Enhanced Orientation
for Nurses New to
Long Term Care
CFNU Conference Workshop
June 14 & 15, 2011
Enhanced Orientation for LTC
RTA National Project
• Coordinated by CFNU; national
funding body is Health Canada
• National partners
– Canadian Nurses Association
– Dieticians of Canada
– Canadian Healthcare Association
• 10 participating provinces/territory,
each with a unique project
Enhanced Orientation for LTC
Enhanced Orientation for LTC
RTA Project Goals
• Evaluate the impact of different strategies
(pilot projects) on the retention and
recruitment of nurses
• Engage nurses unions, employers,
governments and other health stakeholders
in collaborative partnerships
• Develop resources that build capacity within
the workplace
• Share and transfer knowledge within and
across jurisdictions and professions
Enhanced Orientation for LTC
Manitoba Project
• Manitoba project stakeholders
– MNU
– Manitoba Health
– WRHA
• Project goal: Recruit and retain
nurses new to long term care
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Provide better orientation
Enhance profile of LTC
Develop nursing leadership skills/capacity
Enhance geriatric knowledge/skills
Interdisciplinary involvement
Sustainability and transferability of initiative
• 3 pilot PCHs in Winnipeg
– 23 nurse participants (12 protégés and 11 mentors)
Enhanced Orientation for LTC
What did the Project
Involve?
• 2 components of the enhanced
orientation program;
– Mentoring relationship between an
experienced nurse (mentor) and a new
nurse (protégé)
– Knowledge and skill development
• Evaluation
– Unit/PCH indicators
– Surveys
– Focus groups
Enhanced Orientation for LTC
Mentorship
• Established mentoring partnerships
for all 12 new nurses
• Provided 2 mentoring workshops
– Skills workshop for the mentors
– Mentoring orientation for the mentors and protégés
• Mentoring support
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Reference materials
Mentoring relationship tools
Ongoing contact with mentors/proteges
Management support
Enhanced Orientation for LTC
Clinical Knowledge and Skills
• ‘Excellence in LTC’ series of 6 clinical
workshops
– Protégés and mentors received funding to attend (MB
Health)
– Sessions offered to other staff in LTC
– Total of 390 staff attended the 6 workshops
– Workshop materials developed and distributed
– Content: changes with aging, geriatric assessment,
medication challenges, presentation of illness/infection,
differentiation between dementia/delirium/depression,
dementia/behavioural care strategies, falls prevention and
management, palliative care, pain assessment and
management, nutrition, oral health, swallowing disorders,
pressure ulcer prevention, continence care, nursing
leadership
Enhanced Orientation for LTC
Project Timelines
• Recruitment – April-August 2009
• Mentor workshop and orientation
workshop – Sept 2009
• Baseline data collection – October 2009
• Mentorship relationship – September 2009 to
April 2010 (or longer)
• Clinical workshops – October 2009 to April
2010
• Mid-point data collection – February 2010
• Final data collection - May-June 2010
Enhanced Orientation for LTC
Benefits to the Protégés
• Positive effect on transition to LTC
• Build skills and confidence to become an
effective nurse
• Knowledge that they have someone they can
talk to and ask questions about anything
• Mentors provide needed support; someone
to ‘go to’
• Recognition that LTC is a specialty and
requires a special skill set
• As a result of the project, motivated to
become mentors in the future
Enhanced Orientation for LTC
Benefits to the Mentors
• Opportunity to share their knowledge
and experiences
– Starting out as a new nurse
– Can relate to the new nurses’ situation
• Able to provide moral support
– Challenges with workload, stress, working relationships
– Able to provide support and suggestions
• Sense of satisfaction and professional
growth (mentoring skills workshop)
Enhanced Orientation for LTC
National Project Key Findings
• Project participants share a general
sense of optimism about the projects
• Participating nurses report higher job
satisfaction and stronger workplace
leadership compared to nonparticipants
• Participating nurses view the projects
positively, particularly 80/20 and
mentorship programs
Enhanced Orientation for LTC
Project Sustainability and
Legacy
• Enhanced Orientation Program Guide
– 50 copies printed and distributed (regional, provincial,
national)
– 70 additional copies have been printed
• Adoption of the program and materials
– WRHA Personal Care Program
– Mentoring materials – 2 rural RHAs in Manitoba
– Excellence in LTC workshops – PEI LTC program
Enhanced Orientation for LTC
Looking Into the Future…
• What are the perceived benefits of an
enhanced orientation program?
• What is needed to create sustainability
of an enhanced orientation program?
• Are there opportunities for
transferability of a similar program to
other settings/areas of practice?
Enhanced Orientation for LTC
Questions? Comments?
?
CFNU website
www.thinknursing.ca
Deanne O’Rourke, RN, MN
(204) 782-4624
2definesolutions@mts.net