What are the Signs That You Have a Good Boss?

I have just made a mental list of all the bosses I have had in my forty years of work. Some were pretty good; others were simply awful. Nowadays, the latter are also in the majority. One survey has found that 77% of employees are stressed out at some point, because their bosses are bad!
Then, suddenly I found that I was a manger myself, so I became acutely aware of what makes a good boss. The greatest challenge was in managing staff and using my people skills effectively.
Here are 20 signs that you got a good boss.

1. Your boss reassures you

This may take the form of encouragement and stimulation to do even better. They both go hand-in-hand and the results from employees can be impressive. Once you are reassured that you are on the right track, then you can achieve anything.

2. Your boss does not micromanage

 “Hire well, manage little.” —Warren Buffett

If a boss ignores the above quote, the likelihood is that he will not get much done. Employees’ reactions to micromanagement can range from demotivation to a feeling that they will never be allowed to work on their own. The boss who indulges in this feels he knows best and cannot trust the employee fully.

3. Your boss appreciates your skills

A great boss will soon become familiar with people’s talents and skills. It is a great asset when delegation has to be done.

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Find out what it takes to become a Health Unit Coordinator.

Protecting Patient's Private and Confidential Information

As a healthcare worker, it is very important to remember to keep a patient's information private and confidential. Talking with a co-worker at break time or in passing about a patient can be a potentially inappropriate time. We must always remember to be vigilant in protecting our patients rights.

Guidelines for protecting private and confidential information include the following:

• Discuss resident and client information ONLY in a place that is away from other residents, families and visitors. Report should not be given at the nurses station, as this is not a private area, with much opportunity for information to be overheard. 
• Never discuss patients in an elevator, in a hallway, cafeteria, or any other public place within or outside of the facility. Discuss resident information only with appropriate staff. 
• Do not ever release information to media or newspapers. 
• Don’t release information to the police without first alerting a supervisor. Instead refer them to an appropriate manager. 
• Do not keep a copy or make copies of resident information. 
• Destroy all end of shift report sheets after use. 
• Any item with a residents name or identifying medical information should NEVER be placed in general trash receptacles. They should be shredded for appropriate disposal of confidential information. 

Responsibilities regarding private and confidential information include:

• Know your expected limits: Check your job description. Ask your supervisor to clarify anything you do not understand. Never discuss information that you are unsure of, and be sure of who you are sharing this information with. Not all friends and family are authorized to know information regarding your resident or client’s condition. 
• Be on the alert for breaks or leaks. Be particularly mindful of when private information becomes casual chatting. Practice care that is private and behavior that guards confidence. 
• Report to your supervisor. The best working relationships are those in which you keep your supervisor well informed and on top of things that are going on. Keep open lines of communication between your superior and yourself. 

Patient privacy and confidentiality generally refers to a patient's right to:

• Decide what personal health information can be shared with others
• Decide how that information can be shared, and with whom it may be shared 
• Not have information about resident or client discussed in areas where others could overhear 
• Privacy also refers to the right to have physical privacy (curtains pulled) 
• Patient confidentiality generally refers to a patient's trust that health information will only be shared with those who need to know, and in order to provide appropriate care. 

For care to be appropriate, authorized health care staff need full access to a patient’s medical record. But, patients may withhold important information if they fear it will not be kept private and confidential. By ensuring patient privacy and confidentiality, your facility will help patients feel a sense of trust and help assure them they will receive appropriate care.

Protecting patient privacy and confidentiality is vital to your organizations mission. It helps increase patient's satisfaction and sense of dignity. It helps ensure that patients get the most effective care.


This excerpt is taken from our Social Service Designee course. To see which courses are available in your state click here.

How to Deal with On-The-Job Bickering and Backstabbing

People in groups, especially in professionally structured groups, tend to bicker with each other about the way things should be run. It’s human nature for people to have differing opinions that lead to arguments. No workplace would be complete without a little bickering and backstabbing. But it gets old, tends to solve nothing and creates a counterproductive work environment.
Here are some tips on avoiding it:

1. The best thing to do is to stay busy and try to avoid the controversy. Why bother with it? There are sick people who are suffering all around you. Don’t waste your time dealing with “political” intrigue. Stick to your tasks. Do the best job that you can do, and stay away from the gossip machine.

