This course focuses on 2 continuous quality improvement strategies that can be used to change complex systems—the plan-do-study-act (PDSA) method and Six Sigma’s define, measure, analyze, improve, and control (DMAIC) method. These simple, but effective, methods of making minor changes in systems can transform ambiguous and error-prone processes into tested, clear processes designed to reduce errors.

Antibiotic stewardship is a movement to improve antibiotic use through evidence-based practice. Team members become the stewards of antibiotics. This helps these medications continue to effectively fight infections. Antibiotic stewardship follows core elements to improve the use of antibiotics and their outcomes. This course discusses the core elements and benefits of an antibiotic stewardship program.
 

Caregiving demands a tremendous amount of compassion and empathy. While this can be incredibly rewarding, it can cause some adverse side effects. The goal of this course is to provide all staff with an overview of caregiving side effects.

Stress is part of everyone’s life. That’s not necessarily a bad thing. A certain level of stress is healthy because it motivates you to be productive. However, too much stress can do the opposite, leaving you feeling drained and irritable. You can’t escape stress, but you can learn to respond to it differently.

The goal of this course is to teach employees how to identify triggers and develop a personal stress management plan.

Team-based healthcare is provided by two or more people who represent different professions with the common goal of improving the well-being of a patient. Interprofessional (IP) collaboration may improve outcomes such as pain relief, improved access to healthcare services, and early recognition of treatment failure. Effective team-based, patient-centered care should be tailored to the population served and the needs of those individuals. This course outlines the components of team-based care and provides examples in different settings.

This course aims to help healthcare team members identify core principles of team-based IP healthcare in all settings.

Military cultural competence is essential to effectively engage, understand, and support active duty service members, reservists, and veterans in behavioral health treatment. Those in the military represent a specific cultural group. This course will provide you with an introduction to military culture. You will learn about the overall structure of the military, the core values of the primary branches, and the unique experiences of specific sub-populations within the military. This information will help you more effectively engage with, understand, respect, and support the military service members who seek your services.

The goal of this course is to provide addiction, behavioral health counseling, case management/care management, marriage and family therapy, nursing, psychologist, and social worker professionals in health and human services settings with information about military culture in general, the effects of military culture on sub-populations, and how behavioral health concerns affect military service members and veterans.

The goal of the course is to discuss how innovations can be recognized, developed, adopted, and disseminated amongst staff, as well as review areas where innovations are likely to change the provision of care. We will also explore the patient’s role in innovation, and how patient and family-centered care will drive ongoing changes.

The nursing profession is fraught with anxiety and intimidation, which hinders the ability of nurses to assert themselves, voice their needs, and advocate for their patients. New or inexperienced nurses may encounter significant challenges related to their work environment and may need support and education to learn how to recognize unhealthy work environments and affect positive change. 

The goal of this course is to teach new nurses how to recognize unhealthy work environments, as well as how to advocate for themselves and practice self-care.

Peer review is essential for being a part of a profession, but few healthcare organizations have meaningful nursing peer review. Nursing has lagged behind other professional groups, especially physicians, in creating a peer-review agenda. Authentic nursing peer review requires evidence-based standards by all nurses, regardless of role or practice setting. 

This course is intended to provide a summary of the key nursing interventions and considerations when caring for a postpartum patient who is experiencing sepsis. Whereas this may not be a daily occurrence, it is important for the labor and delivery nurse to refresh their knowledge of this critical situation, as well as have a source for quick reference in the future. This promotes ongoing efforts to maintain the highest levels of patient safety and care.

In the operating room, patient safety depends on high quality communication and shared knowledge among the surgical team. Several factors in this setting can contribute to communication failures like time constraints, shift changes, environmental barriers, the complex nature of surgical procedures, and clashing communication styles. All members of the surgical team must understand the risks to patient safety associated with communication failures, what information must be communicated and when, and how to use an assertive communication style.

The goal of this course is to equip nurses and CSTs with best practices for effectively communicating in the operating room. 

The role of a preceptor is vital to an organization’s ability to efficiently and effectively onboard an individual to a new department or work unit. This course is designed to include principles and practices for precepting new employees across healthcare settings. It introduces the learner to the fundamentals of the preceptor role and provides best practices for being an effective preceptor. Preceptors exhibit professionalism and best practices in their work units. Being a preceptor requires skill, talent, and preparation to yield the best outcomes.

A ‘culture of safety’ is an often-heard term in clinical settings. Most patients require complex care, with many interprofessional teams working together. Large patient volumes, an expectation for rapid delivery of care, the consumer’s ability to choose providers, and government reimbursements all drive acute care facilities to invest in preventing or reducing errors. Improving safety is beneficial to the patient primarily, with less risk of injury or death, but also to the facility and staff, improving retention and job satisfaction, with the added benefit of extensive cost-savings.

Healthcare and behavioral health professionals providing services on the front lines of a sustained health crisis are exposed to traumatic events on a regular basis. Staff deemed essential have little escape from the grueling demands of their daily work. Professional self-care routines are often insufficient or seemingly impossible during times of heavy demand. Without healthy work-life balance, effective self-care practices, and social connection, maladaptive coping mechanisms may surface or return. Many professionals experience feelings of helplessness when, despite their best efforts, they are unable to provide clinical solutions for their clients or patients. Based on what is known about trauma, it is imperative for professionals to effectively address self-care needs in a timely manner, for themselves and for those they serve.

This lesson will describe, in detail, 1 of the structured communication strategies that is used frequently in high-stakes situations: The ISBAR+R method. Appropriate use of this method can help healthcare providers avoid preventable errors by improving the effective communication of timely, accurate, and pertinent information among all members of the healthcare team.