General Orientation Made Easy!

For new hires in healthcare and their Educators, General Orientation is like running a marathon. So many topics to cover, so little time. It is true that general orientation is the window of time that the facility has to officially welcome you as a new hire to the organization and take care of the business of getting you on board. But beyond the Human Resources necessities regarding payroll, benefits and such, there are many topics that must be covered that are designed to introduce you to the vision and priorities of the organization.

Some general orientation topics revolve around the company’s Mission Statement and so will introduce the topics that are patient driven, such as customer service, patient centered care, cultural sensitivity, patient rights and patient safety. Others revolve around your job skills, but also how you are expected to improve the work environment through enhanced communication and respect towards your coworkers. Finally, there are the mandatories dictated by The Joint Commission and other accreditation bodies, the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS), and the Occupational Health and Safety Administration (OSHA). These include training in specific areas such as:

• Infection prevention topics to reduce Healthcare-Associated Infections (HAIs) in patients and in staff, such as immunization, personal protective equipment, hand hygiene, bloodborne pathogens, Standard Precautions and Transmission-based Precautions, and reducing medical device-related and surgical site infections;
• Patient Safety issues, such as fall prevention, reducing the use of restraints, preventing pressure ulcers, reducing medication errors, preventing or handling violence, suicide prevention and eliminating wrong-site surgeries;
• Performance and Quality Improvement activities through improved customer service, enhanced teamwork, better pain management and timely and thorough documentation;
• Staff safety issues such as fire, electrical, chemical concerns, as well as safety while moving and transferring patients;
• Preparing for surveys from the accreditation body;
• Corporate compliance, HIPAA and EMTALA;
• Continuing education related to core measures and new evidence-based practices.

As you can see, there is clearly a great deal of information to impart in just a few days. Many of these topics can be presented through videos that can engage sight, sound and emotion in a short period of time, leaving ample room for questions, comments and further information by the Educator. For a list of the General Orientation topics available from Envision, Inc., or to see all of the topics we provide training in for staff and patients, please visit www.envisioninc.net.