|
Volume IV, Issue 5 March 2008 |
Quinsigamond
Community College |
|||||||||||||||
|
Staff Development Links
Staff Development
Staff
Development
Erica Merrill
Staff Development
March's Events
Instructional Technology
Workshops for Faculty:
America's Indian
Heritage Film Series:
Films for
Faculty:
America's Indian
Heritage Film Series:
Conversations
With Colleagues
Films for
Faculty:
AFSCME
Professional Day
Conversations
With Colleagues
Reading
Roundtable
In accordance with the college's strategic initiative to optimize the use of technology for improved and cost-effective communication, this newsletter is being distributed electronically as the best means for information-sharing with faculty and staff. |
Editor: Erica Merrill "Looking at Accreditation from the Other Side" by Brenda Marshall "Why We Choose Nursing" by Ellen Andrews and Kathryn Rozanski
Looking at Accreditation from the Other Side In February 2008, the Accreditation Council for Occupational Therapy Education (ACOTE) held an Accreditation Evaluators Workshop in Arlington, Virginia. The workshop was primarily intended as training for future evaluators who will join the Roster of Accreditation Evaluators. However, Program Directors of programs scheduled for re-accreditation within the next two years were also invited to attend. The Occupational Therapy Assistant Program at Quinsigamond Community College is scheduled for re-accreditation in 2010; I saw this workshop as an excellent opportunity for me to become familiar with the accreditation process and to identify areas in which our program here at QCC may need to be strengthened. New Accreditation Standards of Education for the Occupational Therapy Assistant Program were adopted by the profession for implementation in 2008. These new Standards reflect recent changes in occupational therapy practice and have introduced some significant differences in program structure and implementation. We have been working in our program to ensure timely compliance with these new standards; however, at this conference, I learned that there are areas in which we still need to do some work before our Self-Study is written next year. The focus in higher education accreditation on outcomes is very evident in the new Standards. The outcome that we have cited in the past – pass rate on the National Certification Examination taken by students after graduation – is no longer sufficient. We need to introduce course evaluations for each course in our curriculum, as well as graduate and employer surveys, and we must show how information gained from these surveys guides changes in our program. Although this process will require a significant increase in time spent evaluating the program, it is clear that the program will benefit as currency and quality are monitored and improved. Re-accreditation is always stressful for a program. Seeing the process from the perspective of the accreditor clarifies many aspects and provides helpful insight into the goals of the accreditors as they complete their review. Now that I understand what constitutes an excellent program from the accreditor’s perspective, I am hoping that we can be such a program.
Why We Choose Nursing Last April, Ellen Andrews and Kathryn Rozanski attended a Nursing 2007 Symposium held at Coronado Springs in Orlando Florida. This three-day event was jammed with several sessions that offered a wealth of information. The topic areas were varied and included the newest therapies and guidelines for managing wounds, pain, asthma, diabetes mellitus, cardiovascular disease, intravenous therapy, and much more. We received CE credits approved by the prestigious American Nurses Credentialing Center. This Symposium provided an educational activity that will help us enhance cognitive and practical skills necessary to maintain proficiency in nursing practice and to improve the quality of patient care, as well as integrate this acquired knowledge into our own teaching. In the session, “Nursing: The Right Choice”, presented by Pam Hunt, we were supposed to self-reflect on the topic area, “Why did we choose nursing?” This session explored what frustrates us and what revives our passion for nursing. We reviewed the importance of separating the frustrations from the love of nursing to find the purpose and fulfillment. We discussed the people who may have influenced our decisions to enter nursing and nurse education, in the first place. We identified our purpose in the nursing arena, whether it was direct care or educating future nurses. We focused on the helping aspects of nursing – saving lives, collaboration with colleagues, teaching patients and families, administering treatments, comforting grieving families, and imparting that knowledge to the next generation of nurses, to name a few. We reflected on why we chose nursing and nurse education, and we were able to reaffirm that it was the right choice! In another session, “Live a Little, Laugh a Lot!”, the speaker, Barbara Bancroft, infused humor to present various ways to live a healthier lifestyle by discussing the latest research on diet and disease prevention. She identified the healing benefits of sunlight, and techniques for stress reduction. She also presented alternative and traditional forms of medicine designed to promote living a long, productive, less stressed and happier life. She presented slides and lectured with a dose of humor that had the audience rolling in the aisles. We laughed out loud throughout the session, and if her material theory was correct (that humor and less stress both improve the quality of life), then we certainly left healthier than we entered the session. Barbara Bancroft stressed that humor and positive attitude is the key to success toward a healthier life. She reaffirmed the reasons we all need to live that healthy life style by following a good diet, exercising, making sound lifestyle choices, and LAUGHING! We laughed all the negative stressors right out of our bodies! This session was uplifting and GREAT! The next session was “Staying Focused in the Frenzy”, by Sharon Cox, RN, MSN. We learned the three commandments of healthy communication:
She also suggested:
David Miller, RN, BSN, MSEd, CDE, spoke about “Are You Ready for Insulin Pumps on Your Unit?”. We learned about: basal and bolus insulin delivery; how to decrease complications with pumps; new guidelines for blood glucose by the ADA; use only fast-acting insulins with pumps; interruption in delivery of insulin can cause hyperglycemia and lead to DKA; patient needs to have pump training and know the 800 number to call for help; and pumps need to be removed for scans and x-rays. “Five Essential Skills for Teambuilding” was also presented by Sharon Cox, RN, MSN. Sharon discussed how healthcare is shifting from a hierarchical model to more of a team-based model. Her research has shown that improving teamwork has a positive impact on patient outcomes. She stressed team agreements provide an essential first step in fostering trust among team members. She suggests that managers be partners, staff own their own professional practice, and should be valued as problem solvers for quality improvement. Those who contribute have a job and learn from mistakes. “Assessment – Head, Shoulders, Knees and Toes”, by Ann Woods, RN, CRNP, APRN, BC, MSN, was a great refresher on assessment skills for the adult patient, and included many case studies and interactive opportunities. In this session, we learned that it is most important to ask the correct questions: O – Onset of symptoms We also attended two classes on “Pain”, presented by Yvonne D’Arcy, MS, CRNP, CNS. She discussed the latest in pain assessments and different models being used in the United States. We learned about the WHO Step approach to cancer pain and the correct medications to use for patients with different pain levels. Yvonne also introduced the newest medications that are on the market or coming out soon, and which medications to use for different levels and types of pain that our patients may be experiencing. One of the newest ways to deliver pain medication is by IONSYS, which is a transdermal patch of Fentanyl, the size of a credit card; it requires no pump or tubing and has a difital readout for the nurse. Another is the ON-Q C Bloc; this delivers local anesthesia only directly over the nerve, and it is great for total joint replacements. Also, the patient is able to control this with a PCA pump-like machine. Overall, the program was exciting and informative. The symposium left us motivated to make improvements in our curriculum and rejuvenated a sense of why we do what we do – Educate the Future Nurses of America and Why We Choose Nursing!
© Staff Development, Quinsigamond Community College 2008. |
