Orientating new staff- help!

northernguy · Jan 3, 2012

Just dont be rude, and If you cant explain everything, at least have them watch you do everything, as awkward as that might be.

I remember when I was oriented in LTC, the person doing the orientation would do stuff like take the resident into the bathroom and shut the door behind them, leaving me wondering if I was supposed to just wait outside or should I walk in.

When they were doing showers they would again shut the door and ask me to make the bed while they washed up the resident.

Later on when I took a hospital job, I was introduced to the person who oriented me, who didnt even look up or say anything, then immediately took off from one room to the other not saying anything, unless they were yelling at me to look out for IV tubing and making comments like "this isnt a nursing home, you need to pay attention to what your doing".

Now that I do orientation occasionally, I look back at those as examples of what NOT to do.

interceptinglight, CNA · Jan 3, 2012

Why not just be honest with your new person right from the start? Say "I'm really not very talkative and you might find me a little impatient at times, just don't take it personally, but I will try as much as I can to help you." As far as having to slow down in order to orient someone, sorry but that's a given. Don't cut corners in order to compensate for taking longer, you will be shorting your orientee on what they need to know in order to do a good job. Your priority is going to be teaching the new employee how to do things right, not to break any speed records getting things done. If you really want to do it right, just realize that you're going to have to do a lot of explaining and demonstrating what to do. Just be glad that orientation doesn't last forever.

My experience being oriented was that most of the time the person training me made it very obvious they didn't like having me tagging along on her rounds. One of my trainers literally walked so fast up and down the halls, she was nearly running at times and I got the feeling she hoped she'd leave me completely in the dust. I always remembered to thank the person for orienting me as I could tell it was really a pain to have to do. You'll be great, I bet!

tomc5555 · Jan 3, 2012

So I'm pretty senior, and with a few assistants leaving, I'll probably have a role in doing orientation for new staff. HELP.
I am not a naturally talkative person. I want to do a good job, but I feel like I will be slowed down by having to explain everything. Yeah, I am impatient. I want to orientate people well but I also don't want to have to slow down/not do things BECAUSE I am going slower.
Tips/Advice?

Have them help you do everything at least once, like bed baths, showers, brief changes. Then have them take the lead on the next resident, you can show them quicker ways for the cares.

Give them anything in writing that will help them, such as special needs list.

Tell them to take notes on the patients and tell them the most important facts, such as fall risk, or seems oriented but is dementia.

The more tools you can give the better they will be and ultimately good for you too.

Good luck to you and your trainees.

AJ_427 · Jan 3, 2012

I like what one person above me wrote: be honest from the beginning. The key to a good start.

I think everyone in the facility will know that you are training so no one will care if you go slower. That's part of orienting.

If I were you, I would have a plan. Say at the beginning what you expect from the OT (like asking questions, "you go wherever I go," "first round you watch, second you do it," taking notes, etc). Even if you are not the nicest person ever (like me) then at least pretend to be. Tell them as much about each resident as you can. One trick that some aides at my facility use is to send the OT on a break alone and then you do your job as fast as possible before they come back.

You don't have to open up to them. Tell them only things about the residents and the facility. When I was oriented, I annoyed every single aide who trained me with questions. It was so much easier later on. Good luck!

Ev1987 · Jan 3, 2012

So I'm pretty senior, and with a few assistants leaving, I'll probably have a role in doing orientation for new staff. HELP.
I am not a naturally talkative person. I want to do a good job, but I feel like I will be slowed down by having to explain everything. Yeah, I am impatient. I want to orientate people well but I also don't want to have to slow down/not do things BECAUSE I am going slower.
Tips/Advice?

I was orientating a new CNA just last night. Instead of viewing the situation as a burden, I saw the opportunity of an extra set of hands to help me complete my tasks. As well as a chance to met a new member of the team. My advice would be to picture yourself in the orientee's shoes. How would you want to be treated when you are on orientation in a new working environment?

interceptinglight, CNA · Jan 4, 2012

I was orientating a new CNA just last night. Instead of viewing the situation as a burden, I saw the opportunity of an extra set of hands to help me complete my tasks. As well as a chance to met a new member of the team. My advice would be to picture yourself in the orientee's shoes. How would you want to be treated when you are on orientation in a new working environment?

That's a good point!! Put your orientee to work and don't let them just stand around watching. They'll appreciate having you there to show them the ropes and you can get things done faster with the more 'routine' residents so you'll have more time to spend on the residents that are more complicated. The preceptors I liked best to work with were the ones who put me to work and didn't just ignore me as they fussed around trying to get their work done.

JDZ344 · Jan 4, 2012

Thanks, everyone. I was a bit worried my post would come off like I don't WANT to train people- I honestly don't mind! I'm just the kind of personality that likes to do things, and get overwhelmed if I think of allllll that has to be done. Probably this will help me to deal with that a little better!

DixieRedHead, ASN, RN · Jan 4, 2012

Think back. None of us was born a nurse or a nursing assistant. We all had to learn, and we were all oriented. It is overwhelming for the orientee as well as you. You might try giving this person one resident to do. Let them take as much time as they need, answer questions as best you can while you keep up.

When they are finished, and have signed off on meds, give another. Everyday, increase by one or two. Then show the order processing, dietary orders, charting, one resident at a time. You have the opportunity to really be a good teacher. Please take it.

vintagemother, BSN, CNA, LVN, RN · Jan 5, 2012

You might try giving this person one resident to do. Let them take as much time as they need, answer questions as best you can...When they are finished...give another. Everyday, increase by one or two. Then show the order processing, dietary orders, charting, one resident at a time.

Speaking as a new CNA in orientation, I think that DixieRedHead has a great idea here. I would start with having the new CNA observe you. Next, I think it would be great if you had her to do the task by herself, increasing the work the new CNA does by herself, as DixieRedHead said, so that she gets a good picture of the entire shift of work.

Ruby Vee, BSN · Jan 7, 2012

so i'm pretty senior, and with a few assistants leaving, i'll probably have a role in doing orientation for new staff. help.
i am not a naturally talkative person. i want to do a good job, but i feel like i will be slowed down by having to explain everything. yeah, i am impatient. i want to orientate people well but i also don't want to have to slow down/not do things because i am going slower.
tips/advice?

you will be slowed down by having to explain everything. that's part of orienting. you're going to have to show the new person how to do things, and then be patient while they're doing them at their pace which will be slower than yours. count on the fact that everything is going to take four times as long at first. that's part of the process as well.

i'm not a naturally talkative person, either, but as you go through your day you'll find yourself talking lots just in explaining how things work. and it's always fun to find out about the new person . . . where are they from, what was their previous job, etc. good luck.

fuzzywuzzy, CNA · Jan 7, 2012

I don't really agree with using the trainee as an extra pair of hands, putting them to work on one task while you do everything else behind their back, etc. They're not there to learn how to do care; that's what the CNA class is for. They are training to learn the ropes at your facility. So they need to get the big picture on what goes on, and how. A brand new CNA will probably need a little bit of direction on ADLs, but not much. At my first job my trainer told me to go wash this person, go wash that person, etc. I probably washed about only 4 people a night. And then when I was on my own I had 10 people to take care of and no clue about the routine and people acted annoyed when I didn't know what I was doing because instead of really training me, this CNA just used me as a means to get her work done faster so she could goof off that much sooner.