Health 150 Test 1 Notes

02/04/2025 - Your Work Ethic and Performance

Making a Commitment to  Your Job:

• Professionalism is vital for all health care workers

  • Job opportunities in health care - both now and in the future - appear excellent

  • Health care employs about 10% of all American workers

  • Offers diverse employment options and career advancement opportunities

• No job is insignificant, and no job is unimportant in health care

  • People who work behind the scenes may be less known to patients and the public

  • Performing the job well requires Making a Commitment to You Job and taking a professional approach to your work

Soft Skills vs Hard Skills:

• Soft Skills (people skills)

  • Reflect personal characteristics

  • Distinctive individual qualities of a person, relating to patterns of behavior and attitudes

  • Enhances your ability to interact effectively with others

    • Part of your personality

    • More difficulty to acquire and changes

• Hard Skills

  • Enable you to perform the hands-on, technical duties of your job

Interdependence and Systems Perspective:

• Interdependence (the need to rely on another)

  • You must be able to view the “big picture” and know where you fit in

  • No one in health care works alone - everyone’s work is interconnected

• Systems Perspective (observing the entire process)

  • Standing back, viewing the entire process of how a patient moves through your organization, and understanding how your role fits into that process

Why is it important to be “present in the moment” at work?

• Allows for better focus

• Improved decision-making

• Stronger relationship with colleagues

• Increased productivity 

• Greater ability to identify and solve problems by actively engaging with the current task and situation

Critical Thinking:

• Using reasoning and evidence to make an analysis or reach a decision

  • Think through each situation

  • Decide on a strategy

  • Test the strategy

  • Observe the results

  • Adjust accordingly

• Health care employers need problem solvers

• Critical Thinkers…

  • View things from a rational perspective

  • Ask essential questions

  • Identify and analyze relevant information and evidence

  • Differentiate between facts, opinions, and personal feelings

  • Think with an open mind and question assumptions

  • Exercise caution in drawing conclusions

  • Test conclusions against relevant standards

S.A.M.P.L.E.:

• S - symptoms/signs

• A - allergies

• M - medicine

• P - pre-existing conditions

• L - last oral (meds/food or drink)

• E - events → 24 hours

Strong Work Ethic:

• Positioning your job as a high priority in your life and making sound decisions about how you approach your work

  • Attitude and behavior that support good work performance

• Factors that Demonstrate a Strong Work Ethic:

  • Attendance and Punctuality

  • Reliable

  • Accountable

  • Initiative

  • Good Communicator

  • Attitude

Optimist vs Pessimist:

• Optimists:

  • One who looks on the bright side of everything

  • Displays a positive attitude most of the time

  • They see “the glass as half full”

  • Tend to smile a lot and convey a friendly and cooperative attitude

• Pessimists:

  • People who look at the dark side of everything

  • Habitually or anticipates the worst

  • Gloomy

  • They “see the glass a half empty”

• How does ___ impact the work environment?

  • Optimism

    • Increases employee engagement

    • Higher productivity

    • Better problem-solving abilities

    • Improved creativity

    • Reduced risk of burnout

    • Positive work environment

  • Pessimism

    • Negatively impacts team morale

    • Reduces productivity

    • Reduces creativity

    • Less employee engagement

    • Discourage initiative

    • Hinders collaboration

    • Leads to job dissatisfaction

• No place of employment is perfect

  • People will find things to complain about, event when they work for an employer of choice

  • Create a positive attitude

    • Seek help when you feel stressed

    • Smile at every chance

    • Spread your optimism and enthusiasm

Competence and Quality of Work

• Competence and quality of work are connected

  • Competence

    • Make sure you are well trained and competent to perform every function of your job

    • Never take a chance and just “wing” it

    • Keep your knowledge up-to-date and your skills sharp

    • Learn about the latest procedures, techniques, and new equipment

    • Attend in-service sessions, register for continuing education workshops, and read professional publications in your field

    • Always ask questions when you are uncertain about anything

• Nothing remains stagnant in health care

• Commit to always improving

  • Avoid saying, “that's not my job”

    • No task is too menial in health care - providing quality of care

Compliance and Scope of Practice:

• Compliance

  • Acting in accordance with laws and with a company’s rules, policies, and procedures

  • Ignoring a rule, violating a policy, or breaking the law can compromise quality, hurt a patient or coworker, and get your fired from your job

• Scope of Practice

  • Boundaries that determine what a worker may and may not do as part of his or her job

    • License – a credential form a state agency awarding legal permission to practice, must meet pre-established qualifications

    • Certification – a credential from a state agency or a professional association awarding permission to use a special professional title, must meet pre-established competency standards

What might happen if you perform procedures outside of your scope of practice?

