Improving care conferences/staffings

[dkrzysik]

I am looking for suggestions in improving resident care conferences/staffings. Our current approach is an interdisciplinary meeting involving social services, RN manager, and a member of the therapy team (dietary is in attendance on occasion). The resident and any family/friend is welcome to attend. This usually translates into 5 to 6 people involved in the meeting. Having only worked in two facilities, both of the same organization, I can only assume that this is more or less the standard in long-term care. In today's current environment, organizations need to find ways to exceed customer expectations. This can prove difficult to do with seemingly, ever-increasing staffing cuts, budget limitations, and securing qualified employees. I am looking for tips and techniques to improving the experience for residents and their families. This may include location, approach, and documentation. For example, at times we will attempt to meet the family in a "living room" setting as opposed to the "board room" approach. Another might be offering coffee, juice, and water to those in attendance. I think that this can help all of us in making our residents and families feel more welcome. I am hoping that as this post evolves it will help each of us in seeing the different approaches out there and give our residents what they deserve.

[Havin' A Party!, ASN, RN]

The care conference picture you paint is fairly typical.

However, every staff participant need not be there for the entire discussion. That can be pretty inefficient in light of the ongoing work that needs to be addressed.