Diaverum Corporate Education Session
Monday, 20 September 2010, 9.00 - 10.30, Auditorium
| Competence in practice: A multi-country approach to clinical education |
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Background: The quality of care that patients receive is primarily related to the knowledge and skills of the staff providing the care. In order that the nurses working in our clinics are best able to provide quality patient care a competency based haemodialysis education programme was introduced in 2005. By adopting a multi-country approach this standardized education program has been used in eleven countries to provide the same degree of education and assessment to more than 3000 dialysis care givers. Objectives: The focus of this session is to introduce the development and components of the current education program. To describe some of the challenges and barriers to implementation and how these have been overcome and to discuss how this program has benefitted our staff and the organisation as a whole. Method: Essentially the program had to meet the needs of nurses new to the dialysis setting. But we also decided that all existing staff should complete the program. To allow flexibility a modular program was designed. This format gives experienced staff the opportunity to self study. Each module contains both theoretical information using slides and manuscripts and practical knowledge through clinical procedures. To ensure that learners complete the learning cycle for each module theory tests and practical competencies are assessed. Periods for reflection and evaluation are also built into the program. The program was first rolled out to 129 clinics in 8 countries in 2005. Although a standardised mentor training program was used for the introduction each country had to adapt the programme roll out process to their individual needs and conditions. Despite planning and a structured roll out some resistance was experienced by the existing staff in some countries. The reasons for resistance were investigated and strategies developed to facilitate acceptance of the programme. Results: The programme is now an integral part of our routine practice and is well accepted by staff. In a small study the majority of nurses who left our clinics felt that they had developed skills that were transferable to their new job. In another study it has been demonstrated to significantly advance the knowledge of staff working in our clinics. Nurses also report that the programme has made them more knowledgeable and had encouraged them to adopt a habit of learning and skill development. We believe that this education program benefits our organisation by facilitating procedure implementation, promoting a safe environment and therefore supporting quality improvement. |
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 Download invitation in PDF |
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| Development of an education program for dialysis staff Jan Cowperthwaite, Director of Clinical Education |
| Experience of the introduction of a dialysis education program Rosa Maria Pinheiro, Country Clinical Specialist, Portugal |
| Challenges and Successes – getting the buy in Mari Paz Sorribes, Country Clinical Specialist, Spain |
| Developing a workforce with transferable skills Filiz Akdeniz, Country Clinical Specialist, Turkey |
| Evaluation of the Impact of an Education Program on Hemodialysis Nurses’ Knowledge Nereta Stanisloviene, Country Clinical Specialist, Lithuania |
| Summary Jan Cowperthwaite |
| Chairs: Maria Saraiva, Jan Cowperthwaite |
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