Interview presentation please help!!

Presentations are always a bit nerve racking. Your quite right, structure it as if you were presenting a lecture and practice lots before hand.

Have a look in my blog, there's lots of interview help in there for UK nurses, it does need to be updated a bit but lots is still relevant.

Key points in presentations, don't overdo the slides, just put bullet points and not too many, the last thing you want is a busy slide that's confusing, know what you mean by the bullet points (that's why practice is so important) and focus on the key messages.

You'll need an introduction, middle and conclusion.

So

1 "this is what I want to tell you (focus on)

2. This is the important points of my presentation (main body)

3. To conclude this is what I have told you (brief summary of your main points)

If you've got 10 minutes it'll go very quickly, don't overrun time it to the second during your practice runs.

Make sure you include bits that are relevant to your area of practice, so if your on an acute medical ward then to provide an emergency service you are going to have to focus on:

Timely discharges - patient flow helps speed up the admission process

Escalating delays in discharges to support the flow

Making sure you have a skilled and supported workforce to make sure that everyone is able to work efficiently and identify their weaker areas

I'm not sure how your unit is run but where I work we are re-focusing on our discharge planning, from the point of admission and this change in practice is challenging so maintaining momentum and change management is key. Making sure the staff feel as if they own the changes is important.

Take a look at reports and documents from the government so you have an idea of the wider context and don't forget all of this has to come at zero cost because of the financial difficulties that are being experienced in the NHS

Bring in clinical governance issues with any change or development and acknowledge the need for training, support, audit and making sure we are working efficiently

Look at a document called Accelerating Best Practice: minimising waste, harm and variation. It's a Welsh document but has some excellent points for improving practice at a strategic level, it ties in with the Staffordshire NHS enquiry which is also a document any up and coming manger should read.

If I think of anything else I'll post it here

Links to some important documents

http://www.wales.nhs.uk/sites3/Documents/781/IH%20White%20Paper%20%281%29%20Accelerating%20Best%20Practice.pdf

Francis Report: Independent inquiry into care provided by Mid Staffordshire NHS Foundation Trust January 2005 - March 2009 : Department of Health - Publications