So, I have got to get this off my chest. All day today I was at a mandatory inservice that was provided by non-clinical staff for nursing staff. As I have come to expect from our in person inservices and classes addressed to nursing staff, the day was filled with games and activities complete with cutesy pictures and language. The material was presented as though we were all in kindergarten. I am all for using various tools for education when the material warrants it, but the information we were going over today was very basic and not rocket science. If the topics had been convoluted or difficult to grasp, sure, use an activity or prop to make them more tangible, otherwise just tell me what I need to know and don't make me participate in some infantile game. Yes, I'm being paid, so maybe I shouldn't complain but I would much rather be giving patient care and actually working. I just can't help but wonder if they would have used the same approach with physicians, accounting, or some other department and I say this because my entire career required educational meetings and inservices have always been presented this way as opposed to adhering to a professional or academic format. Have other people experienced this or is it just common in my area?
Another thing, off topic but in the same vein, why do things related to nursing have to feel so demeaning? Pizza parties by management, a pen with the company logo for nurses's week, hell even our award for recognition is called the DAISY award! It sounds like an award a girl scout would get, not a skilled, educated professional.
There, I got it out of my system.
I do realized that I could just be a stick in the mud, and that's entirely possible too, I just prefer to embrace my inner child at home, not at work ?
The last inservice that I was ‘invited’ to, was at lunch, they had (drumroll) pizza. I walked in, grabbed a breadstick, asked presenter if I could sign the paper. I signed, and walked out. Never attended. Didn’t care. My coworkers were in awe. I told them that they just want the sig, all there is to it. The real knowledge they can send in an email
It really grinds my gears when I have to do inservices. The worst one I had was when we had someone come in an do an inservice on teamwork and they spent half the day handing out giant gold star stickers and saying things like, "Look who's a team PLAY-A! High five!" Cringe. No, just no. She was like the proverbial mom trying to fit in with her teenage daughter's friends. So. Much. Cringe.
Oh, please do give us an update when you get back @Lil Nel.
I wait with bated breath to hear what the already-decided interventions will be!
Please, don't tell your diarrhea story at the meeting; just don't. It makes us look dumb when we try to talk facts and it becomes clear that we haven't yet figured out nobody cares. Plus it gives them a chance to note that you are a complainer and not a team-player. Just save it.
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No, I didn't share my story.
It was obvious from the set-up of the gathering that nobody really cares.
So, I dutifully sat with my mouth shut and daydreamed for 90 minutes.
Now if you were able to think like an administrator, you'd know that you should have left that poor person in poop while you answered the other eight call lights. That way you'd get only one bad Press-Ganey score and eight good ones. Silly you!
Specializes in Community and Public Health, Addictions Nursing.
I love how I stumbled on this thread the night before I'm due to do staff training tomorrow...
I agree, though- you need to fit your presentation to your audience, and cut the crap.
One of my best memories of an inservice is the time that I attended a regional, all-day seminar for a public health program I was working for. The keynote presentation was all about racism, cultural competence, and how as healthcare providers we need to be less of the first and more of the second. When I arrived to the seminar and looked around the room, I realized that the organizers were white, but probably two-thirds of the attendees were non-white people. Uh, tone deaf, would you say?
So, I have got to get this off my chest. All day today I was at a mandatory inservice that was provided by non-clinical staff for nursing staff. As I have come to expect from our in person inservices and classes addressed to nursing staff, the day was filled with games and activities complete with cutesy pictures and language. The material was presented as though we were all in kindergarten. I am all for using various tools for education when the material warrants it, but the information we were going over today was very basic and not rocket science. If the topics had been convoluted or difficult to grasp, sure, use an activity or prop to make them more tangible, otherwise just tell me what I need to know and don't make me participate in some infantile game. Yes, I'm being paid, so maybe I shouldn't complain but I would much rather be giving patient care and actually working. I just can't help but wonder if they would have used the same approach with physicians, accounting, or some other department and I say this because my entire career required educational meetings and inservices have always been presented this way as opposed to adhering to a professional or academic format. Have other people experienced this or is it just common in my area?
Another thing, off topic but in the same vein, why do things related to nursing have to feel so demeaning? Pizza parties by management, a pen with the company logo for nurses's week, hell even our award for recognition is called the DAISY award! It sounds like an award a girl scout would get, not a skilled, educated professional.
There, I got it out of my system.
I do realized that I could just be a stick in the mud, and that's entirely possible too, I just prefer to embrace my inner child at home, not at work ?
I have heard about the ridiculous Daisy award and had flashbacks to Girl Scouts as well.
They would never have juvenile tactics toward physicians or physician assistants for that matter.
I just had this same conversation with my manager today. If we get our census up we get a party! My exact words were, "A party, really? I am not in high school!". And then I had to sit and listen to why the company rewards the employees when they perform well.
A raise would work, better benefits would be great! I just smiled and nodded my head so I could get the heck out of Dodge and actually get to work.
Reigniting the Spirit of Caring, a 3-day retreat held outside the hospital, created a learning environment where nurses could focus on self-awareness.
When first asked to attend the retreat, some nurses were apprehensive because they didn't understand what it was all about. On the first day of the retreat, when asked, many nurses said they were there because senior nurse leaders expected them to attend. However, by the end of the retreat, most of the nurses were thankful that they had attended because they believed the time was well spent on reflecting on themselves, creating relationships with other members of the organization, and sharing stories of memorable patient-care experiences. They felt that the organization valued them as employees.
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We also invite our former patients to share their experiences on the second day of the retreat. As guests, they share their stories of care received, whether it was exceptional or needed improvement.
Specializes in Mental Health, Gerontology, Palliative.
On 2/21/2019 at 5:46 AM, not.done.yet said:
I try not to use these tactics as an educator. I also try not to have death by powerpoint, as that also garners bitter complaints. Finding the happy medium can be difficult.
I dont mind power point, but when the presenter gets up and just reads from the slides without any other input
In late 1999, at the age of 33, Patrick Barnes awoke with some blood blisters in his mouth. Having survived Hodgkins Disease twice, he was admitted to the hospital and diagnosed with the auto-immune disease, ITP (Idiopathic Thrombocytopenic Purpura). Pat and his wife, Tena, had just had their first child two months before he became sick....
...Said his father, Mark Barnes, "We are so blessed that we were able to spend the eight weeks of his hospitalization with him and his family. During those weeks, we experienced the best of Nursing.
"DAISY, standing for diseases attacking the immune system, and we filed our papers to become a 501(c)3 not-for-profit organization. As we discussed what to do in Patrick’s memory, we knew that first and foremost, we needed to say Thank You for the gifts nurses give their patients and families every day, just as we had experienced....
Hoosier_RN, MSN
3,968 Posts
The last inservice that I was ‘invited’ to, was at lunch, they had (drumroll) pizza. I walked in, grabbed a breadstick, asked presenter if I could sign the paper. I signed, and walked out. Never attended. Didn’t care. My coworkers were in awe. I told them that they just want the sig, all there is to it. The real knowledge they can send in an email