SCHHC Nurse Educator, Arianne Booth, RN, pictured above, organizes Nursing Skills Days
BANDON – Training for nurses is essential to keep up with the ever-changing requirements in the medical field.
That’s why Southern Coos Hospital & Health Center in Bandon implemented a series of Nursing Skills Days in 2023 to help nurses stay up to date. The trainings are held three times a year.
The fourth Nursing Skills Day was held earlier this month at the Bandon Community Center. Organized by SCHHC RN Clinical Educator Arianne Booth, the training features stations set up throughout the room, including informational and hands-on options, where clinical staff test their skills using a “passport” to make sure they don’t miss a station. The trainings are offered over two days to make sure all nurses can attend.
Booth said each Nursing Skills Day is a little different, though some skill testing is repeated each time for nurses to demonstrate critical required competencies.
“I build a curriculum for each station and each presenter has to check with me to make sure each one is up to date with best practices,” Booth explained.
Volunteers from various SCHHC departments helped with each station.
At the May and August Nursing Skills Days, the SCHHC Informatics Department presented a table offering hands-on work computer work. It was the first time such training has been provided. The goal is to teach nurses better skills in charting. This skill is important because SCHHC is implementing a new electronic health records platform that will improve the current charting process. The new EHR system will go live in December.
“They are getting more information on how to use our new EHR system, so it’s good timing,” Booth said. “Informatics plays a big role in Skills Day.”
Other departments represented in August included Respiratory Therapy, Infection Control, Health Information Management, Clinical Laboratory and Nursing. Skills tested included sedation charting, respiratory testing, chest tube set up and maintenance, fall prevention and management, infection prevention and fit testing.
For the first time, outside agencies were represented, including Pacific Home Health & Hospice, which offered symptom management through end of life; and Waterfall Community Health Center, which offered disengagement skills.
Booth said the SCHHC Engineering Department also played a huge role in getting the equipment to the Community Center.
“It definitely takes a team to pull this off,” Booth said. “I think it went really well. Everyone came in and helped set up and as we do more of these, people will know the flow. Everybody worked as a team, which is really nice.”