• Lose professional license

• Sued for malpractice

• Termination

• Cause harm to patient

Confidentiality: HIPAA and HITECH Act:

• Confidentiality

  • A major compliance issue

  • Health Insurance Portability and Accountability (HIPAA) Act of 1996

    • National standards to protect the privacy of a patient’s personal health information

  • The High Tech Information Technology for Economic and Clinical Health (HITECH) Act of 2009

    • Protects confidentiality of health information transmitted electronically

    • Strengthens the enforcement and penalties associated with HIPAA rules

• How do HIPAA and HITECH affect the health care employee?

  • Ensures healthcare organization and professional adhere to guidelines that protect patient safety, maintains data privacy, and upholds the integrity of medical practices

• How do these acts affect you as a patient?

  • Guarantees patients access to their medical records (paper and/or electronically)

• What might happen if coworkers violated these acts?

  • Termination

  • Civil penalties (fines)

  • Criminal penalties (jail time)

Representing Your Employer:

• To patients, visitors, guests and vendors, you are the company you work for

  • Everything you do and say can impact your company’s reputation

• Ways to support your employer:

  • Corporate mission

  • Corporate values

  • Appearance, attitude, and behavior

  • Always exercise discretion

  • Assume everyone is doing their best

  • Look for another job if you are unhappy

02/13/2025 - Interpersonal Relationships

Interpersonal Relationships:

• Interactions with other people and the relationships you form with coworkers

• Approximately 85% of all medical errors are caused by poor communication and teamwork

• Interdependence is essential

  • Collaboration, positive attitudes, conflict resolutions influence others while maintaining respect and the morale of the team

Coworkers as Customers:

• Coworkers are “internal” customers

  • Treat coworkers with same respect and compassion that you would your patient and other customers

  • Always look for the best in people

  • Give them the benefit of the doubt

  • Assume everyone is doing their best

• View coworkers as team players

  • Cooperation

  • Avoid whining, complaining, and questioning authority

Ways to Strengthen Relationships at Work:

• Inclusion and Friendliness

  • Avoid cliques

  • Help coworkers build their self-esteem

  • Openly share information, ideas

  • Laugh at yourself and be a good sport

  • Practice the Golden Rule (treat others as you want to be treated) and the Platinum Rule (treat others as they want to be treated)

• Loyalty

  • Be there for coworkers with situations become stressful

  • “You are the company you work for.”

  • Give management the benefit of the doubt

  • Represent your employer in a professional manner

• Cooperation

  • Make personal sacrifices to help coworkers

  • Widen your circle of colleagues

  • Enjoy the synergy of working with others

  • Appreciate and recognize the strengths, abilities, and personal traits that each coworker has

• Courtesy, Etiquette and Manners

  • Courtesy - polite behavior; gestures, and remarks

  • Etiquette - acceptable standards of behavior in a polite society

  • Manners - standards of behavior based on thoughtfulness and consideration of other people 

    • A reflection of character

Culture Competency:

• The ability to interact effectively with people from various cultures

• A process of continual learning by being open to how people are influenced by their culture

Culture:

• Formed when groups of people share the same values and norms

• We all belong to multiple cultural groups at the same time

• Cultural groups share values and beliefs about what is most important to them

Ways to Strengthen Relationships with other Cultures:

• Overcome prejudice by learning more about other people

  • Keep an open mind 

  • Seek additional information

  • Watch documentaries

  • Read books, magazines, newspapers. And other sources

  • Review credible resources before forming an opinion

  • Evaluate all the information

  • Ask yourself, “Is it true or false?”

