Pennie

Hi, I know that I too love this work. Their are days I wonder why but for the most part we all know we show up & do it day after day , for the money We wished. It's rare to have any 2 days alike in this work & you learn so much from the residents. Do you rememner the show "Kids say the darnenst things"? Well I think we should have one but for the elders! I have been burned-out a few times, changed my postions but always involved in the activity field of this. No other profession gives me what this one does. By the way were is Ballinger? I also live in Texas. I have lived in Lubbock, Cleburne, Houston & Livingston.

Hey Steph, Glad that you stumbled on us. What type of setting do you work in? How many res. etc.. Have you ran across any other sites that you like? We love getting new ideas or even a twist on an old act. Share with us. By the way WELCOME :hammer:

Hi Keriie, You have the same name & spelling as my cousin-n-law. Anyway welcome to the board. Glad to share info., ideas, suggestions etc.. with you & any inout that you may have to share is always welcomed ;-)

Hey Newbie, I have done scavanger hunts for the res. A list of items was printed up for them to find & the items were hidden through the fcaility. The first one to finish won a prize. I also have used the magazines for food, usually dine with those who needed to gain weight. But I have not tried the scavanger hunt your way sounds like it would be another good activity. Thanks for sharing.

Another suggestion for 1:1 activity: If you have a res. who is bedfast and alert set-up a movie night. If res has a TV w/ VHS or DVD player use it if not use the one from act dept (If you are lucky enough to have one) Rent a video that you know the res would enjoy. Next invite a few other res. to join in on the movie nite in that res. room. Have popcorn or a snack of some sort as well as a drink for them. This is great for ladies, a good love story. I would do this in the evening around 7 pm & have the TV in the res room. I would give the tape/DVD to the nurse in charge of that res. as well as having the snacks ready & placed at the nurse station. They would start the movie & bring in the snacks. After the end of the movie the nurse or CNA would clean up & take the tape/DVD to my office slide it under the door or in a safe place for me get inthe am. I would go pick up the TV first thing next morning & discuss the act w/ res. This has always been a popular act. The bedfast res felt like she was important & hosting a party. The other res felt like they were getting a nite out w/ friends. All in all it was a great boost for everyone's moral & some even became close friends after this.

Hi Midgey, My first interview job I was also a wreck. I was also told that they had a few others to interview. So I decided that I would call and check on the status of the interviewing. I called enough to let them know I was interested but not enough to be a pest. I was called back for 2 more interviews. I was hired on the 3rd one. So either phone calls helped or I said/did something correct at one of the interviews. Maybe you call & just check in let them know you are interested & the best person for this job! Let us know how it goes :-)

