Projects

	Center for Career Learning
	Health Careers Toolkit
	Health Careers Web Portal
	I-WISE Facilitator Training
	Incumbent Worker Training
	Nurse Work Readiness
	Perfecting Patient CareSM
	Previous Accomplishments

Incumbent Worker Investment and Skills Enhancement

Health Careers Futures, the Southwestern Pennsylvania Healthcare Industry Partnership (IP) Coordinator, has convened and surveyed industry members to assess the incumbent workforce challenges facing employers. Based on survey results, employers requested that Health Careers Futures develop a training program reflecting the Perfecting Patient Care^SM principles that are in long-term and acute care settings, target management and frontline employees , have potential for certification, provide train the trainer opportunities and is implemented onsite.

Through funding from the Pennsylvania Workforce Investment Board, Health Careers Futures is implementing soft skills training modules based on PPC principles in the Incumbent Worker Investment and Skills Enhancement (I-WISE) project. This project trains frontline staff and managers in acute, long-term, mental health and community healthcare center settings. Training is provided at participating facilities. At completion, participants receive certificates of attendance, completion and, where applicable, continuing education credits. Program performance measures are based on attendance, worker and employer satisfaction surveys, and participants' rentention rate compared to their counterparts.

Training services will be are delivered in a traditional classroom setting enhanced with specialized presentations, demonstration and experiential learning.

Training Curriculum

The education aims to train the incumbent healthcare worker in marketable problem-solving skill sets to enhance current and future employment and support life-long learning. The education provides an opportunity to have basic training in employee role development and to enrich the employment of significant numbers of healthcare workers: immediately and cost-effectively. Training modules are aligned with employers’ request and promote the spread of best practices, system-wide career ladders and other strategies that improve job quality, quality of care, and worker retention. Sessions also include formative evaluation of subject content, learning tools and activities, and teaching methods. The results of these evaluations will be included in the review, revision and/or development of future training modules.

2007-2008 Training Modules

Manager (3 hours)

• Communication: Strategies for effective communication between management, employees and patients or residents
• Conflict Management: Strategies for effective conflict management and coaching of employees to manage conflict
• Delegation: Strategies to identify barriers to successful delegation and use effective tools to delegate in the workplace
• Team Building: Employ strategies from previous modules to support team development and maintenance
• Problem Solving: Strategies for effective root-cause problem solving, rules and tools to solve problems quickly and successfully
• Facilitating Change: Strategies for acquiring appropriate support for change, integrating employee expertise in change process and enabling sustainable change

Frontline (2 hours)

• Communication: Strategies to promote effective communication between employees, managers and patients or residents
• Conflict Management: Strategies for appropriate conflict management
• Teamwork: Strategies to identify team type, address barriers to teamwork and assess one's role and readiness
• Basic Problem Solving: Strategies to solve problems 'for good' and tools for everyday usage, in and outside of the workplace
• Being Part of Change: Accepting and being a (positive) part of change in the workplace

Facilitator - Sessions on instructing training modules; includes web-based tools, applications and access to training materials

If you or your healthcare facility would like to participate in this project, please call Linda Horwitz at 412.594.2586 or e-mail at horwitz@jhf.org.