Lesson 0: Trainer Introduction Transcript Title Slide (no narration) Webcast Tips There are a few things that will assist you in navigating through the webcasts. At the bottom of the viewing pane are the play and pause buttons as well as the buttons to go back and forward. There are also buttons to adjust the volume, view the closed captioning and close the webcast. On the left is a table of contents that you can use to navigate to a specific area of the webcast. There are also times when a [Continue] button may appear on the screen. It will typically appear in the bottom right of the screen. The webcast will pause until you click this button. Click on the [Continue] button that appeared in the lower right hand corner of the slide to go to the next slide. Welcome Hello. My name is Barbara Breen, Training Coordinator for the Department of Public Welfare Medication Administration Program. I will be your narrator for this webcast. Lesson Focus This lesson focuses on: The requirements to be a trainer. The role and responsibilities of a trainer. The requirements for all unlicensed staff to administer medication. And, the use of practicum observers to monitor medication administration. Message to Trainers Welcome to the Pennsylvania Department of Public Welfare Medication Administration Program. This medication administration training program was developed by the Department in collaboration with the Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing. Its purpose is to teach unlicensed staff to properly administer medication to individuals receiving services in licensed community settings. The program uses a train the trainer model. As a trainer candidate, thank you for your commitment to preparing yourself to teach and monitor staff to safely administer medication. 1
Trainer candidates must meet certain criteria before beginning the trainer course. Unlicensed candidates have to successfully complete the student medication administration course and be familiar with their employer s policies and procedures around medication administration. Licensed candidates are not required to take the student medication administration course, but must be familiar with their employer s policies and procedures around medication administration. In addition, all trainer candidates must currently be employed in one of the eligible licensed settings for a minimum of six months before taking the trainer course. Upon successful completion of the trainer course, trainers have the following responsibilities: Teach unlicensed staff to properly administer oral medication. Monitor unlicensed staff that administer medication. Teach practicum observers to assist with the monitoring of unlicensed staff which is optional. And, monitor these practicum observers. Trainers can also administer medication. However, unlicensed trainers that administer medication must participate in the same annual monitoring activities as the unlicensed staff who administer medication. Trainers must also recertify as trainers on a regular basis, currently every three years. Trainers should take this responsibility seriously. You are likely to be the first contact that many of your staff will experience related to medication administration. It is imperative that you administer the course as written, teach these skills accurately and assure that the students master them. It is more important that the students master the skills than just pass the test since the proper application of the principles and skills is crucial for safe medication administration. This will protect both the individuals that you serve and the staff that you employ. It is important that you recognize that students learn in different ways and at different rates. Using strategies like providing one on one work with the student outside of the classroom, giving additional practice activities and allowing the student additional time to study material can help students with difficulties in learning to master the material. As a trainer, you should seek to actively involve all students in the learning process. Design of the Program This program is designed to teach proper medication administration to unlicensed staff. The course contains both an online component that presents the material to the student and a face to face component that teaches the student skills. The expectation is that each student completes the online portion of the course prior to presentation of the skills in the face to face training component. These online lessons cover the principles of medication administration including walking through the medication cycle and teaching some of the actual process of administration and documentation. The face to face component will focus on demonstrating and practicing the proper techniques for medication administration and documentation. As a trainer, it is your responsibility to assure that each of the students understands and knows the material in the online training. If in the face to face session a student does not appear to have mastered some of the material, then you should instruct them to go back and review those online lessons prior to completion of the course and testing. 2
As a train the trainer model, the Medication Administration Program not only has trainers, but also provides some trainer extenders called practicum observers. The trainers teach and monitor staff to administer medication as well as teaching and monitoring the practicum observers. Practicum observers act as a trainer extender by assisting the trainers with the monitoring activities including observations and MAR reviews. While the use of practicum observers is optional, they offer a strategy to avoid developing additional trainers that will only be used to monitor medication administration and not teach the course. Furthermore, it provides an opportunity to use the provider s supervisory staff to monitor medication administration in addition to other skills and tasks that are part of the work of that staff. Practicum observers must not only complete the student medication course, but also be taught the practicum observer course by the trainer. Licensed staff may become a practicum observer by taking the practicum observer