How many fire drills have you been a part of in your perioperative career? How many fire safety learning modules have you completed? And finally, how many of you have gotten THE SAME TEST every year and know the answers by heart?
While fire drills and fire safety are required training for us, the way that the education is delivered isn't always the most exciting. And let's be honest, it's not always effective.
What does ineffective look like? Here are a few examples that I've personally experienced:
During the "Fire Drill" the OR Educator just reads off what everyone is supposed to do. We might smile and nod, but most people aren't listening.
If a drill is actually performed, only a few participate while everyone else watches. Once again, if we're not engaged we probably aren't paying attention.
Web-based learning modules are often completed by someone selected (or paid)
to complete them for everyone.
IF we do them on our own, how many times do we fast-forward through the training and skip right to the test? Repeat it until we pass. The end.
I've seen all of these and more. My point isn't to tell anyone's secrets, but rather to highlight that educating our staff is more than just checking the block that says we did a drill or they passed a test. We must ensure that our teams are actually engaged in learning and retaining the information, so that they can be actively involved in fire safety and prevention.
National Fire Prevention Week begins Sunday, October 9th, and we're going to be putting out helpful podcasts and blog posts all month to help you provide engaging, educational content that will help your teams understand the realities of surgical fires and the importance of fire prevention.
Here's what you can expect!
Make sure you mark this post because I will update it with links as the episodes and blog posts come out!
Disaster Preparation & Readiness - blog post written by Melanie Perry, BSN, RN, CNOR, CSSM
Monday, October 10th - Fire Safety in the OR: Improving Workflows to Reduce OR Fire Risk Tune in to this podcast dedicated entirely to Fire Prevention in the OR!
Respect the Triangle, Stop the Spark - blog post written by Lindsey Joyce, MSN, RN, CNOR, and Melanie Perry, BSN, RN, CNOR, CSSM
Friday, October 14th - A Safer Standard: Elevating Practice to Prevent Surgical Fires A podcast dedicated to a solution proven to improve Fire Safety
The Fire Outside: Racing to Evacuate - blog post written by Brenna Page, MSN, RN, CNOR, CNAMB
So don't forget...
Absolutely do your fire drills.
Make everyone participate.
Review the key points to ensure understanding.
Stay with us all month for additional educational content to help your teams learn and grow!
See you soon!
Melanie
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