Overview of Evaluation Define the Area (or Scope) to be Measured Cognitive: Executive Function, language Skills, attention Span, Orientation, Judgement, Memory, Coping Skills, and Academic Physical: Gross Motor Coordination, strength/Endurance, Sight/Vision, Cardiovascular Functioning, Bowel & Bladder, Upper Extremity Manipulation, Eye Hand coordination, hearing, Ambulation Social: Reaction to others, Social Interest, Cooperation, Style of Group Interaction, Reaction to Environment, Competition Emotional: self-confidence, Mental Sharpness/Dullness, and Expression of Hostility, Moods, Caring/Energy Investment, Sense of Humor The first step is to estimate what norms or expectation seem to be not met. Developing a general understanding of what area(s) of performance or attitude/feelings are enough "off: to need to be measured is important. Why spend time taking exact measurements of the resident's ability to walk when, on close observation, the resident has no trouble walking? Better to spend time measuring the resident's ability to remember where his/her room is if s/he has a problem with memory. It would be the memory impairment and not the locomotion skills, which limit the resident's participation in-group activities. By using the scope it will help the professional to see what areas are norms or expectations. The professional gains experience, s/he develops the skill to know which areas of the regular scope need a more in-depth measurement based on the resident himself/herself. WHAT DO I NEED TO KNOW? Be sure that the information gathered is a true reflection of the actual status. A sample should be drawn which facilitates the truthful answers to the "What do I need to know" question. The two most common types of samples used in activities are the skip & the focus group. Need to know: Are residents' initial assessments being done on time? Possible Sample: Select charts of Residents admitted since a given date (e.g., within past 8 months). Roll a dice & use any given number above "3" This is your "skip" number. If you rolled a "5" you take the chart of every 5th resident admitted until you get the number of charts you need to review (e.g. 20). FOCUS GROUP Do residents on bedfast: Have appropriate programming which addresses their bedrest status? Select charts of residents: Who had orders for bedrest between 2 Specific dates (e.g. Nov.6 to Jan 24th.) Skip sample selection is when the professional uses a simple math equation to decide which subjects (e.g., charts, residents) to evaluate & which ones to ignore (skip). This works best when the skip number is unknown to everyone until just before the evaluation. That prevents staff from performing "better" in situations where the sample is known before the evaluation. DATA: The data can be collected by interviewing the resident, family members &/or through observation. You need to gather data: In many ways this is the hardest part. It requires the acceptance of "facts" just as they are. No allowance is made for "maybe the person meant this" or "this mark could mean ---." If the element being measured would not be obviously clear to at least 5 different individuals - it is not counted Data collection has no interpretation associated with it! Example: 3. Is descriptive enough to be able to distinguish the resident from a group of other residents. 4. Is descriptive enough to clearly define abilities & weakness 5. Is summarized in a manner, which clearly reflects the use of clinical decision making prioritize the residents' needs Question: Does the initial assessment provide enough description about the resident's abilities & weaknesses to be clear to others that read the assessment? Subject Quotes taken from subjects initial assessment met/not met Res.#1 Res. has history of progressive disorientation problems not met Res#2 Res. has total paralysis on right side of body met Res#3 Res. has hearing loss not met Res#4 Res. is able to walk 20' independently w/o walker met Res#5 Res. is able to recognize his own name met Res#6 Res. enjoys engaging independently & frequently in his met Favorite activity - bird watching Res#7 Res. has left neglect met Res#8 Res. misses family not met Res#9 Res. physically strikes out at staff when asked to stand met Res#10 Res. can play 3 different card games met JUDGEMENT: is the process of comparing what is normal & expected to what has been measured & making a decision about weather action is required. Review the data collected to determine 2 things: 1. If the data collected shows something different then what would be considered a norm & 2. If any difference is significant enough to warrant a change. This requires knowledge & expertise. Determine what caused the substance performance. Educated guesses are made about why the problem showed up. Review the data again to see if a clear cause emerges. If a clear cause is not found, future evaluation is significant enough to warrant change. When you have determined that the problem has been found decide if the problem is sever enough to warrant trying to change what is happening. Consider if the problem is bad enough that it would result in the facility being out of compliance during survey, whether the care being given to the residents or participates could be significantly improved. The 3 parts of the evaluation are; 1. The identification of the norms & expectations 2. The measurement of actions & the recording of attitudes/feelings & 3. The use of the professional's judgement to state, what, if any, important difference were found between the desired (norms & expectations) & the measured performance. COMPONETS OF EVALUATION: I. Norms & Exceptions - which state what is desired versus what is considered inappropriate Set by:  Governments,  Credentialling organizations,  Professional organizations,  Results of scientific research,  Management at facilities,  Professionals & their department or work group & expectations set by the residents II. Measurements - which show how close something is to what is desired  Scope - identifying issues & areas to be measured  Criteria - developing a general understanding of the areas to be measured & identifying/developing criteria as to what should be found  Data - establishing the exact method to be used to collect information & then actually collecting the information (data) III Judgement - which states what, if any, important difference were found between the desired (norms & expectations) & the measurement (performance)  Determine if the data collected is different from the norms & exceptions  Determine if any difference seen is significant & warrants a change.