course, but do not have to complete the student course. However, they must have a working knowledge of the principles and practices of medication administration including provider specific policies and procedures around medication administration and experience administering medication either currently or in the past. The course incorporates standard accepted medication administration practices. These practices may not always be the same as those used in your environment, so it is recommended that you review your policies and procedures in order to incorporate these standard practices. The goal behind standardizing medication administration practices is not only to allow for workers to move between environments within eligible licensed settings, but also to promote safer medication administration. As part of the course, information and resources exist about what should be included within a provider medication administration policy and procedure as well as other trainer resources to assist the trainer in preparing for teaching and monitoring the course. Course Outline First, both trainers and students complete the online lessons. Trainers will repeat the lessons that they ve completed as students in order to review the materials and become familiar with what information is in each of the lessons. This helps them prepare for teaching and allows them to better direct the students that have difficulty with particular parts of the course back to those specific lessons for additional review. Take a moment and review the lessons in the course. When you are ready, click [Continue] to go to the next slide. Once the trainer candidate has completed the online lessons, they will then take a two part online examination including multiple choice and written documentation examinations. Trainer candidates that successfully complete those components will be eligible to attend the face to face training. The trainer will attend a one day face to face class to learn how to teach the skills associated with medication administration. These skills include all of the elements of the medication administration cycle including a detailed presentation of administration and documentation skills. The trainer will use the face to face material to teach the students at the provider worksite. All trainers must successfully complete a presentation during the face to face class in order to become a trainer. 3
Prior to completing the course and earning their certificate, trainers that successfully complete the face to face portion of the course must review additional online information. This information includes the procedures for student testing and the practicum observer course training materials. These materials include how to document student scores and monitoring which will be used to determine whether or not all of the elements have been completed as well as to demonstrate compliance with the course for licensing. Both the student testing and practicum observer materials contain the information needed for annual monitoring with MAR reviews and observations. The student will complete all the required online lessons and the face to face requirements prior to testing. The student examinations to test for competency include four components: a multiple choice exam, a written documentation exam, and observations of medication administration and handwashing and gloving skills. Both the multiple choice and written documentation examinations will be electronically completed. The trainers will be responsible for the evaluation of the student s competency in handwashing and gloving and medication administration. The students must complete a number of medication administration observations before they can give medication independently. To pass the initial course, students must successfully complete four medication administration observations. The trainers may complete two of the observations in the classroom. The remaining two, or all four if desired, must be completed in the workplace. (Jill Morrow-Gorton) Barb, I d like to interject for a moment. Hello, my name is Jill Morrow-Gorton, Medical Director for the Office of Developmental Programs. I will be presenting the lessons with Barb. I wanted to mention that while in the past there has been a time limit for students taking the course, for this course there is no time limit. Students should be allowed to use the amount of time it takes them to master the materials prior to completing the testing. So Barb, why don t you move on to talking about maintaining certification. (Barbara Breen) Once certified, any unlicensed person, to remain certified to administer medication, must complete an Annual Practicum. The Annual Practicum includes observations of medication administrations in the workplace and MAR reviews completed by either the trainer or a practicum observer. For trainers to remain certified, they must attend the Department of Public Welfare Medication Administration Program recertification class every three years. Trainers who do not recertify by their recertification date will be required to repeat the entire course. Trainers with expired certification may no longer teach or monitor medication administration. Requirements for maintaining certification as a practicum observer are also every three years and specified in the practicum observer course materials. 4
Summary In order to become a trainer, you will: Meet pre-requisites to become a trainer. Complete the online lessons. Complete the face to face classroom work. Successfully pass testing components. And, complete online procedures for student testing and practicum observer training. In training medication administrators, you will: Assure that the students have completed all the online lessons. Teach the face to face material to the students. Administer the student exams and observations. Complete all student testing documentation. And, perform and document ongoing monitoring of the medication administration. As a trainer, you can use practicum observers to assist with the ongoing monitoring of medication administration including observation of medication administration and MAR reviews. Next Step The next step is to begin the online lessons. 5