2. If you’re frustrated with a coworker, you may need to vent. If you feel the need to discuss these issues with others, make sure to vent to the appropriate people—your family and friends outside of the workplace. Don’t vent to your boss or openly to other coworkers unless you’re going to offer constructive criticism.

3. If the gossip starts to fly and you are there in the middle, don’t engage. Excuse yourself or change the subject.

4. Are you being asked your opinion on a coworker? Refuse to answer. Simply state that you don’t take sides. You’ll be known as a neutral party, and people may stop trying to engage you in these fruitless undertakings.


For More and Original Article: http://scrubsmag.com/how-to-deal-with-bickering-and-backstabbing-in-the-workplace/
 
Learn how you can become a Social Services Designee at: www.wecareonlineclasses.com

WeCareOnline June Staff Highlight - Cindy Gaschler

This month we get to meet Cindy Gaschler.  

Cindy has worked in the healthcare field for 15 years. She began her career as a CNA, then completed her LPN, and continued with an ADN degree.  She functioned as a Long Term Care charge nurse, Inpatient Rehabilitation nurse, MDS Coordinator, and Director of Nursing.  

Following this she re-enrolled in college to obtain a BSN while performing duties of Human Resources, Staff Development Coordinator, Risk Management, Health Information Management, and Senior Living Manager. She is a certified clinical instructor for the state of Kansas for Certfied Nurse Aide,Certified Med Aide, Activity Director and Social Service Designee. 


She is married with 3 children and lives in a rural area 10 miles from the nearest town. Cindy enjoys the outdoors. She has horses, dogs, too many cats, and an enormous garden that always wants attention.



With her years of experience in the heath care field, Cindy believes that it is best to focus on the person. Before you help the person, take the time to enjoy him or her without distraction.

Cindy feels blessed to have the ability to work with students both online teaching the Activity Director and Social Service Designee courses and face to face during their clinical experience in Kansas. She also enjoys networking with more northern states online and by phone.  She assists with enrollments, invoicing, and basic technical issues.  She also works with marketing and directs new users in the services available through WeCareOnline.


The biggest change she has seen in the health care industry has been the shift from direct care to documentation. This also correlates with the shift to electronic documentation over paper charting.

On Cindy's desk, the one item that would be noticed without fail is her pencil sharpener. Her children felt an office is not complete without an electric pencil sharpener with the widest variety of color, foil, and decorated pencils ever noted from any party store!  (She never gets to use it because they do not allow her the opportunity to experience a dull pencil.  They are dutifully sharpened by one or all of them daily whether needed or not.)

Storytelling Therapy: Between the Lines

From a young age, I was drawn to the power of stories. Between my obsession with the original Nancy Drew mysteries and my love for competing in storytelling contests, stories played a major role in my development.

Of course, stories aren’t just for kids. Storytelling can be engaging and even therapeutic for anyone, with significant benefits for seniors – particularly when the tales are personal.

The Power of Storytelling

“We know from research that narrating life stories can help older people resolve internal conflicts, overcome self-criticism, and improve their sense of self-worth,” says Dr. Karl Pillemer, Cornell University gerontologist and author of 30 Lessons for Loving: Advice from the Wisest Americans on Love, Relationships, and Marriage. “Particularly valuable are storytelling opportunities that allow for ‘integrative reminiscence,’ in which people tell stories about their lives that involve examining and coming to terms with issues in their past.”

Pillemer is referring to his work on The Legacy Project, in which seniors are invited to share their stories as well as their advice for younger people.

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Learn what it takes to become a restorative aide.

WeCareOnline May Staff Highlight - Debbie Kohlrus

This month we get to meet Debbie Kohlrus.

