Skills Fair

[nrsbetrn]

Has anyone ever held a Skills Fair for nurses and aides in your facility? Our annual competencies are due this month and my administrator wants us to have a fair. I need ideas and tips.

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

We had one once. It was a huge amount of work and those of us helping out at the fair didn't get much else done that day, but we surely got a good idea of who knew what and who needed help with skills.

[nrsbetrn]

How did you set it up? What skills did you include? Can you share with me how you set the stations up?

[CapeCodMermaid, RN]

We had some basic things....a vitals sign station, guiac station,hoyer lift....nothing fancy and then some other information to hand out. Ours was for the CNAs only.

[nservice]

Our hospital has a skills fair yearly. It takes lots of planning because ours is rather large. We have 3 eduators from different specialties that help plan the fair. This years fair included:

Restraints

Accu check

adult Crash Cart

Peds Crash Cart / Braslow

Code Blue Recording (watch a video and record the code as it happens)

EKG

Defibrillators

Trach care

Chest Tube

Wound Vac

Difficult airway

Bronchoscope

Core Measures

Pharmaceutical waste

Organ donation

Micromedex / Medication Reconcilliation

PCA / Epidural pumps

TB and Fit testing

We also hand out folders a month ahead of time with activities/tests to hand in at the fair. I also had my nurses do 2 chart audits before coming to the fair (focused on med reconcilliation, pain, and discharge instructions).

The booths (tables) were set up around the room with room for 3 or 4 people at each booth. They rotate through the booths and get their check-off sheets signed off at each booth. It takes me several months to get things set up with vendors and collecting supplies / equipment needed for the fair. Good Luck!

[John K. Edwards]

:) To start appoint someone in charge as a main contact even consider a vendor liason next make someone in charge of signs and layout now invite vendors you can charge them space. But what works best is invite them no charge to show products off and they will man the booth free! Figure out your minimal core measures that covers everyone Now plan plan plan with the managers and educators of what they feel is needed or should be added for there departments at minimal as best to trim time down needed for hours to be paid to staff attending. We now make competency check off sheets per department so each inivivdual can be checked of as per department. Then pick a time we do 0730 - 1700 usually 3 days then a make up at a later date. Video tape demo and return demo works well saves voices! I think we had almost 1700 employees this year! :redbeathe