Community Leadership Activity
CE IV assignment #2

Community Leadership Activity: For my community leadership project I participated in the Mariner Health of Wilmington Safety Fair. Mariner health is a nursing home that provides various levels of care from short term rehab to hospice care. Their staff includes medical director, registered dietician, social workers, activities director, physical therapists, occupational therapists, speech and language therapists, RNs, LPNs, CNAs, financial counselor, and administrative staff. My responsibilities included talking with all staff about proper back mechanics and have them complete a quick test on the information. Then I had those staff members who were required to participate in a hands on demonstration where they were to transfer a patient from supine to edge of bed to a bedside chair using proper body mechanics and transfer techniques that conserved energy and work expenditure.

Goals of the Program: The annual safety tour is the method that Mariner Health uses to educate staff on many areas required by OSHA. These areas include: Tuberculosis, infections control, resident safety equipment, wander guards, back mechanics, fire safety, bioterrorism, evacuation, hoyer lift, sit to stand lift, worker’s compensation, abuse and neglect, sharps, electrical safety, slips, trips, and falls, hazard communication, and MSDS. The goals of the safety fair were to have all staff complete a test on all the above topics and participate in hand on demonstrations for back safety and the hoyer lift.

Analysis of program: I feel that the safety fair was adequate to achieve the goals of the facility. It was an effective and time efficient way to educate over one hundred staff members on multiple topics in a few hours. Also I feel that this method allowed more staff to conveniently participate. Many of the staff members came before or after their shift that day and a few needed to come in on their day off, but no one mentioned that the fair was inconvenient to come too. One problem I feel may arise with this project is that there is no way to measure the long term effects of the education. The participants can easily use proper techniques and mechanics for one mock patient demonstration.

Reflection: I feel like I was able to accomplish my goals for the safety fair. Many staff members liked the tips I provided on different ways to make transferring require less energy expenditure. I hope that I was able to teach the staff some things that they can carry onto their everyday activities at work and it will help keep them in good health and fitness. During this project I found a few of my strengths and weaknesses. I was able to educate the staff in a time efficient and thorough manner. I feel that I was able to adapt my communication styles based on the staff members’ level of understanding and education. My weakness is a lack of experience in educating other health care professionals. I understand that as a physical therapist my job is not to only help those that are already in need of my services but to educate on how to prevent injury in the first place. This is very important to do in a healthcare facility due to the job responsibilities of those involved in patient handling. The risks involved in educating members of the health field include misdirection or misunderstanding; this could lead to improper techniques and ultimately injury. To prevent this from happening we have the participants demonstrate their skills and understanding.

Feedback: I was able to discuss my analysis of the safety fair with the facilities rehabilitation supervisor. She agreed with my analysis, but we discussed how the ultimate goal, to educate all staff on many topics in an efficient manner, was met. She told me that more in depth education is provided to all staff when they are hired. She told me that she was very impressed with how I handled the variety of staff members and I was able to easily and effectively educate the staff members. Overall I feel that this was a very good experience for me it allowed me to see another set of responsibilities I will attain by becoming a physical therapist.