In long-term care, we're always looking for new and innovative ways to train staff. Constantly in motion, staff members are regularly faced with challenging situations that require a high level of knowledge and critical thinking. Now, more than ever, it is essential to offer meaningful and effective staff development programs.

The most meaningful training programs are ones that inspire staff to think differently about the work they do. The best way to do this is to offer a variety of training opportunities that are both formal inservice programs and informal on-the-job training.

LEARNING OPPORTUNITIES

Draw from your own past experiences when developing a continuing education program. Start by asking yourself these questions: What was your most memorable LTC educational experience? What happened to make it so memorable? Was it done with intention or was it a conversation that brought about deep thinking? Did it suit your learning style? Was it lead by a professional expert on the topic? Did it teach you something valuable that affected your care practices? Did it teach you something new? Did it fit into your busy schedule? Did the learning experience happen as a result of a challenging experience?

Reflecting on these questions is the first step to enhancing your training programs because learning can come from a variety of personal and professional experiences.

An inservice is a formal opportunity for training, education and reflective learning. In long-term care, there are inservice topics that need to be covered annually for safety, infection control and quality care reasons. But an inservice may also be held when there is a new piece of equipment, a complex treatment order or a challenging situation. These cases provide an opportunity to share new information with staff or validate skills.

Other inservices are held to inspire reflective learning, to share a vision for the future, to enhance person-centered care or to address human resource issues. Occasionally, there's a need for re-education when an error or accident has occurred.

LEARNING GOALS

You need to determine your goals. The goal of any inservice is to offer educational opportunities that promote active learning, are meaningful to adult learners, are sensitive to the time constraints of staff and will be remembered. For many inservice topics, 100 percent participation from all staff is necessary. This can be challenging unless you offer a variety of methods for learning.

Plan ahead to make your training program comprehensive and creative. How can you turn a dry or repetitive inservice topic into a meaningful learning opportunity that is mindful of time constraints? Here are some tips :

Consider the learning environment. Is it away from disruptions and distractions? Is it comfortable? Are chairs arranged in auditorium style rows or in circles so everyone can see each other? How is the lighting and sound?

Reflect on who the learners are. How do they best learn? Are they auditory, visual or kinesthetic learners? Adult learners need a reason to participate in the education. They want to feel that they have some control over the information they are learning and they want to bring their personal and professional experiences to enhance the learning event.

Gather informational resources. Locate as much information as possible on the topics you want to cover. Look for books, pamphlets, magazine articles, Web sites, videos, policy statements, research reports and case studies. The more resources you have, the more you can do.

Get creative. How will you make the inservice memorable? How will you publicize it? You could offer a lecture on abuse prevention and your organization's policies on the topic, or you could find and share stories of abuse and neglect cases that were in the news.

Real life stories are powerful tools that help us reflect on the meaning of a policy. They bring to life the core elements of a theory or practice and offer anchors back to the learned information. For example, an inservice on validation and communication techniques offers an excellent opportunity to ask staff to share their experiential stories of bringing this theory into practice.

ONLINE LEARNING

There are many resources available to long-term care providers that offer ready-made inservices, handouts, tests and validation tools. Online learning can be a valuable and timesaving tool. Many online learning companies also offer attendance tracking, reminders and support. When considering an online company, you may want to ask about the ability to develop your own Web-based training programs to add to their offerings.

Educational opportunities for staff increase employee recruiting, retention and job satisfaction. The proper training makes staff better prepared to think critically and provide quality care to residents.

Kelly Smith-Papa is director of education, research and dementia care consulting, Alzheimer's Resource Center of Connecticut, Plantsville, Conn. She is the author of In-service Training Guide, published by HCPro.

Creative Inservice Ideas

•Find an expert on the chosen topic. Consider asking your staff, physicians, consultants or local associations to give an inservice.

•Make a video in your facility. For example, make a video on fire safety that covers all the steps in your organization's emergency plan.

•Themed skill fairs are great ways to get enthusiasm and participation from different departments. You could hold a skill fair on an annual inservice topic with various booths that highlight your facility policies and validate skills.

•To emphasize the importance of person-centered care, have residents share their life stories. Ask them to be transparent about the experience of life now in a nursing home and how staff can offer meaningful and personal moments.