Cultural Competence:

• Values are an important part of every culture

• Behavior is not the result of culture

• Seek the common characteristics of different cultures

02/18/2025 - Teams and Teamwork

Teamwork:

• “The name of the game”

• The Team Concept:

  • Identity is formed by the nature and purpose of the work

  • Developed through a series of stages

  • Conflict - natural and may strengthen the team

  • Cohesiveness develops

Team Mission Statement:

• Clearly defines the team’s purpose

• Aligns members with shared goals

• Boosts motivation

• Improves decision-making

• Fosters sense of unity

• Enhances overall team performance

• Health Science Mission Statement: “To introduce students in the Health Sciences major to foundational expectations and professional requirements in the healthcare industry.”

Group Norms:

• Success as an individual depends on the success of your team

• Team Norms

  • Guidelines that team members agree to follow to help the team function smoothly over time

Group Norms Expectations:

• Meeting: Attend all, Arrive on time, Stay until the end

• Play an active role; participate in decision-making

• Follow through on obligations; complete assignments on time

• Carry your share if the workload

• Cooperate and assist with necessary

• Serve as both leader and follower

Types of Teams:

• Interdepartmental (marketing, sales, and finance team tasked with developing a new product launch strategy)

  • Members from different departments within a company

  • Focuses on coordinating efforts across different organizational units

  • May involve sharing information and resources between departments

  • EX: Representatives from the ER, Or, and PT of the same hospital treating a patient who was involved in a car accident

• Intradepartmental (marketing managers within the marketing dept. collaborating on a new campaign)

  • People from the same department within a company

  • EX: 

• Interdisciplinary (doctor, nurse, PT, social worker collaborating for best patient care)

  • People from different professional fields or disciplines

  • Focuses on integrating diverse knowledge and perspectives to solve a problem

  • Requires deeper level of collaboration and shared decision-making

  • EX: EMT, ER medical team,OR doctors treating a patient who was involved in a car accident 

• Intradisciplinary (team of doctors – cardiologist, oncologist, neurologist – working together on a patient’s complex case)

  • People from the same professional field working together, even if they are in different departments

  • EX: A team of Health Science Professors from JMU working with Health Sciences Professors from another university on a research project

• Work teams (OR Team – surgeon, anesthesiologist, nurses, surgical technicians, scrub nurses – collaborating during an operation)

  • Group of employees who collaborate to complete specific tasks

  • Used by companies to increase productivity and innovation by leveraging the different skills and perspectives of their

• Project teams (Group project during the semester.)

  • Meet for a specific period-of-time and disband when their project has been completed

Cross Training: Multi-Skilled Workers

• Ability to perform multiple functions

• Characteristics

  • Highly productive

  • Enhances convenience

  • Adds versatility and flexibility

Roles and Responsibilities of Health Care Members:

• Assigning roles to each team member helps eliminate conflict and establish expectations

• High performance-teams function with little direct supervision

  • Management

    • Creates teams

    • Identifies the members

    • Arranges meeting times

    • Communicates expectations

    • Clarifies the team’s assignments

  • Team

    • Arranges their own work schedule and holiday coverage

    • Select equipment and medical supplies applicable to their department

    • Monitors and improves quality outcomes

    • Resolves budgetary and staffing issues

    • Interviews and selects new team members

Consensus:

• When making group decisions, it is important to achieve consensus

  • A decision that all member agree to support

  • Everyone feels supported

  • Sense of collaborative decision-making

• “Majority rules” has winner and losers

  • Majority wins and minority loses

• Objective of consensus is to arrive at a win-win solution

  • No one feels like a loser

Challenges with Consensus:

• Time consuming

  • Everyone is heard

• Groupthink

  • Like minds, may omit other details of subject

• May lead to resentment

  • People may feel pressured to conform and may not speak out about their concerns

• Perception of leadership weakness

  • Why isn’t the “leader” making the decision

02/25/2025 - Research Designs

Research Is…

• Research includes the systematic gathering of data, information, and facts for the advancement of knowledge, and to reach new conclusions

• The scientific method of research has a fairly rigorous structure that should be followed

Scientific Method:

