Training Day Overview

Training Day is dedicated to the learning of skills used as a Health Scholar. After trainees present the skills to their designated trainers, everyone has an opportunity to ask questions and gain more hands-on practice. 

Trainees will have the opportunity to review the following skills with members of the Leadership Team:

• Ambulating a patient

• Positioning a patient

• Making an occupied/unoccupied bed

• Changing a patient

• Feeding a patient

• Bathing a patient

• Transferring a patient from bed to wheelchair

• Transferring a patient from bed to gurney

• Taking vital signs

How to Find the Modules

Here is the pathway you will need to follow: Sign into Salesforce >>Canvas Login Tab) >> Training Courses 

Please make sure to allot enough time to complete the modules. They are integral to your understanding of how a hospital operates, as well as how to be a successful Health Scholar and future healthcare professional. In addition, they provide important information which will help prepare you for the written exam! With this said, please make sure to review each module thoroughly, rather than skipping through the material. We have attached a pacing guide to assist in spacing out when to finish certain videos so you do not need to watch several at the last moment. Please be sure to follow along with the module worksheet and email in questions as you go through the courses. 

Weekly, our team will be checking in on your module's status and following up for completion. If you foresee yourself being unable to complete the modules in time for Training Day, please contact us.

If you need any more clarification, our Training Coordinators are here as a resource and are available to assist you.

How To Prepare

You will be given access to online modules; these MUST be completed to take the examinations and be prepared to practice during the training days

• Pace yourself with the modules and Patient Care Competencies Playlist 

• Training Day: Expect to practice the patient care skills with other trainees meet Leadership Team members and be tested on your competency.

Overall: Give yourself enough time to complete the modules, they are designed to set you up for success!

Test Format

The testing format includes a Multiple Choice Exam and a Practical Exam. 

The TEST will consist of everything in your training manual, therefore, please be sure to review the lectures and patient care skills in the back. Both exams require a score of at least 80% in order to pass. However, there are "critical errors" for the practical exam which could result in an automatic fail. A "critical error" is anything that critically endangers the safety of patients, staff, yourself, or other Health Scholars. 

Testing Accommodations: If any type of accommodations is needed for the exams, please speak with our Program Manager.

Practical Exam: You need to PERFORM and VERBALIZE everything you would need to do to complete a skill. Remember, you must treat the practical exam as though you were shifting on the hospital floor and interacting with a real patient. 

You will be expected to know how to incorporate AIDET and SKAHI into your patient care skills. Get into the habit of creating a mental checklist, and understand how to perform each letter in the acronyms. 

There are various hospital staff members you will encounter on the floors. Make sure you understand the roles of each person and know that they are not interchangeable. 

Tips

• STUDY HARD BUT STUDY SMART and think about the items that we have emphasized numerous times. Hone down on the material that we pointed out and deemed as very important. If you try and memorize all of the material in your training manual, you will have a mental breakdown.

• STUDY IN GROUPS and practice the clinical skills on relatives, colleagues, friends, etc. Talking out the lecture material to colleagues is also very beneficial.

Suggestions on how to better prepare for the practical given that you don't have hospital supplies at home!

Try not to get caught up by the fact that you don't have a bedpan in practicing changing a patient. Remember, the supplies aren't the critical part of the skill -- you are.  You can practice entering a room, checking patient identifiers, assessing for catheters and bedsores, and performing a log roll all without equipment.  If you want to create a scenario that is a little more realistic, here are some suggestions:

• Ambulating: Practice standing up a friend and walking them

• Positioning: This just requires a bed sheet for repositioning up/down in bed and extra pillows for left/right

• Making a Bed: All you need is an extra pair of linens

• Changing a Patient: A hand towel can be a stand-in for a 'chuck pad', and a dinner plate can be a substitute 'bedpan'

• Bathing a Patient: All you need are some towels and washcloths

• Bed to Wheelchair: Practice moving a friend from a bed to a regular dinner table chair; if you use an office chair with wheels, be sure to block the wheels so no one goes flying!)

• Bed to Gurney: This one may seem more difficult, but moving someone from the left side of the bed to the right side of the bed with a bedsheet involves most of the body mechanics required to move a patient from one bed to another

• Feeding: You may not have a food tray, but there are plenty of ways to improvise

• Vital Signs: Again, this may not seem so easy to practice at home, but you can practice taking pulse and respiratory rate, which are generally the skills that require the most practice anyway. The machines make blood pressure and temperature as easy as the push of a button

Remember, many of these tasks aren't all that different from what you do daily: get out of bed, make the bed, go to the toilet, take a bath, eat, etc.  Students will often miss points because they forget how simple and familiar these tasks are.  For example, before you sit at the dinner table, you wash your hands. Similarly, when you help a patient to eat, you offer them a warm washcloth so they can wash theirs.

If you can run through AIDET/SKAHI successfully, you already have 20% of every skill covered. Knowing your scope of practice, practicing proper body mechanics, and remembering to report any injury or incident is essentially 60% of every skill. The last 20% of every skill is specific to supplies and processes.  The best tip we can give you is to take a deep breath, try not to stress, and as you are going through these skills just be mindful of the principles of service and safety and you will be sure to succeed.

AIDET & SKAHI

Include A.I.D.E.T in every patient interaction

A: Acknowledge

• What: when you enter the patient’s room, acknowledge the patient by name. Make eye contact. Demonstrate a positive and friendly attitude. Smile! Ask the patient how they would like to be addressed. Tell the patient how you would like to be addressed.

• Why: help the patient feel important, heard, and acknowledged

I: Introduce

• What: introduce yourself (name and position) tell the patient what you are there to do.

• Why: help the patient feel confident that both you and the staff are the best choices for their care

D: Duration

•  What: share with the patient how long your interaction will take

• Why: help the patient feel more in control by knowing how long they will spend with you

E: Explanation

• What: Before proceeding, explain what you will do, why, and if they may experience any pain. Continue to narrate your actions step by step throughout the interaction. Actively solicit and answer questions.

• Why: help the patient feel more in control by knowing what is happening when, and why this will bring more ease to the patient and develop trust. 

T: Thank 

• What: thank the patient for entrusting you with their care. Thank family/visitors for being there to support the patient. Be sure the patient’s room is in the condition you would want it, with everything clean and within reach. Perform hand hygiene (hand sanitizer or soap with water, if required by precautions) when leaving the room. 

• Why: because the patient has trusted us with their care and has the choice to return to us and recommend us to others.

Apply S.K.A.H.I when entering all patient care rooms

S: Signs 

• Assess the outside of the door for any signs

• Some will be isolation rooms, chemo precaution rooms, etc

K: Knock

• Always knock before entering the room

A: Assess

• Observe the patient’s surroundings for cues to understand their state (personal belongings, positioning, monitor connections, etc) 

H: Hand Hygiene

• Gel with hand sanitizer or wash your hands with soap and water

I: Identify

• Ensure that you know the patient you are interacting with and use two patient identifiers prior to performing any task

Patient Identifiers:

1. Patient’s nurse

2. Main Nurse’s station whiteboard

3. Open-ended questions

4. Patients wristband

5. Patients chart

Communication with Professionals

Restricted:

“ I would like to help you with ___, unfortunately I am not able to. Is there someone else I can get, or anything I can assist you with”

Staff supervision required:

“I would be happy to help you with___, but I need your supervision to complete the task”

Staff assistance required: 

“ I would be happy to assist you with___, but I am unable to complete it on my own. Can you or another staff member assist me?"