LIFE SATISFACTION SURVEY Resident Name: ____________________________ Room # ____________ Date: _____________ Surveyor: __________________________________ Does the facility help you be as independent as your health allows? Yes __ No ___ Comments: ____________________________________________________ Does the facility provide you quality medical care from your Dr when needed? Yes ______ No ______ Comments: _____________________________________________________ Do the employees treat you fairly without threat of mental or physical abuse? Yes __ No ___ Comments: ____________________________________________________ Do the employees appropriately help you with activities of daily living? Yes __ No ___ Comments: ____________________________________________________ Are the staff members open and friendly with the residents? Yes __ No ___ Comments: ____________________________________________________ Does the facility provide interesting activities, which involve you? Yes __ No ___ Comments: ____________________________________________________ Does the facility provide a nice room in an attractive setting? Yes __ No ___ Comments: ____________________________________________________ Does the facility provide good meals that meet your taste and dietary needs? Yes __ No ___ Comments: ____________________________________________________ Does the facility serve meals on time and in a timely manner? Yes __ No ___ Comments: ____________________________________________________ Does the facility help you feel safe and secure in your home? Yes __ No ___ Comments: ____________________________________________________ Does the facility help provide you with a compatible roommate? Yes __ No ___ Comments: ____________________________________________________ Does the facility help you to voice complaints and get results without reprisals? Yes __ No ___ Comments: ____________________________________________________ Does the facility help protect your individual right to privacy? Yes __ No ___ Comments: ____________________________________________________

Burnout What should you do to get back to your "normal" self? You at this point need to take some time off to rest. After that s/he needs to learn to say no and share the workload with others. What factors indicate you were experiencing professional burnout? These are indications that you is experiencing burnout: you are working more and more but getting less done, the aches and pains along with getting sick more that usual. Also you were discouraged and defensive about your health problems. What circumstances seemed to contribute to your problem? The circumstances are that you worked through your breaks, lunch hour and took work home with you. S/he became frustrated with his/herself. You does not allow time between activities, then took on more work as a co-therapist as well as assist in a family council group. As your supervisor, what action and approach would you take to resolve this problem? Why? I would have her/him take some time off, having her/him use some of their "Mental Health" days. This would be explained to her/him this will not vacation time. As his/her supervisor I would talk with him/her about how good of a job s/he has been doing but that s/he is showing all the signs of burnout. I would insist that s/he take their breaks and lunchtime. That s/he should use this time to for them selves to relax and unwind. I would also talk with him/her about learning how to ask for help with the programs, leave some of the details to others. Explain too him/her that it is O.K. to leave the paper work unfinished, there is always tomorrow. What measures could be taken to prevent the problem from recurring? You could move through your day slower, plan fewer activities in a day, allow time for unexpected task, learn to say No, and avoid doing more than one thing at a time, s/he needs to learn to balance their work life and personnel life. There is a need for him/her to experience leisure time for them selves, read, and write, whatever it is that helps him/her to relax. Get more exercise so that they would sleep better.

Hi I have noticed that you have stated that you have a limited budget. Nursing Home week as well as Nurses week should not come out of activity budget. They Nursing Home week should come from the PR budget talk w/ administrator about this. After all this is to promote the facility. Also this should not fall on the act staff to do all of the planning all depts should pitch in for this. Nursing week comes from nursing budget & not yours again this is not your responsible to plan the act fo rthis event the DON should do it or at least make a major attempt to help out!

Mother's Day Arts & Craft project… Use a daisy &/or sunshine template look for a childs coloring book that might have one in it. Copy it on to yellow Xerox paper. Make enough copies for all the residents doing the activity. Have the residents glue the flower or sunshine on to a piece of cardboard, something like poster board, or any other type of light weight cardboard. Color the picture template where appropriate (show the residents the colored picture of the daisy/sunshine) so that they where know to color &/or add lines. This step is optional. Cut the template out. Cut out a picture that will fit inside of the circle. (EX: picture of their kids, grandkids, something from a magazine etc..) Paste the picture into the sunshine or the flower. Glue a magnet or something on the back so that it can be displayed. Options: Residents can do one of each, sunshine & flower. Place their picture in one & their husband in the other. Make this and present to a new mom. Make one for a teacher or any special person/ event. Can decorate with glitter, sequins, noodles etc… Optional: Make a card to place with the finished product YOU ARE MY SUNSHINE You are my sunshine My only sunshine You make me happy When skies are grey You never know dear How much I love you So please don't take my sunshine away!

