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Crit Care Nurse 2003 Apr; 23(2): 136-135
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In Our Unit

Supporting Lifelong Learning and Competency Development

Peggy Reu, RN, APN/CNS
 Kelly Maple, RN, BSN

Peggy Reu is a clinical nurse specialist and Kelly Maple is a staff RN, both at West Suburban Hospital, Oak Park, Ill. If you would like more information on the topic-of-the-month approach, e-mail preu6{at}yahoo.com.

"In Our Unit" highlights unique practices, innovations, research, or resourceful solutions to commonly encountered problems in critical care areas and settings where critically ill patients are cared for. If you have an idea for an upcoming "In Our Unit," send it to CRITICAL CARE NURSE,101 Columbia, Aliso Viejo, CA 92656; fax, (949) 362-2049; e-mail, ccn{at}aacn.org.

The patients in the critical care unit at West Suburban Hospital, Oak Park, Ill, have complex needs, which require their nurses to have a high level of knowledge and skill. To support the lifelong learning necessary for critical care nurses to meet the complex needs of these critically ill patients, we developed a "topic-of-the-month" strategy.

Because the pressures of our faced-paced healthcare environment are compounded by the multiple demands of trying to juggle home life and work, we sought ways to incorporate our professional learning needs into our daily work routines. The idea of using a topic for each month came from one of the staff RNs, who saw value in it being a team effort so that everyone felt some ownership to keep the program going. Everyone recognized that the approach could be an effective mechanism to support development of nursing competencies.

We identify topics in advance so that we can plan activities around the particular area of interest throughout each month. A typical month includes a bulletin board display related to some aspect of a particular topic, an issue of the Critical Care Educator Newsletter highlighting what is new in relation to the topic and various multidisciplinary inservices, as well as updates by various drug or product representatives and videos that staff can view at work or take home.

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Although staff involvement is voluntary, the work has definitely been shared. The team includes RNs, residents, MDs, respiratory therapists, the care coordinator, pastoral care, pharmacists, and the unit social worker. The clinical nurse specialist who oversees the activities allows the project to remain driven by the unit team.

The staff is eager to share their knowledge and become involved in the activities, which includes conducting the inservices, writing short articles, or making poster presentations. Because everyone takes part in some way during the year, this approach also encourages the RNs to "stretch" themselves to learn new information that can be shared. In addition to the knowledge, we enjoy the creativity that many of the staff members contribute. The Critical Care Nursing Practice Committee has even joined in by evaluating practice and policies that relate to the specific topic of the month.

The topic-of-the-month approach eases the complexity of coordinating various activities. Staff members who are interested in or considered experts in a particular have more time to prepare presentations, and representatives of other departments, such as infection control and cardiac services, are contacted to participate in time to plan it as part of their schedules.

Our goal has been to support each other in knowledge development as one mechanism to develop expertise in clinical judgment. After more than a year of participating in the topic-of-the-month approach, we are all more excited about learning and looking forward to future topic activities. This approach has made us a closer team as we work together on this quest for excellence in nursing practice.





This Article
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Right arrow Respond to This Article
Right arrow Alert me when this article is cited
Right arrow Alert me when eLetters are posted
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Right arrow Email this article to a friend
Right arrow Similar articles in this journal
Right arrow Similar articles in PubMed
Right arrow Alert me to new issues of the journal
Right arrow Download to citation manager
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Citing Articles
Right arrow Citing Articles via Google Scholar
Google Scholar
Right arrow Articles by Reu, P.
Right arrow Articles by Maple, K.
Right arrow Search for Related Content
PubMed
Right arrow PubMed Citation
Right arrow Articles by Reu, P.
Right arrow Articles by Maple, K.

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