1. Observe something and ask questions about a natural phenomenon

2. Research

   1. What do we know? What do we need to know?

3. Make a hypothesis

4. Make predictions about logical consequences of the hypothesis

5. Test predictions by

   1. controlled experiment

   2. natural experiment

   3. Observational study

   4. Field experiment

6. Create a conclusion on the basis of data or information gathered in your experiment

Reasons to Read Research:

• Stay current with progress

• Find a solution to a problem

• Learn about a health problem

• Spark an idea for research

• Find support for your views

Reading Research:

• Abstract

  • Synopsis of the article

• Introduction (also called Background)

  • Present the problem

  • Review of previous research

  • Rationale for study

• Methods

  • Population/sample

  • Method of sampling

  • Study design

  • Measures

  • Statistical methods

  • Protocol

• Results (also called Findings)

• Discussion/Conclusions

  • Interpretation of results

  • Limitations

  • Suggestions for further research

Types of Research Published:

• Primary Research

  • Data obtained first-hand

  • Researcher conducts the research themselves

  • Going directly to the source

• Secondary Research

  • Uses data that was collected by someone else

  • Conducting research using data that already exists

Types of Articles Published in Journals:

• Primary

  • Empirical - Original research report

  • Case studies

  • Reporting on a program

  • Conference presentations

  • Editorials/Perspectives

  • Correspondence/Letters to the editor

• Secondary

  • Literature reviews

  • Theoretical articles

  • Methodological articles

  • Systematic reviews

  • Meta-analysis

  • Book reviews

  • Commentary on published work

Research Study Type:

• Observational Research Study

  • Researcher observes participants and phenomena in the most natural settings

  • Enables researchers to see subject make choices and react to situations in their natural settings

• Experimental Research Study

  • Researcher uses two sets of variables

    • Goal – to provide a more definitive conclusion about the causal relationships among variables in a research hypothesis

Research Study Types - Observational:

• Observe what happens to people under certain conditions

• Researcher chooses variable to study

• Researcher does not influence the variables in question

• Descriptive

  • Does not test a hypothesis

• Analytical

  • .

Research Study Types - Experimental/Intervention:

• Participants receive some kind of treatment or procedure

• A hypothesis is stated

• Participants are selected

• Participants are divided in two or more groups

  • Group(s) that get treatment

  • Group that does not get treatment

  • If possible, randomly assigned

• Pre-measurements

• Treatment

• Post-measurements

• Statistical analysis

Study-Types in Health Science:

• Systematic Review

  • Comprehensive survey of a topic

  • All relevant studies of the highest level of evidence

  • Published and unpublished

  • Assess and synthesize the findings

    • Unbiased, explicit and reproducible

    • Present a balanced and impartial summary

  • More rigorous than a traditional literature review

  • A systematic review looks at the whole picture

    • qualitative view

• Meta-Analyses

  • A systematic, objective way to combine data from many studies

  • A meta-analysis looks for the specific statistical picture

    • quantitative view

  • Usually randomized controlled clinical trials

    • Can also combine data from case/control and cohort studies

  • Pooled estimate of treatment effectiveness and statistical significance

  • Should not be confused with reviews of the literature or systematic reviews

  • Advantage

    • increases sample size and allows for analyses that would not otherwise be possible

  • Disadvantage

    • Publication bias if no significant results

    • Dependent on the quality of studies reviewed

• Randomized Controlled Studies

  • A study in which:

    • 1) There are two groups, one treatment group and one control group

      • Treatment group receives the treatment under investigation

      • The control group receives either no treatment (placebo) or standard treatment

    • 2) Patients are randomly assigned to all groups

  • Considered the gold standard

    • Help determine effectiveness of different therapies or interventions

  • Randomization helps avoid bias

• Case-Control Study

  • An observational study

  • generally looks at factors associated with diseases or outcomes

    • Seeks to explain the “how” and “why” a situation 

    • Starts with a group of cases (individuals with the outcome/interest)

  • Example: Studying the relationship between early-childhood stress and the likelihood of later developing post-traumatic stress disorder (PTSD)

Qualitative vs Quantitative:

• Qualitative

  • Assessing the quality variables

  • Descriptive

  • More subjective

  • Exploratory

  • Natural environment

  • Analysis without statistics

• Quantitative

  • Manipulating variables

  • Specific measures

  • Controlled conditions

  • Objective

  • Analysis with statistics

• Data Collection

  • Interviews

  • Observations

  • Focus groups

  • Open-ended questions

Validity and Reliability:

• Validity (accuracy)

  • The relevance and accuracy of what is measured

  • Two broad types of validity:

    • Internal validity refers to whether the tests measure accurately what they were designed to measure

    • External validity refers to the extent to which your findings can be generalized to other people, or situations, or at other times

• Reliability (consistency)

  • Ability to repeatedly get the same result with the same instrument regardless of the assessor

• Validity and reliability are the goals of any scientific research

Bias in Research:

• The distortion of results by a variable

• Types:

  • Sampling Bias - Sample studied in an experiment does not correctly represent the population the researcher wants to draw conclusions about

  • Subject Bias - Research subject’s expectation can affect and change the subject’s behavior

    • Placebo Effect

    • Social Desirability Bias

  • Experimenter Bias - Researcher’s preference or expectations influences the outcome of their research. The researcher sees want they want to see

    • Double-Blind Study

  • Selection Bias - Occurs when sampling subjects are not random

    • Causes by a non-random sampling, so that a systematic difference is presence between people selected for the study and people not selected for the study

    • Can be caused by convenient sampling, patient referral patterns, survival differences or loss to follow up

    • An avoidable bias. If not eliminated can ruin the chances of acceptance or publication of the study.

  • Response Bias - Responders differ systematically from non-responders; understanding or experiencing the topic

    • A (selection) bias where respondents differ systematically from nonrespondents

    • People with heart disease are more likely to respond to oral or written questions about this condition than those who do not have the condition

    • More educated people are more likely to provide answers and correct answers than people with less education or informed people

    • Those who agree to be in the study may be in some way different from those who refuse to participate (volunteers may be different than those who are paid)

How to determine Quality Research:

• Pose a significant, important question?

• Use a foundation of relevant literature and theory?

• Have a clear and objective study design?

  • Clear description of the sample and sampling methods

  • Use appropriate measurement of variables

  • Appropriate statistical analysis

  • Adequate information to replicate the study

• Assess possible bias and limitations?

• Adhere to quality standards for reporting (i.e., clear, cogent, complete)?

Questions for Evaluating a Study:

• Was the study in animals or people?

• Who was included in the study?

• How big was the study?

• Was it a randomized controlled trial?

• Where was the research done?

• If a new treatment was being tested, were there side effects?

• Who paid for the research?

• Who is reporting the results?

03/04/2025 - Communication

What are the Four Essential Elements of Communication?:

1. Sender

• The person initiating the message

2. Message

• The information you want to convey to another person

3. Receiver

• The person receiving the message

4. Feedback

• Response to the message

Styles of Communication:

• Passive

  • Emotionally dishonest, indirect, inhibited, self-denying, blaming, apologetic

• Passive Aggressive

  • Emotionally dishonest, indirect. Self-denying at first. Self-enhancing at expense of others later

• Aggressive

  • Inappropriately honest, direct, expressive, attacking, blaming, controlling, self-enhancing at expense of others.

• Assertive

  • Appropriately honest, direct, self-enhancing, expressive, self-confident, empathetic to emotions of all involved.

  • Most effective because communication it is direct, concise

    • Shows respect for the needs and desires of all parties

Factors that influence communication:

• Biases and Prejudices 

  • (patient does not take prescribed meds)

• Life Experiences/Common 

  • (similar health conditions)

• Age Differences 

  • (online vs face-to-face)

• Physical Problems 

  • (hearing loss, vision impairment)

• Culture Issues 

  • (loud, directness vs softer tones, passive)

• Frustration, annoyance 

  • (less logical, brain processing is impacted)

Body Language:

• 90% of communication is nonverbal

  • 55% - body language

  • 39% - tone of voice

  • 6% - actual words

Listening Tips:

• Show interest

• Hear the message

• Avoid interrupting

• Pay attention

• Maintain positive attitude

• Hearing

  • Accidental 

  • Involuntary

  • Effortless

• Listening

  • Focused

  • Voluntary

  • Intentional  

Public Speaking Skills Important to Health Care:

• Leadership Roles:

  • Present updates at meetings

  • Train staff/co-workers

  • Workshops/conferences

  • Representation of your professional group

Presentation SKills:

• Room Setup

• Handouts

• Introduction

• Content

• Organization

• Notes

• Eye Contact

• Language

• Behavior

• Visuals

• Participation

• Group Dynamics

• Time Frame

03/04/2025 - Electronic Communication

Why is Technology Important?