Hankie Babies This is an old traditional craft that some of your residents may remember doing. It was popular during the hard times when supplies as well as money were scarce. Time to make about 30 min. Supplies: One handkerchief, plain or decorated (on 1 corner if desire) One yard of lace, pre-gathered adds a nice look baby One to Three yards of 1/8" double faced satin ribbon Polyester Fiberfill or Cotton Balls Two Crochet Threads, about 12" long Scissors Iron Starch Needle & thread that match handkerchief Instructions:  Press the handkerchief.  Sew the lace to the lower edge of the handkerchief.  Form a ball out of the fiberfill or cotton balls. (If the hankie is small make the ball about the size of a golf ball; if hankie is bigger increasing the ball size proportional, this is the doll head).  Place the ball on wrong side of the hankie, about 2" to 3" below the center top of hankie.  Fold the top edge of the hankie over the ball so that 1/2" extends below the head.  Gather entire hankie around the head & tie with one of the crochet threads.  The top corners on each side of the head will become the arms & hands.  Gather hankie about 1/2" below the first string, having the arms & hands extended out on each side. Adjust the gather to make a skirt. Tie using the second crochet string.  Pull on the arms & hands until the bottom two corners are even with the center of the lower edge of the hankie.  Arrange arms & hands. Make the hands using thread that is knotted near the end of the hankie on each side.  You can decorate the hands/arms with ribbon, flowers, bow &/or position the hands in front of the baby, is desire. Cut a piece of lace long enough to cross the head. Start the lace on one side of the head by the string used to make the head & end on the opposite side. Sew the lace in place for a hat. Tie 1/8" ribbon around the neck threads & tie into a bow.

Soda Bottle Spinner Good alternative to a pin wheel to hang in the yard. Materials: Soda bottle wire or string tools - drill, scissors, knife, permanent markers, acrylic paints (fabric paints work) Procedure: Cut 3-5 evenly spaced curved lines (all in same direction) lengthwise into the long straight side of the soda bottle. Helpers will be needed to help here. Bend these outwards slightly. These are the fins that will catch the wind and make the bottle spin on the long axis. Optional - Cut off the uneven bottle base. Drill a hole into the center of the bottle cap for hanging with the string/wire. Decorate bottle with paints, permanent markers, glued on things.... Check out this other one: Soda Bottle Fish

Lots of things to choose from & hey things even you & staff might enjoy. I had a man come & show all of the newest fishing things out today. It was suppost to be for the men but the women crashed the event. They actually made it more lively. But no matter fun was had by all. I had a couple of ladies who own a quilt shop come in & show off some quilts as well as some of the newest gadgets on the market. Then they came back every week & worked with the res. on making a quilt. Which we proudly displayed for a long time. Then I heard it was auctioned off, after I had moved on, it brought in a quite a few bucks. Call ladies from your local garden groups & let them do their thing. We had a group of ladies who do scrap booking come in show off their talents & then res. had a chance to make their own scrap book. A res. who lived in the facility held a poerty reading act. There is a college in town who offers classes to the elders on a variety of topics. We had get them there but that was ok. Around the end of the month they held a dance & served food. I even had a belly dancer come in some of the bolder res. took a shorth lesson & preformed for all of us. They loved this. We had a square dance group come in weekly & res. were encouaged to join in. A lady who collected dolls came in showed the res. themm told of their history. This started a whole reminiscing act. A big hit was when I had a local genealogy come & talk to the res. They convinced a lot of the res. that they should pass along what they knew about the family history. So they came back wit tape recorders & spoke with the res. one by one. This was then given to the act. dept & we passed it on to the family members. I remember a couple of times when a res. had passed away before we got the tape to the family. We gave this to them after their death & the family cherished them. We tried to have a variety of health care people to come in to talk about differnent issues butit seemed that the didn't care for this. However the family members did, so these guests where invited to the Family Council Meetings. Another big hit was to have the Hi-School come practice football at the facility weekly. The team invitied the res. to come to some of the local games. They provided a bus to come get the res. Of course they got the best seats. Have a book review club, this is always a good things for your alert res. The list is endless, use your res. as resources too. They have so much knowledge & background. Most are more than willing to share their knowledge with willing listeners. The more you involve the community the better the PR for the facility & your dept. Also it takes a load off of you. What a win win situtation.

Hi Pat, How is the job going? Need any help or advice? Hope all is well. Comgts to U P 8-) ;-) :-D

Hey Karen, I have a basic 1:1 &/or In-Room form that I made up. It has a place for the date of the visit. What was done during the visit & another space for what the res. response was. Of course the top portion has the res. name, rm # etc.. Also a place for the goal (what was decided by the CP Team) The form is is divided into sections with lines. This way you are able to write as much or as little as needed. I also have a list made up of all 1:1's & In-Room with a specifiec day & time they are to be seen. The same staff person sees this res. This helps the res. to be orientated to the day 7 time. ie.. Today is wed. & Pennie will be coming to see me. This list is also placed in a box outside of the act office with blank forms. This way when volunteers come in after hours they can visit res. 7 make a documentation of what they did etc. & then this is transfereed into the res. 1:1 log.

