This year’s CF Education Day was not only a learning experience; it was also an opportunity to apply what we learned. The event was structured as a three-part workshop modeled on TeamSTEPPS, a teamwork system designed for health care professionals. Tiffany Christensen, our session leader, expanded the TeamSTEPPS scope to to include patients as well as professionals. The result was a program entitled “Patients as Partners: Creating Authentic Healthcare Teams through Shared Language.”
The first two segments of the program were dedicated to learning the key principles of TeamSTEPPS and gathering the participants’ perspectives on the strengths, weaknesses, opportunities and threats in the current approach to CF care in Rochester CF Center. To promote openness and objectivity, separate introductory sessions were held for health care professionals (providers) and CF patients/families (community). The third segment brought providers and community members together to collaborate on specific action plans to implement selected TeamSTEPPS tools to enhance patient engagement in their care.
Here are some highlights from the workshop sessions.
Learning
Patient Activation – To become full partners, patients need to evolve from passive recipients of care, past the stage of advocacy (reactive involvement) into patient activation (pro-active engagement). Patient activation is a behavioral concept defined as “an individual’s knowledge, skill, and confidence for managing their health and health care.” Tiffany shared the graphic to the right to illustrate the goal of patient activation.
Engagement – Professional skill and patient activation will not produce effective care teams without mutual engagement. The care givers and recipients need to be equally engaged in a trusting and mutually respectful relationship.
Communication – Clear communication, using shared language, provides a basis for building and sustaining an effective partnership. Key communication requirements are:
Communication – Clear communication, using shared language, provides a basis for building and sustaining an effective partnership. Key communication requirements are:
Action Plans
Tiffany kicked off the Saturday afternoon session with her observation that the providers and community had very similar perspectives on the current state of CF care. She also noted a high level of engagement in both groups. With that positive background, we got down to the work of developing specific plans for improvement activities.
The participants broke into three work groups, each comprised of providers and community members. Each group was charged with defining a goal and preparing a detail plan for achieving that goal. Tiffany advised the groups to think of small, but meaningful, steps in order to get quick successes that would build a foundation for further action. The groups were also instructed to be specific on listing all the steps required to achieve the goal, identifying the individuals responsible for each step of the plan, setting a time table for implementation and measuring the outcome.
Fortunately, the groups produced goals for each of the three areas of provider/community interaction: the pediatric clinic, the adult clinic and in-patient hospitalization. To provide the groups the opportunity to refine their plans, details of the action plans are not being shared at this point. It is our expectation that we will report on progress with these plans before the end of the year. Stay tuned.
Sponsors
CFFC would not be able to present quality programs such as CF Education Day without the support of our corporate sponsors. The following companies not only contributed financial support but also provide representatives and informational displays at our June 11th session: