Using Debriefing in Professional Development Courses.

Debriefing is a valuable tool to use when developing teamwork skills. The skill set can be either a specific outcome talent, such as a class on building teams, or a team skill set needed to successfully complete a team project. Professional development faculty can work to acquire and expand the skills described in this column. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2024;55(8):375-377.].

Summarizing a Debriefing Session in Professional Development.

The summary of the debriefing session is critical to acknowledge the work of each participant and to identify the learnings. Key approaches include the importance of including everyone and maintaining a positive, upbeat attitude. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2024;55(9):423-424.].

Developing Your Stories.

When creating and developing stories to engage nurses, it is essential that the stories have a character, a goal, and a challenge. It is also helpful if the stories have an impact on listeners' emotions. Consider professional and life experiences that can be developed into effective stories. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2022;53(8):346-347.].

Presenting Stories.

A periodic Gallup poll that asks Americans what they fear the most reveals that their greatest fear is public speaking. Death hovers around number 6. Courage, passion, and commitment are required to stand up before a large group of people and deliver a message. This column examines three aspects of telling stories: presentation style, personal presence, and the required skill set. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2022;53(9):395-396.].

Creating and Collecting Stories.

This column is about collecting stories and creating your own to use in teaching situations. It is the second in a series of four columns about aspects of learning to use stories to engage learners, influence them, and support them. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2022;53(7):299-300.].

Types of Stories to Influence Clinical Nurses.

Stories are exceedingly powerful in influencing nurses to consider changing certain behaviors or how they deliver various kinds of patient care. Following last month's excellent example of a story to influence adoption of family-centered care in the neonatal intensive care unit, let's consider the various types of stories that can be told when attempting to influence clinical nurses. In future columns, methods for collecting stories to use in education and important factors in the presentation or telling of stories will be considered. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2022;53(6):253-255.].

Coaching.

An effective tool for the growth and learning of health care employees is coaching. This process can use either an external or an internal coach. The coaching process is usually formalized and consists of four phases. Some suggest that leaders should spend 40% of their time coaching their staff. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2020;51(1):12-14.].

Precepting.

Precepting differs from coaching and mentoring in that it is time limited, structured, and based on specific organizational goals, objectives, and competencies related to a specific unit or area, as well as the organization. It also requires a prepared preceptor and support from the organization and the professional development faculty. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2020;51(2):62-64.].

Mentoring.

This article focuses on the definition of mentoring and what mentors need to know. It also describes a mentoring mindset and specific mentoring behaviors. Negative behaviors and approaches are also identified to facilitate differentiation between actions that work and those that extinguish mentoring relationships. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2019;50(12):540-541.].

Differentiating Mentoring From Coaching and Precepting.

Considerable confusion exists about the differences between mentoring, coaching, and precepting. This article was constructed to help professional development and clinical nurses in both understanding and differentiating between these important roles. This article serves as an overview, which will be followed by a subsequent Teaching Tips article on each separate role. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2019;50(11):493-494.].

Self-Assessment and the DiSC.

Understanding yourself and working to increase effective communication is critical to effective teams and quality patient care. One role for staff development nurses is to help in the creation of effective teams and healthy work environments through supporting nurses to understand themselves and coworkers who have different work styles than themselves. [J Contin Educ Nurs. 2019;50(8):347-348.].

Creating Interprofessional Teams.

In an era where collaboration is integral to effective care of patients and families, staff development educators can have a powerful effect on interprofessional team development. This first article in a five-part Teaching Tips series emphasizes the work of creating competencies for such teams. It is neither effective nor advisable to create a group of people and tell them to go be a team. Knowledge, skills, and tools are helpful in creating such teams, which will be a focus of these next several Teaching Tips articles. J Contin Nurs Educ. 2018;49(7):297-298.

Circle of Advisors: Creating a National Perspective for Graduate Curricula in Nursing Administration.

The CGEAN Board established a goal to support MSN administration programs to thrive and meet the need for well-prepared nurses to assume leadership roles. This column addresses how we embarked on this work through creation of a Circle of Advisors composed of national nursing leaders who came together to address specific curricular issues and more importantly to voice support for continuation of MSN administration programs.

Giving and Receiving Feedback: Part II.

In part one of this article, giving effective feedback was addressed. In part two of this article, helpful strategies for receiving feedback, something most have never been taught and many have not even considered, are explored. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2017;48(10):445-446.

Giving and Receiving Feedback: Part I.

Feedback is one of the most difficult interactions educators/leaders have with learners and staff. Giving feedback effectively with the least amount of defensiveness from the recipient is challenging and is addressed in Part I of this article. Receiving constructive feedback will be addressed in Part II. J Contin Nurs Educ. 2017;48(9):395-396.

Use of the 1-Minute Preceptor Model as a Tool in Working With Nurses.

New graduates, newly hired nurses, and nurses transitioning to new specialties need thoughtful and thorough oversight during this process both to ensure acquisition of the required skill set and to become an integral part of the new area. Well-prepared preceptors who facilitate this education can decrease turnover and help to build a healthy work environment. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2017;48(8):345-346.

Questions That Stimulate Creativity and Innovation.

A higher level of questioning can stimulate creativity and innovation. Stimulating innovation and change in health care is critical to advancing care delivered by nurses and the necessary changes in the systems housing this care. Staff development faculty can teach nurses how to ask these questions. J Contin Educ Nurs. 2017;48(3):102-103.

Leading in the Healthcare Vortex.

The 2016 International Nursing Administration Research Conference, Leading in a Healthcare Vortex, was held in Orlando, Florida. The program drew 116 attendees with representation from Canada and Brazil. Participants from practice, education, and research discussed leadership in our turbulent healthcare climate, which are highlighted in this column. The conference was dedicated to the memory of Dr Heather S. Laschinger in recognition of her distinguished research legacy of empowering nursing work environments and mentorship of prominent nursing administration researchers.

Professional Behavior in Nursing.

Being clear about what constitutes professional behavior is a pathway to effective leadership. Not all nurses come out of educational programs with an understanding about what aspects of behavior signal true professionalism. This article uses the American Organization of Nurse Executives' Nurse Executive Competency for Processional Behavior to help professional development nurse faculty identify role modeling behavior and other aspects that new nurses can use to help them advance in their careers, while improving care to patients and families.