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HCAC e-news November 14, 2002 ~ Published by Home Care Association of Colorado |
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HCAC
FUNDAMENTALS IN
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The
HCAC Education/Professional Development Council and Board of Directors have
jointly announced that the long-awaited industry-designed Fundamentals
in Home Health Nursing course will be offered online beginning in January.
Plans call for the course to be offered four times in 2003, with each session
lasting six to eight weeks. According
to Nancy Baker, RN, manager of home care at Longmont United Hospital, the course
will cover fundamentals of home health and is targeted for nurses transitioning
into home health from other settings or for those who wish to take a refresher
course in home health nursing. Baker said the course will complement and enhance
a home health agency’s orientation process which is time consuming and is
estimated to cost up to $8,000 per nurse. However, data shows that when done
thoroughly and adequately, orientation can reduce turnover and save money. Baker
said the course is very timely since it has been determined that three to four
percent more nurses will be needed in home health in the U.S. by the year 2010. According
to Baker, this certificate course will be instructor-led (not completely
self-paced) and will contain three modules: Introduction
to Home Health; Preparing for a Home Visit; and The Home Visit. A fourth
module covering frequently encountered diagnoses and their treatment may be
added at a later date. Baker
said that agencies will be required to appoint an on-site preceptor (mentor) who
will have full access to the course work and will support the student in
applying the knowledge and techniques presented in the course. Agencies will
also be asked to provide on-site computer technical support with guidance from
the Colorado Area Health Education Center Program (AHEC) CIS specialist.
Competency in word processing, e-mail, file and attachments, web-search and
basic chat room experience are required for both student and preceptor.
Agencies will provide access to policies and procedures, home health care
reference books and articles to assist students in completing their assignments.
A general skill checklist will be provided so that the student and preceptor can
complete clinical competency validation of essential skills. APPLICATIONS
NOW BEING ACCEPTED FOR COURSE INSTRUCTOR; JOB DESCRIPTION AVAILABLE J
J J Colorado-licensed RNs with at least three years’ experience in home health are encouraged to apply for the part-time course instructor position. The instructor will facilitate student learning online, lead and monitor asynchronous discussions, and monitor understanding of the course work as demonstrated by completed assignments and assessments. Competence in e-mail, internet, word processing and WebCT is required. A Master’s Degree and adult education knowledge and experience is preferred. Interested persons should visit http://www.hcaconline.org/insttjd.htm
to review the job description and apply
before November 30, 2002. FINISHED
PRODUCT IS RESULT OF MANY YEARS OF COOPERATIVE EFFORTS BY HCAC, UNIVERSITY OF
COLORADO, AND AHEC. J
J J Over
the past two years, HCAC Board Member Nancy Baker was joined by an instructional
design expert Aleda Ahlgren of AJA, Inc., in converting the course from a
traditional classroom course. The original course was written and designed by
HCAC home health nurse volunteers and educators from the West Slope and was
taught in Denver by home health nurses. Multiple courses in online course
development and WebCT were provided to Baker and Ahlgren through the AHEC/UCHSC
program and within the Colorado Colleagues in Caring Initiative. The initial
planning and traditional course were partially funded by the Robert Wood Johnson
Foundation and the state’s regional collaborative to impact nursing workforce
development. The online course work was completed as the Colorado Model AHEC
program began to focus on increasing technology use for anywhere, anytime
education opportunities for health care professionals. Kris
Wenzel, newly selected center director of the Central Colorado AHEC and project
coordinator of the Colorado Colleagues in Caring Initiative, states that this
joint effort of the Colorado AHEC/UCHSC and HCAC combined the technology
know-how with the “experts” in home health to make this course possible.
Wenzel added, “Costs for the conversion were paid by Central Colorado AHEC
which will continue to contribute to the project through support of the online
environment to make this educational experience accessible for nurses
transitioning into home health care all across the state of Colorado.” JANUARY
2003 SESSION WILL BE PILOT; LIMITED TO 12 PARTICIPANTS; OFFERED AT SPECIAL PRICE
TO HCAC MEMBERS J
J J HCAC
member provider agencies are encouraged to register an RN for the first session
to begin in January 2003. A special introductory price of $500 per HCAC member
registrant has been set for the January course, with the price increasing up to
$875 for subsequent sessions. Those who complete the first session will serve on
the association’s Online Advisory Committee to give input for course
improvement. Agencies
may submit their intent to register for the course by writing to hcac@assnoffice.com. Registration and waiting lists will be
created based on initial responses.
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