Hi cindy Have you looked under the section titled Intro yourself? Lots of folks have posted there. You may find a fellow Mich person. If you find out what state is looking for share it with us all we can never be to prepareed for them ;-)

Hey Karen, I use the progress note form for my quarterly reviews. I wwrite the date , Quartely Review, which quartely & the proceed w/ the note/summary. The first line is what was/is the res. goal from the annual/new asses. If this has been met or not. The a summary of what act/ res has attended, brief desc. of res. any type of changes in res (be it act or any other dept.) Then end it with a note on wheather the goal will be con't, d/c'd. revised (if revised explantion as to why). The sigh off on it. Even thought most res. don't change to much you need to document it does not need to be long just a brief note will do. I would rather write a short note than to check a box. The note method seems to be more personlaized to me. Hope this helps.

Hi Lynn56 You placed a message on the 29th of March. I was wondering if you recieved ann answer to your question? If not let me/us know so that we can try to help you out OK :oops:

The theme for Nat'l Nursing Home Week is "Embracing Our Hertiage" so you could do a spin off from the theme one day. We have done some of these in the past: Pat on the Back Board or Shinning Star Board. No prizes are needed the board is the prize. Cut out hands or Stars from paper. Have everyone write something on the hand or star about another staff member. Why they should get the pat on the back or the shinning star. Also write the staff members name, which they are writing about, as well as their name. Read what others have written about others over the PA or at a staff meeting. *This could be a way to pick employees of the month, &/or present them with a T-shirt or Jacket, *Or on Friday give those who earned a pat on the back or star a small prize (don't tell them you are doing this.) Run this program for a length of time. *Have the department head of each department pick 1 of their staff member a day for 1 week, why they choose them & place their name on the star or pat on back board. Staff & Resident Collection Have staff/residents bring in items that they collect. Write a little bit about why they collect this & maybe a little history of items collected. You could have the person tell about the history & the stories about items that h/she collect, to the residents/staff at an activity. Place these on display for everyone to see through the day. This helps everyone get to know each other as individuals. It may also draw those of similar interest together & create new friendships within the facility. Possible items that people collect: baseball cards, pigs, quilts, coins, salt & pepper shakers, thimbles, dolls, stamps the list is endless. Guess "Who is This Person?" Have all the staff &/or residents (family members can possible help out here) bring in a picture of himself or herself as a baby or very young child. Be sure that they write their names on the back. Hang these on a bulletin board & place a letter or number under the picture, for everyone to see. Have everyone write down the letter or number & the name of who they thing the picture if of. First person who identifies all of them correctly wins. Give a small prize. *Option: Have satff/residents bring in a wedding picture. Or ask them to bring a picture that didn't make the wedding album. * Option: Have 2 boards one for the staff & one for the residents. Or just do staff this time & at a later date do the residents. "Getting to Know You" have a list of items on a sheet of paper can be in a line or Bingo style. Staff/Residents must find the person who has done the item on the list. You could do this by units. Have the staff/res. initial it or write their name by that item. The first one to complete the list wins a prize. (Verify the initial or name) This helps everyone to better know each other & what their lives are like outside of the facility or in the past. Ex: of questions: I like to be read romace books, I had 5 children, I sew, Belong to organization (name if preferred), Use to be a teache, nurse, farmer, love to swim, I love to waltz/dance, paint, Riding motorcycles, etc. *Another option is to have staff do this with the residents only. "Have Staff contest" *Bring in 1 bed for each unit. Have a CNA from each unit get on the bed. The nurses, use 2, are to race each other to see who can make the bed the fasted. The CNA on the bed is from a different unit & is very difficult to work with. *Have units compete with each other, Pop balloons by sitting on the, DO this relay style. *Blind fold nurse & CAN sit the across from each other Have the CAN feed the nurse. Opt have a Housekeeper, dietary, or res. stand by them & give directions. The first person to finish wins. *Have a contest on shaving balloons. Use a department besides nursing. *Wheelchair race, relay style, divide team in half. Wheel themselves to other side then another member gets in & wheels to other side 1st team to finish wins. "Have a Talent Show" Have people sign up include res. (opt) Winner(s) get a T-shirt, jacket something from the dollar store, a lottery ticket. Maybe a gift certificate or day off with pay. Let res. &/or staff judge. Make dept heads do a show together to start off the show. Also check out these websites: www.postivepromotions.com www.gopromos.com do a search for National Nursing Home Week. Don't forget to have the Major sign the proclaimation for this week. Do some PR in the local newspaper. This & more can be found on the internet when you do your search. :-o

