Need help with creating Skills Fair!

nerdtonurse?, BSN, RN · Aug 13, 2009

Put a list on the wall of the nurse's stations, asking what they'd like to see covered. I'll tell you what I'd like to see at one:

Mock up of things like MicKey buttons, portacaths, things you don't see every day but when you need it, there's no time to mess around. Calling vendors will usually turn up a rep with some practice equipment for someone to practice on. Same thing with statlocs for IVs, Foleys, etc. -- for a real hoot, have someone waving a dummy hand around while someone else tries to place a statlock on an IV access site -- there's real world for ya.

Get the floors to give you EMPTY vials of things with sound a like names -- a lot of people have "visual" memories. Then run a game where people have to pull the "sound alikes out" and whoever pulls the most pairs in the shortest amount of time wins a prize.

Just a few thoughts before I run off to work....

classicdame, MSN, EdD · Aug 14, 2009

I also borrow models from local nursing and med schools.

Consider your space. How many tables/chairs/people can you put in there at one time? That may dictate how many topics you have.

Call around to see what other LTC's are doing. Maybe you guys can share ideas.

EymieICURN · Aug 14, 2009

When we did our last skills Fair we set up for things that are not seen often and for some mandatories, restraints have to be done every year if your facility uses them. MAke sure you recruit some volunteers, it is impossible for one person to run all stations, that is usually the problem we run into. Collect expired equipment so you can use it during the Skills fair...all my nurses know to send me expired CVC kits and chest tubes. When you decide on the content you want to have on the Skills Fair make sure you review the policies so you can give people the correct information. I was responsible for the Telemetry Station in the CNA Skills fair at our facility and I learned a few things by reading the policy ahead of time. And yes call reps for any equipment that you are demonstrating...they will sometime come, bring demos and run the stations for you...Sometimes they will even bring food!

Good Luck

Daytonite, BSN, RN · Aug 14, 2009

i worked in ltc. this sounds like fun! i was watching a challenge on that program great american road trip not too long ago where the families had to haul dummy bodies into airplanes, i think it was. they were light weight because the children had to be able to move them. i wonder where they got them? a stuffed body isn't that hard to make, i don't think. some muslin, which you can get for as cheap as $1-2 a yard and stuff with just about anything to give it bulk (ask the laundry what they have that they are going to throw out) and use any kind of cord or rubber bands for shaping. the laundry, again, can supply lost clothing to dress them.

kinds of things we had to inservice were v.s., transferring and body mechanics, measuring i&os, proper bathing, nail care (this was a forgotten thing sometime). i would look at any of the sheets that your cnas document on and see what kinds of problems you might have there. look at incident reports or workmen comp claims involving cnas (back injuries?). also go through your current list of patients to see what their needs are in relation to what the cnas will be doing with them.

on the student forums are a number of resources. one, in particular, that may help you in coming up with skills you might not think of is this website:

http://deptets.fvtc.edu/nursing/index.htm - 80 cna videos of basic nursing procedures and policies from fox valley technical college and northeast wisconsin technical college.

it is listed on post #22 of this sticky thread: https://allnurses.com/nursing-student-assistance/any-good-iv-127657.html - any good iv therapy or nursing procedure web sites

another suggestion i have would be to find someone who teaches the cna course in your area and ask to see the manual. sometimes you can get a list of the information taught in the state cna classes online. you'd have to see if that is possible. your don might be able to help you get that information.

now, if you set up, lets say, a station on accurate reading and recording of amounts in cc's, you could have various liquids colored with food coloring in some of the different plastic containers you use and ask each participant to walk through and fill out a little sheet and mark down the amount of fluid they have observed in each container in the correct place on the sheet. at the end they can compare what they have to the correct answers you will have posted at the end. i'm big on giving prizes even if it is just a piece of candy.

if you want to use games, check online. i have been to seminars where we played jeopardy. i taught medical terminology and played bingo using the word roots, suffixes and prefixes all the time. i passed out tootsie rolls to be used as the markers. if the students ate them and ran out of markers then they were out of the game.

another thing i saw used a lot was some kind of scavenger hunt. objects to find were either listed or a list of questions had to be answered correctly in order to figure out what the object was that the seeker had to collect. a prize gets awarded for finding all the objects. it could be modified to include finding the answer to a list of questions that can only be found by completing all the activities at the skills fair.

LockportRN · Aug 16, 2009

I have done this for several facilities and it can not only be a blast but if done correctly, you can get your 12 mandated inservices done at the same time. But as a previous poster stated, you can't do this alone. At my 1rst facility (272 beds) I got permission to use the main large dining room. All meals were served in patient rooms. All nursing managers and several other pertinent managers had to 'man' a table ie, maintainence, dietary, even S.S. to present 'Concern Forms' for all staff and 'DNR' and/or 'POA for HC' for example. We called the local Fire Department to start a fire outdoors and we then used the then expired fire extinguishers for staff to 'put out the fire'. We did do Jeopardy and several other games. We had several beds put in place and staff took turns being the patient while the CNA's did the care ie, bedchangeing with a patient in it. Restorative nurse and aids had the splints, w/c's, hoyers, etc to complete safe transfers/ROM/ etc. They also had copies of the documentation required and at the end of the presentation, the 'post test' consisted of acurrately completing each of these forms. We even had the skilled therapists do part of the presentation. I got buy in from them as well as from the facility and their bosses by reinforcing the fact that when skilled therapy is completed, the only way to get reimbursement is if staff actually keeps up with the skills the resident learned in therapy - you take a hit from the state for a 'decline in physical functioning'. Also, this really gave the therapists a chance to interact with the nursing staff and forged a bond that was adversarial at best prior.

This was done by setting up several stations. The staff (we included at this particular skills fair ALL staff so that things like handwashing, codes, infection control could be completed at this time) could come down and complete as many stations as possible prior to their shift, after their shift, or even during their breaks there were some that were quicker to complete ie, annual TB tests. The only rule was that they MUST complete ALL stations that were appropriate to their job description (which was posted all over the building).

While this took a tremendous amount of planning, management committment is a must. This is definitely something that they would need to enforce. You also have to be clear to staff that nonattendance is not an option. It would be too difficult to complete all rounds for individuals that refused to comply. We didn't have any difficulty as we made it clear of what the state expects.

I wish you luck and please write and let us know what you came up with! It really can be a lot of fun!