• Enhances productivity by automating tasks

• Streamlines processes

• Facilitates communication between team members

• Enables collaboration across location

• Provides access to essential information

Tips:

• Slow down and think about what you are saying

• Keep your message short and to the point

• Be especially careful when forwarding messages

• Avoid using fancy fonts, smiley faces, and emotions

• Never send an electronic message when you are angry or emotionally upset

Advantages of the Computer:

• Scheduling appointments

• Setting up a recall system

• Patient billing

• Managing inventory

• Tracking patients’ progress

• Diagnosing illnesses

• Efficient patient medical history

Electronic Health Records:

• Advantages

  • Saves paper and space

  • Enhances coordination

  • Improves quality of care

  • Reduces delay of cars

  • Ensures legibility of report

• Disadvantages

  • Training time and anxiety

  • Systems incompatibility

  • Security concerns

  • Lack of adequate funding and support for training

03/06/2025 - Professionalism and Your Personal Life

Personal Skills:

• The ability to manage aspects of our life outside of the workplace

• Ways personal skills impact our success as health care workers:

  • Personal image

  • Personal health and wellness

  • Ability to manage time, finance, and stress

  • Ability to adapt to change

• When personal affairs are in order, we are better able to concentrate on our job and career.

• Ex: Humility, Accountability, Self-Discipline, Care for others, Tech-savvy, Resilience, Influence, Passion, Self-motivated, Emotional Intelligence, Integrity, Empathy, Support, Courage, Self-awareness

What impact do personal skills have on our reputation as a professional?

• Appearance

• Grooming

• Posture

• Personal Habits

• Grammer

• Language

Appearance and Grooming:

• Patients need to have confidence in their caregivers

• How would you feel if your caregiver had a ripped uniform, dirty shoes, oily hair, grimy fingernails, body odor, or bad breath?

• Family members, friends of patient need reassurances loved ones are being cared for by professionals

• Vendors, guest, etc. expect to see employees supporting a professional environment

What impact does YOUR Personal image have on YOU?

• When you look good, you feel good

• Setting high standards for your personal appearance reinforces your pride and self-esteem

• How can you expect others to view you as a professional is you don’t?

Dress Code Standards:

• Most employers have a written dress code

  • Standards for attire and appearance

  • These standards may vary from department to department depending on the duties involved

Characteristics of Dress Code Standards:

• Clothes should be clean, pressed, and fit properly

  • Avoid wild colors and prints, shirts or tops with messages unless approved

• Avoid visible skin on your torso below the neckline of your shirt or top

• Shoes should be clean, polished, and closed toe

• Keep makeup, jewelry, and other accessories to a minimum and in good taste

• Clothing and accessories should support getting your work done efficiently and safely

• Avoid blue jeans, t-shirts, or other questionable attire

• Sunglasses should not be worn unless for medical reasons

• Heading covering are limited to religious customs or job-specific regulations

• Professional image “is the eye of the beholder.”

• Dress code requirements may limit opportunities to express your individuality

  • You may have to wear a uniform

  • You may be subject to a dress code that was developed by people significantly older than you

  • Remember...when you are at work, it is all about the patient and other customers, not you

Personal Image:

• How you present yourself to the world:

  • Appearance

  • Behavior

  • Communication

• Personal Image is the first impression people form of you

Stereotypes:

• Generally based on personal appearances

  • First impressions are rarely accurate

  • Fact of life

• How might someone stereotype one based on their appearance?

  • Attire

  • Body weight

  • Physical ability

• How might age difference play a role in stereotyping?