National Nurses Week is celebrated May 6 -12, 2004. This is always celebrated on the same time every year. it begans on Mother's Day & ends on Florence Knightgale B'day. The theme for 2004 is "Embracing Our Hertiage" Below is a little bit of facts: Did you know.... * As of November 2001, the Bureau of Labor Statistics projects that more than one million new nurses will be needed by the year 2010. The report projects that total employment will increase by 22.2 million jobs during the 2000-2010 period, rising to 167.8 million. Health care practitioners and technical occupations are expected to account for 1.6 million new jobs during that period. Registered nurses, which represent the largest occupation in this group, should account for more than a third of those new jobs. * The nation's registered nurse (RN) workforce is aging significantly and the number of full-time equivalent RNs per capita is forecast to peak around the year 2007 and decline steadily thereafter, according to Peter Buerhaus of Vanderbilt University's nursing school. Buerhaus also predicted that the number of RNs would fall 20 percent below the demand by 2010. (Journal of the American Medical Association, June 14, 2000) * Research indicates that advanced practice nurses can provide 60 to 80 percent of primary care services as well as or better than physicians and at a lesser cost. To see other facts, Nurses history, gifts & more look at Nurse Gifts I liked www.AHCA.org, other sites you may want to check out are: www.gopromos.org & www.postivepromotions.com Do a search for National Nurses Week lots of sites out there.

It looks like we could keep very busy in the month of May. Below are a list of events celebrated during this month. I also am listing some websites that you can look at for some the events listed. I hope you find these helpful. Calendar of events for May 2004: National Arthritis Month Bicycle Safety Month Asian Pacific American Heritage Month High Blood Pressure Education Month Mental Health Month Older Americans Month Osteoporosis Prevention Month National Book Month Correct Posture Month School Principals Day May 1 National SAFE Kids Week May 1-8 Teacher Appreciation Day May 4 Nurses Day May 6 National RN Recognition Day May 6 National Nurses' Week May 6-12 National Student Nurses Day May 8 National School Nurse Day May 12 Teacher Appreciation Week May 3-9 National Pet Week May 2-8 Be Kind to Animals Week May 2-8 National Hospital and Healthcare Week May 9-15 National Nursing Home Week May 9-15 National EMS Week May 16-22 National Police Week May 9-15 National Employee Health and Fitness Day May 19 National Senior Health and Fitness Day May 26 World No Tobacco Day May 31 www.gopromos.com www.postivepromotions.com www.ahca.org

Hi, Are you in need of volunteers? :-P Find a Volunteer The Points of Light Foundation & Volunteer Center National Network coordinate nationwide activities to provide citizens with volunteer opportunities and resources. You can go to this site place in your State &/or zip code to find the center for your town and request Volunteer(s). They even have a match area for you to fill out if needing a specific type person(s). Learn lots more by checking them out. Also don't forget that National Volunteer Week is April 18 - 24, 2004 The theme is "Inspire By Example" Check out Volunteerstore.com

Hi, Last night I somehow ended up on a great website called Making Memories 101 I found alot of interesting things on this site, one of them being a link to poems. I have never seen so many poems in one place. Have a look at the Mother's Day Poems there are lots of them. :hammer: Be sure to check out the May Calendar while you are on Making Memories 101 site. You just may find some inspiring activities. ;-)

Pioneer Network 5th National ConferenceCome to the Land of Oz "There's No Place Like Home" August 4-7, 2004, Overland Park Convention Center and Sheraton Hotel For more information visit Pioneer Network or call 585.271.7570 CEU's possible: 4.2 Pre-conference, :-o 13.8 for main conference, 4.8 for facility visit