Debbie has worked in the healthcare field for the past 14 years.  In 2000, she received her CNA license and started working at an LTC facility.  She then went on to get her CMA in 2001, then her LPN license in 2002.   She  became quite passionate about the healthcare field very quickly and knew it was what she wanted to pursue as a career.

She has worked in a variety of areas that have given her much experience over the past 14 years including working in an LTC facility for 4 years. She moved onto working at a VA clinic and got to enjoy a totally different aspect of nursing.  Later, she worked PRN in 12 different clinics at a local hospital.  This was a wonderful hands-on experience for many different areas in the nursing field.  She continued that for 5 years until she started working for WeCareOnline.

Debbie has been married for 10 years and has two wonderful girls.  Her husband is an insurance agent.  Her # 1 thing to do outside of work is spending time with family. She grew up on a farm and loves being outdoors and going camping, fishing, and hunting.  She likes to cook and also enjoys making birthday/special occasion cakes for family and friends.  Debbie made 300 cupcakes for her sister’s wedding, which was quite the experience!  She also likes reading and gardening in her spare time.

Debbie's best advice to anyone pursuing a career in the healthcare field is not to give up!  Whether you choose to become a CNA or nurse, everyone plays a vital role in healthcare.  Don’t underestimate yourself and what you can do or become.  Set reasonable goals for yourself and don’t give up on achieving them.  

Debbie works as the sponsor coordinator for WeCareOnline and also assists with the CNA and CMA courses.  She corresponds with state to make sure each course we offer is approved and ready to go by the start of class.  She receives students’ enrollments and corresponds with them as needed.  She also schedules and manages state testing for CMA and CNA students.

Debbie loves every piece of artwork her children make, so her desk and surrounding walls are covered in her children’s masterpieces!  Her girls also got her a notepad that sings crazy songs when the pen is removed, so that keeps her quite entertained throughout the day.

What You Can Learn from a Healthy Relationship

“Healthy relationship” seems like a clinical term. Like a tonic or a remedy, it gives the illusion of something used to cure the clinically insane and depraved.

But isn’t a relationship a sort of cure? Aren’t we all a little bit crazy? Isn’t love a medicine for our aching souls? Isn’t a healthy relationship the one tonic we can’t wait to drink?

Healthy relationships are, indeed, a type of medicine. They calm us and heal us. They teach us how to love and make us strong.

They are a healing elixir after all the placebos and toxins. They are the answer to all the unhealthy relationships we’ve been drinking for years.

So what do you learn when you’ve finally taken the right dose? When you’ve finally experienced what it’s like to be in something healthy and right for a change?

Like dying and being reborn again, you learn everything for a second time. You learn what love means and what it doesn’t.

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Learn what it takes to become a Social Services Designee: Click HERE.

Now's the time to thank your Doc!

National Doctors Day - What would we do without doctors?  The short answer is not much!  We need them to get us better when we're ill whether that means help with something small or a much bigger, sometimes life-threatening illness.

National Doctor's Day wants to celebrate our medical professionals and all they do for us - because lets face it we probably take them for granted.

The holiday was first celebrated in 1933 in the US to mark the success of the new general anesthesia in hospitals.

The red carnation has become the symbolic flower for the day after flowers were placed on the graves of deceased doctors as one of the first ways to commemorate the day.

Modern advances in medicine means people are now living longer - great news for us! So why not take the time to thank your doctor?

Send them an e-card or send a simple message to thank them for all they've done - a small token of gratitude that will go a long way!

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Learn what healthcare classes we have to offer at: www.wecareonlineclasses.com

WeCareOnline March Staff Highlight - Colleen Villa

Staff highlight for this month is Colleen Villa.

Colleen Villa has worked in the healthcare field for seven years.  She was attracted to the field and to educate others in the field from her desire to provide the “best education to students as possible in order to provide the Best Healthcare to individuals in need.”   Colleen’s father passed away from cancer.  She witnessed the care he received ranged greatly in quality.  Colleen would like to see everyone receiving great care at all times.

Colleen lives in Topeka, Kansas.   She was born and raised in Concordia, Kansas.  Colleen met her husband in Texas.  The Villas have one daughter.

