Many staff have paid a great compliment to our Learning & Development team by telling me that they didn't even notice I was away for nearly two months.
I was confined to home following a partial hip replacement. It was a sobering experience. In my heart I knew that our team would be up to the challenge - and the fact that special events, workshops, support services, and even a full week dedicated to workplace learning all unfolded without people noticing my absence speaks volumes about the commitment of our team.
The experience reminds me that the key question in my role as a team leader should always be "what can I do for you." I agonized for weeks over the fact that I couldn't be around to assist each L&D specialist meet the challenges of their assignments. I'm back now and find myself getting straight to the chore of making their work flow smoother, more efficiently, and making it more engaging.
There were tough times for each member of our team during my absence, and some important team lessons to be learned - but I don't think our customers noticed. That is wonderful customer service.
And now that I'm able to serve again, I'm really excited about many great initiatives and ideas for Education at the ROHCG in 2010.
As per our blog policy - the opinions and comments in this article represent those of the author and should not be considered representative of the ROHCG.
Wednesday, November 25, 2009
Friday, January 30, 2009
Code Alert Tags at the ROMHC
The Code Alert Tags from Ekahau have generated a lot of passionate discussion, most of it concerning the delay of implementation.
Well the wait is over!
Three in-patient units; Youth, Intensive Assessment, and Schizophrenia have been provided with Code Alert Tags since Fall 2008. The project hit the 'pause' button in mid-November to insist that Ekahau fix some technical glitches. We're rolling into February and the Tags are rolling out to the rest of the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre.
In my opinion, I think these Code Alert Tags finally give us license to brag about a truly innovative wireless application. And it's very appropriate that it address the safety of our greatest resource - our staff.
I realize these Code Alert Tags are not perfect. I've heard various concerns, and they are sincere and legitamate. I still believe the Code Alert Tags provide a new layer of security. I will be insistent that our team members wear a tag in situations where getting to a phone to activate a Code White is difficult.
The Code Alert Tag Implementation team led by Sheldon Box is commited to supporting the roll-out and continuously improving the Code Alert Tag and process.
This blog is a great way to continue to listen to your opinions on the Code Alert Tag and talk about making it even better. I welcome your feedback.
As per our blog policy - the opinions and comments in this article represent those of the author and should not be considered representative of the ROHCG.
Well the wait is over!
Three in-patient units; Youth, Intensive Assessment, and Schizophrenia have been provided with Code Alert Tags since Fall 2008. The project hit the 'pause' button in mid-November to insist that Ekahau fix some technical glitches. We're rolling into February and the Tags are rolling out to the rest of the Royal Ottawa Mental Health Centre.
In my opinion, I think these Code Alert Tags finally give us license to brag about a truly innovative wireless application. And it's very appropriate that it address the safety of our greatest resource - our staff.
I realize these Code Alert Tags are not perfect. I've heard various concerns, and they are sincere and legitamate. I still believe the Code Alert Tags provide a new layer of security. I will be insistent that our team members wear a tag in situations where getting to a phone to activate a Code White is difficult.
The Code Alert Tag Implementation team led by Sheldon Box is commited to supporting the roll-out and continuously improving the Code Alert Tag and process.
This blog is a great way to continue to listen to your opinions on the Code Alert Tag and talk about making it even better. I welcome your feedback.
As per our blog policy - the opinions and comments in this article represent those of the author and should not be considered representative of the ROHCG.
Monday, January 26, 2009
Corporate Welcome: If It Ain't Broke - Break It Anyway
It’s only been about 18 months since we began working on the re-building of our Corporate Orientation day, which we call the Corporate Welcome. We had just reached a point where the planning and process of the day was running smoothly; and based on evaluations, much to the satisfaction of the participants.
Then one day in November Margaret Tansey, our VP of Professional Practice and Chief of Nursing asked if we could make half of the day available for a grant-funded educational pilot program on Inter-professional Practice. This obviously threw our program into chaos – but I believe that if the right opportunity presents itself, even the best made plans can be adjusted to seize the chance. It was quickly apparent to me that this was a chance to make a profound cultural impact on teamwork at the ROHCG moving into the future.
As many of you know, I have worked at the Royal for a long time – and team-based practice and collaboration (or the lack of it) has been described to me as an obstacle for most of my Royal career. I liked the idea of introducing new recruits to the values of inter-professional teamwork. The 10 competencies or capabilities model also made perfect sense.
My job was to compress a full day of content into the morning agenda. That wasn’t easy. I also wanted to do what I could to ensure that our Orientation participants accepted this new and experimental workshop. Clocking in at about two-and-a-half hours, this didn’t look like your average orientation session.
The preparation was tough. The meetings weren’t always fun. The final practice and materials were ready just hours before show time. It reminded me of the early Corporate Welcome days; nervous, risky and exciting. As with most new educational interventions, I think you must take a “ready-fire-aim” philosophy. It seemed to go well. Of course we had a list of things we want to improve for the next workshop. The evaluations will pave the way for the future of this inter-professional education session, both within the Corporate Welcome and along side other ROHCG education formats.
The message of this experience is that “when the right thing comes along, there’s always room for it.”
As per our blog policy - the opinions and comments in this article represent those of the author and should not be considered representative of the ROHCG.
Then one day in November Margaret Tansey, our VP of Professional Practice and Chief of Nursing asked if we could make half of the day available for a grant-funded educational pilot program on Inter-professional Practice. This obviously threw our program into chaos – but I believe that if the right opportunity presents itself, even the best made plans can be adjusted to seize the chance. It was quickly apparent to me that this was a chance to make a profound cultural impact on teamwork at the ROHCG moving into the future.
As many of you know, I have worked at the Royal for a long time – and team-based practice and collaboration (or the lack of it) has been described to me as an obstacle for most of my Royal career. I liked the idea of introducing new recruits to the values of inter-professional teamwork. The 10 competencies or capabilities model also made perfect sense.
My job was to compress a full day of content into the morning agenda. That wasn’t easy. I also wanted to do what I could to ensure that our Orientation participants accepted this new and experimental workshop. Clocking in at about two-and-a-half hours, this didn’t look like your average orientation session.
The preparation was tough. The meetings weren’t always fun. The final practice and materials were ready just hours before show time. It reminded me of the early Corporate Welcome days; nervous, risky and exciting. As with most new educational interventions, I think you must take a “ready-fire-aim” philosophy. It seemed to go well. Of course we had a list of things we want to improve for the next workshop. The evaluations will pave the way for the future of this inter-professional education session, both within the Corporate Welcome and along side other ROHCG education formats.
The message of this experience is that “when the right thing comes along, there’s always room for it.”
As per our blog policy - the opinions and comments in this article represent those of the author and should not be considered representative of the ROHCG.
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