As a nurse educator, you know that ongoing education leads to reduced turnover and greater job satisfaction among your nursing assistants. Not to mention that continuing education is a yearly requirement for CNAs! But, how do you know the information you provide to your aides sticks? Here are some staggering statistics regarding adult learning retention. Over a period of three days, adults retain:
* 10 of information that is read
* 30 of information that is seen
* 50 of information that is seen and heard
* 90 of information that is said and done (applying learning to real life situations)
Many factors affect adult learning retention including age, level of prior education and motivation. It s a tall order for any educator to motivate learners, accommodate different learning styles and keep his or her teaching fresh and interesting. Here are five strategies for ensuring that your nurse aides actually retain the information you are giving them.
1. Touch upon a medley of learning styles. If possible, give your learners a choice between interactive group study and contemplative self study. Make sure that aides who are studying solo know who they can approach with any questions about the material. Or, add a visual component, such as PowerPoints, to capture the attention of people who learn by seeing. And, when applicable, include a demonstration in your inservice. For example, have a physical therapist demonstrate how to use a mechanical patient lift.
2. Encourage nurse aide participation. For each of the required annual inservices, ask a different nursing assistant to help you teach the materials. After the topic has been presented, ask each participant to tell the class something new that they learned. By saying it out loud, the learning will be reinforced! You can also encourage participation by simply asking your CNAs what topics they are interested in learning more about.
3. Create excitement. To generate buzz about an upcoming inservice topic, hand out a word puzzle or pre test a few days prior to the meeting. Or, tape a $1 bill in two or three copies of the inservice materials each month. Your CNAs will look forward to attending class to see if they are lucky winners!
4. Promote active learning. Use real life situations relating to patients at your workplace to stimulate discussion and enhance critical thinking skills. When relevant, bring in patient care equipment and allow each participant to practice using it. Or, split your class into two groups. Have each group come up with a discussion question for the other group to answer.
5. Review job performance. Check for knowledge retention by making sure your caregivers are applying what they have learned. Give continuous feedback about their client care and address any remaining learning needs as they arise. (Don t wait for annual review time. If you do, you ll miss many opportunities for making sure that learning sticks !)
Add some zing to your CNA continuing education with these 5 tips and you ll start seeing daily proof that your nurse aides are not only remembering what they learn but are putting it into practice.
Author Resource:
Linda H. Leekley BS, RN is the founder of In the Know, a company dedicated to the continuing education needs of nursing assistants. In the Know inservices help you develop a team of top-notch CNAs. Please visit In the Know's website at http://www.knowingmore.com to download a FREE Inservice Topic.
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