  • Making assumptions on the skill level of an older person

Personal Habits: Any regularly repeated behavior that requires little or no thought and is learned rather than 

• Noisy shoes or jewelry

• Chewing gum, popping knuckles, biting fingernails

• Jokes, pranks

• Avoid eating/drinking at workstation

• Use hearing aid if needed

• Avoid playing music without headphones

• Avoid chain texts, emails

• Avoid congregating with co-workers in patient or visitor areas

• Smoke breaks, smelling like cigarette

Language and Grammar:

• Language use can sometimes annoy others

• Use appropriate terms when referring to patients

  • Avoid “honey,” “sweetie,” or “dear”

  • Adult males are men, not boys or guys

  • Adult females are women, not girls

  • Refer to females as Ms

• Unacceptable at Work:

  • Obscene, cursing, vulgar language

  • Sexually explicit or risqué comments

  • Demeaning terms of any racial, cultural, or ethnic group

  • Telling jokes in poor taste

  • “street language” used with family friends

• Grammar – Impact on Personal & Professional Image

  • Poor Grammar is learned and reinforced by those with whom we associate

    • Starts with our family

    • Influenced by friends, coworkers

    • Reinforced by music, advertisements, and media

    • Warning signal

    • Lack of education

    • Lack of refinement

Maintaining Professionalism After Hours: Bottom Line: ALWAYS conduct yourself

professionally

• When away from work, your behavior can affect your professional image

• Relationships, both at work and outside of work, impacts your image

• People with whom we associate reflect our personal values

  • It’s a small world

    • Reputation follows us everywhere we go

    • Social media photos, blogs, comments, complaining, gossiping, etc.

    • Phone tones

• When attending company special events, after hours, professional standards apply

  • Avoid drinking too much

  • Avoid engaging in wild behavior that you will regret the next day

Personal Health and Wellness:

• Health care work is physically, emotionally, and mentally draining

  • High stress

  • Risk of back injuries

  • Risk of exposure to infectious diseases

• Financial pressures have resulted in companies offering employees strategies to become healthier

  • Discount insurance if practice healthy behaviors

  • Offer employee wellness programs

    • Health risk appraisals

    • Exercise, nutrition, weight management, smoking cessation,

    • stress management

Personal Risk Factors:

• Be mindful of your environment

  • Where are you?

    • Setting – hospital, school, psychiatric hospital, high crime environment

  • What are you doing?

    • Role, safety techniques, your health status

  • What’s going on around you?

    • Emergency of patient, disgruntled patient/family member

Personal Management Skills: help maintain work-life balance

• Time Management

• Finance Management

• Stress Management

• Adapting Change

• Skills that help maintain work-life balance

• It does not matter how professional you dress or how skilled you are at your job if you aren’t there to perform your duties

  • Attendance

  • Punctuality

• Inability to manage time, stress, finances, adapting to change, your personal life will negatively impact your professional career

Time Management:

• The ability to organize and allocate your time

  • Help increase productivity and well-being

• Strategies for time management

  • Use a calendar

  • Make a list

  • Learn to say “no”

  • Do not procrastinate

  • Identify priorities

• Time is one of the most precious and limited commodities we have

Financial Management:

• Ability to make sound decisions about finances

  • Helps avoid financial problems; embarrassment at work, stress

• Strategies used to manage your finances

  • Develop a budget

    • Know where your money is going, avoid late fees

  • Balance bank accounts monthly

  • Read fine prints on loan and credit card applications

  • Avoid check cashing services, rent-to-own purchases

  • Limit credit card use to emergencies

  • Devise a saving plan and adhere to it

  • Avoid loaning people money or co-signing on their loan

Stress Management:

• Health care is one of the MOST stressful occupations

• Stress:

  • Can make one sick

  • Impacts physical, mental, and emotional health

  • Impacts your ability to do your job effectively

• Type “A” Personality

  • Most susceptible to stress-related disorders

    • Highly competitive

    • Impatient high achievers

    • Strong perfectionist tendencies

• Stress Management Techniques:

  • Identity: Identify the stressor

  • Understand: Understand the stress triggers

  • Seek: Seek ways to reduce/eliminate stress

    • Physical activity

    • Adequate sleep

    • Balanced diet

    • Professional consultation

Change Management:

• Positive influence if

  • Able to accept change

  • Allow the change to “open new doors” for you

• Adaptive Skills

  • Embrace change

• New challenges offer growth

  • View changes as positive and learn to make it work for you instead of against you