provide a inservice especially if it's long and boring, which is what I'm attempting to avoid. We are allotted 10-15 mins, about whatever we want to teach, and I agree that I would like to avoid what many of these nurses already know. I want something inspiring, something exciting and fun, but also something educational. I really really do like the Nurse-related internet sites idea.....I'm just trying to figure out how to incorporate that properly. I also like the idea of doing something on how certain legislations or new impacts on nursing and healthcare. I think one thing that all of you agree on is something new!!!! so that's what I'm going with. THanks So Much!!!!!