Education in the workplace

-What sort of teaching is done in your professional role?

Teaching is a huge part of the unit I work on. First, the training of new staff requires a lot of education time. New employees take several classes, review policies, and take certification tests in order to function in their role as a NICU nurse. There are quarterly education requirements for all staff that includes training on new policies and procedures and a review of standing policies. We also have skills training and pass-offs so that staff have an opportunity to demonstrate their own competencies in the workplace.

We are also always teaching parents of our patients. We deal with very high tech, complex equipment, requiring time to teach parents. There are also several tests, labs, medications, and examinations that require education time with parents. Premature babies are much different to care for than full term babies, so we also spend time teaching parents appropriate handling, stimulation, and feeding of the infants. As discharge approaches, we teach parents what symptoms to look for at home, when to contact the doctor, when to call 911, and they are taught CPR, among other things.

-Is there any nursing/health care provider role that does not involve teaching in some manner?

Anytime you have new staff, new policies, new procedures, or work with patients, teaching will be involved. I do not think there is a job in health care that doesn’t require at least some education. That is a very eye opening realization. It demonstrates to me the need to learn what education materials are available and what I can do to meet the learning needs of those I teach. Some do better just reading information; some prefer to hear the information, while others want a demonstration of what is being taught. I think a lot more could be done in healthcare to discover what a person’s preferred learning style is and try to change our teaching strategies to meet those needs.