Developing Those Who Develop Others: Quarterly Educator Symposiums

Abstract

<p>Professional Development Nurse Specialists are uniquely qualified to teach, mentor and provide networking opportunities for all roles that develop other employees in the organization. Many different roles provide employee education and training. They are full and part-time; central and unit-based; prepared by graduate education and not; and it may be a primary part of their job description or &ldquo;duties as assigned.&rdquo; With this variety of: 1) preparation for educating; 2) priority in role responsibilities; and 3) opportunities to share best educational practices; we created the Clinical Educator Forum to standandize practices and share educational best practices. Membership in this group crosses disciplines, service lines, and a variety of job titles.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; The Clinical Educator Forum Steering Committee is responsible for planning the Quarterly Educator Symposiums. Symposiums are a method to increase the knowledge, skills and motivation/attitudes of all those responsible for facilitating any portion of employee education. Learning needs assessments are annual and ongoing with each program&rsquo;s evaluation, giving the steering committee direction for planning the next one.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; We started in 2010 with 30-40 average participants and range now between 75-120 participants for the last three offerings. The topics for developing educators have varied from &ldquo;Teaching Strategies,&rdquo; to &ldquo;Unit-base Orientation,&rdquo; to &ldquo;Educator Role Facilitating EBP,&rdquo; to &ldquo;ANPD Scope and Standards of Practice.&rdquo; The goal of these Symposiums is to network with other educators and develop educational knowledge, skills and attitude/motivation.&lt;br /&gt; &lt;br /&gt; This session will describe the lessons learned as our Quarterly Symposiums became &ldquo;must do&rdquo; development opportunities for our educators.</p>