Calling a nurse staff meeting can be dreadful especially when you're aware that your staff is barely listening to you as you go on and on about the agenda. It can be hard to capture everyone's attention when they are tired from work and assume that they already know what you are going to talk about or when you are doing all the talking. Encouraging staff participation is never easy, and unplanned topics brought up in the meeting can eat up a lot of time and digress from the real issue you wanted discussed, but it is the only way that meetings can be more meaningful and relevant for everyone, including you. Below are some tips for increasing staff participation during meetings.
Give your staff a reason to care
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At the beginning of the meeting, take the time to explain why the subject about to be discussed in the meeting is important and relevant to the nurses. Connect the issue directly to their professional or personal lives, if possible-how it is going to affect them positively and negatively and why they should care about this particular subject. Give them a reason to care about the meeting's agenda.
Give them a chance to contribute to the agenda
Comments and suggestion boxes are invaluable, especially for issues and concerns that needs to be addressed but are otherwise sensitive or even taboo. It is a good idea to make a box solely for the contribution of 'Agenda Topics for Staff Meeting,' and labeled accordingly. Also, this will make the meeting more organized since suggested topics can all be considered before the meeting and lessen digressions during the meeting. This also makes it more convenient for nurses, as they can simply jot down a topic the moment they come across an issue during their work or when dealing patients, and toss the note on the box; as opposed to having to recall an issue when prompted during the meeting.
Involve your staff in principal tasks
Show how important your staff's participation is in meetings by involving them in some advance research or practical exercises. Just making your staff sit there and ask questions while you give all the answers and do all the explaining make it seem like a traditional teacher-student environment, which could feel condescending for the staff (considering that they are Registered Nurses). This kind of environment makes it less appealing to your staff, discouraging them from making significant and meaningful input and contributions. Treat them as equals and see yourself as more of a moderator. One way you can do this is make staff persons as co-presenters. Of course, they should be aware of the topics and materials before-hand and they can respond to questions and comments. With that said, when it comes to setting the rules and implementing tasks, you have to be more firm and show them that you're still boss. It is a complicated role and relationship but one where you need to find and strike a balance.
How to Increase Staff Participation in Nurse Staff Meetings NURSE
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