When Colleen is not working she likes to decorate and spend time with her family. 

Colleen wishes she would have known how much she would enjoy the healthcare field.  She states:  “I love working with nurses; they truly are special.”

Everyone at WeCareOnline plays an important role in helping students have the best online learning experience possible.  Colleen coordinates the Home Health Aide and Certified Medication Aide Update courses.  She also has started testing students in the Certified Medication Aide courses in Topeka.  Colleen’s goal is to provide high school students WeCareOnline courses at their high schools.  Colleen also helps market WeCareOnline.

Over the years Colleen has seen more and more students learning through online courses. Her background in the insurance field had trained her that LTC would be in very high demand with baby boomers.  To Colleen’s surprise the census is down in terms of demand for long term care facilities. This has convinced Colleen that more than ever, there is a great demand for Home Health Aides to provide individuals care in the comfort of their own homes. 

Since WeCareOnline is an online company, Colleen knows that people don’t get to see her face to face or to see her workspace.  Colleen has a picture of a Hereford bull behind her desk with a blue ribbon from the 1917 Nebraska State Fair.  Colleen’s great grandfather raised Hereford bulls and Colleen asked her mother if she could borrow the picture for her office.  She states that her office is "a little manly" as she originally decorated the office for her husband.

Essential Career Tasks You Should Do Monthly

Just like you’re supposed to periodically clean out your refrigerator or wipe down your mirrors, there are certain essential tasks you should perform at work every month.

However, unlike cleaning, these “chores” will help you boost your reputation at work, keep your hireability high, maintain your connections, and be more productive. When’s the last time you could say that about dusting the furniture?

1. Make sure you’re regularly talking to these five people. (Lifehacker)
   
2. Send a monthly newsletter to keep your connections strong. (Tim’s Strategy)
   
3. You should definitely have a formal check-in with your boss at least every 30 days. (Monster)
   
4. Try to schedule a regular lunch with your co-workers—it can actually do wonders for your career. (Good Magazine)
   

For the last three tasks.

Find out more about healthcare classes starting at WeCareOnline

How to be a Really Great Listener in the Workplace

Do you want to be a good listener that others want to talk to? Being a good listener does not come easy for some of us. It takes time, practice and dedication. What comes to your mind when you think about listening to a friend or co-worker?

Do you find yourself thinking about what you want to say in response to what they have said or are you fully engaged with what they are talking about? When it comes to connecting with others, it’s all about consciously listening to them and the information that they are sharing with you.

 

1. Eye contact

When it comes to being a good listener, it’s important for you to have eye contact with the other person. It shows that you are paying attention and engaged with the conversation. When you don’t have eye contact with the other person, it shows that you don’t care and are not interested in what they have to say. Practice having eye contact with the next person you have a conversation with.

2. Find the “Why” and “What”

For you to be a good listener, you need to find out the “Why” and “What.” Why are they talking to you and what is the message they are trying to share with you?

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Learn more about becoming a Home Health Aide: Click HERE.

We Care Online Staff Highlight - Irene Balderrama-Martinez

This month we get to meet Irene.  

Irene Balderrama-Martinez has worked in the healthcare industry for 30 years. She is a die-hard University of Arizona fan and alumni, along with many family members, who have embraced the health sciences in various careers.  She has worked for Carondelet St. Joseph’s Hospital and Carondelet St. Mary’s Hospital, as well as University Medical Center and the College of Medicine in various departments including Neurology, Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Gastroenterology & Hepatology, Orthopaedic Surgery and more recently as an administrator in Family Practice and Urgent Care Clinic.

Irene is instructor for our new program, Medical Transcription - Scribe course.  After many years of training Medical Transcriptionists/Scribes in outpatient clinical settings, as well as in the acute care setting, Irene looks forward to teaching We Care Online students with the goal of healthcare documentation integrity as we strive to support healthcare providers in the evolving use of EMR software and the Federal Meaningful Use guidelines.  

When not reading avidly, she enjoys free time with her family. For questions about the courses she teaches email: irene@wecareonlineclasses.com