Medical City Dallas Hospital

Nominated by Jane Alberico, MS, RN, CEN

Fasten your seat belts, the learning is about to begin! The nine-nurse team of clinical education specialists in the Medical City Dallas organizational development (OD) department is driving innovation and creativity.

"Maintaining creativity in an ever-changing healthcare climate is a challenge facing nurse educators today," said Jane Alberico MS, RN, CEN, director, OD department.

Fortunately, this team has been empowered to conquer challenges through education. However, the road wasn't always so smooth.

Plan & Check Your Route

The team's combined nursing experience totals almost 250 years. From Gen Y-ers to the baby boomers, the group brings four generations of nursing knowledge to its teaching. Not only is the team multigenerational, it is multi-international, bringing cultural experiences from all over the globe. In addition, each member of the team represents a specific specialty.

"Our team evolvement has been going on for about 3 years," Alberico said. "About a year ago, however, we made the decision to improve our coaching program."

The team understands effective educators consider both the successes and failures when implementing change. "We have initiative and use the performance improvement model of plan, do, check and act (PDCA)," Alberico said. "We develop new approaches to those learning activities that cross all nursing service lines."

Start Your Engines & Dance

"We decided to start all over with something innovative," said George Wade, RN, training center coordinator. It was Wade who initiated the "ice breaker."

"My wife and I took ballroom dancing and thought a dance lesson would be a good ice breaker," Wade said. "The lesson set the tone for implementing the return demonstration techniques, which are crucial skills for coaches."

According to Laura Kennedy, BSN, RN, women's services clinical education specialist, the OD team conducts quarterly 8-hour sessions with about 30 participants in each class.

"The participants are greeted with music, decorations and educators who 'dress the part'," Kennedy said. "Initially, the participants don't know if they are in the right place." Creative themes, such as "a day at the beach" and "swinging in the '50s" spark excitement and curiosity.

"It makes them think out of the box," said Carolyn Schaefer, BSN, RN-BC, med/surg clinical education specialist. "The coach models the expected behavior, gives explicit directions and positive reinforcement while strengthening skills based on both performance-based development and evidence-based practice principles."

Mary Ellen Viancourt, MSN, RN, added, "The program prepares staff in providing a formal orientation program to introduce graduate nurses or experienced nurses entering a new specialty to the roles and practices of our nursing care delivery system and for the purpose of competency validation."

Primary coach positions are offered for full-time employees and secondary coach positions for those working part time.

Crossing All Nursing Lines

But the coaching program is more than a class with fun themes. It is a transformational process that requires a global perspective crossing all nursing lines.

"In traditional hospital settings, women's services educators stay with women's services and ED educators stay with ED," said Rachel Wheeler, BSN, RN, CEN, CPEN, ED clinical education specialist. "We've evolved to where we cross service lines because our patients cross service lines."

Michelle Creech, BSN, RN, pediatric clinical education specialist at Medical City Children's Hospital, said the team met for a "free-flowing brainstorming session."

"The laughter, debate and collaboration transformed our traditional preceptor program into a valued coaching experience," Creech said.

The benefits of practicing globally empower both staff and patients. "Viewing education on a global perspective enhances my ability to look at the whole picture and what is truly needed for the staff and our patients," Wheeler said.

From 'Ho-Hum' to Passionate Wade said the previous preceptor program was taught by one person using "theoretical ho-hum lecture material."

"Participants were told what to do with very little attention to individual service-line or unit needs, not to mention individual differences in learning styles," he said. Today's program requires a passion within the individual for coaching.

"We're all very passionate about what we do and it shows," said Greta Pardue MSN, RN, clinical education specialist.