The Pulse | Thursday, September 26, 2019
Rapid Recap: A Q&A with Train the Trainer Attendees
As SGNA prepares for its upcoming Train the Trainer course on October 12 in Elmhurst, Illinois, we spoke with Christie Ellison, RN, Bonnie Streeter, MSN RN CGRN and Dianna Burns, BS RN CGRN. The past attendees gave us a rundown of what they learned from the course, the changes they made in their work after attending and more.
What did you learn from the Train the Trainer course? Did you have any a-ha moments during or after the course?
Christie Ellison: Having started out as a receptionist at an ambulatory surgical center (ASC), I worked my way up through positions to endo tech, RN, nurse manager, and now have taken on the role as administrative clinical nurse manager within a local community hospital. I believe that having an understanding of the difficulties faced with each of department helped me better understand how they all need to function together to become a more cohesive unit. This course helped me to piece even more of the components together and strengthen the rationale behind reprocessing practices, which I am now far removed from, and understand today’s struggles with reprocessing and their role as techs in our unit.
Bonnie Streeter: I learned how difficult it is to manually clean an endoscope and to appreciate the automated processes we do have. I also learned to appreciate the people who taught the course even more than I already did. They have impressive knowledge and skills!
Dianna Burns: The course was a refresher in the step-by-step manual cleaning and high level disinfection of endoscopes. SGNA standards, guidelines and reference materials were distributed and incorporated throughout the presentation. Adequate flushing, drying and storage of the scopes were highlighted — always following the manufacturer’s recommendations.
[I think] we should be utilizing some form of tracking to document that the scopes are being properly reprocessed, i.e. adenosine triphosphate (ATP) testing.
Have you made any changes to your daily work after going to this course?
CE: I will be participating in staff competency check-offs now and can speak to our unit practices more fluently.
BS: I have not made any daily changes, but I do feel more capable and knowledgeable of being able to help manually clean endoscopes if the automated systems go down.
DB: We have improved our scope tracking process to include tracking of the personnel performing the immediate bedside cleaning, leak testing, manual cleaning and loading and unloading of the scope reprocessor.
Why do you think training events like this are valuable?
CE: I feel that it’s never a good thing to be too far removed from practices that our staff need to be competent in. Leadership is much more respected when they take the initiative to understand the processes set in place and the ‘why’ behind them. I’d recommend this course and would love for my staff to attend future offerings of this great program!
BS: It is important to me as an educator to be knowledgeable about endoscope reprocessing and to be able to share this knowledge with others. I very much appreciate that SGNA provides these types of opportunities for its membership.
DB: The size of the training groups was kept to a manageable number and allowed everyone to demonstrate the reprocessing procedure based on hands-on practice.
SGNA is the leader in the field of Endoscopy and sets the gold standard for our specialty. If there are any industry changes — from the Center for Disease Control (CDC), the Department of Health (DOH), The Joint Commission, etc. — SGNA is one of the first to respond and share the changes with their membership. The presentations are provided by experts knowledgeable in the field of infection prevention and include any updated standards and guidelines.
*More information and registration for the Fall Train the Trainer course can be found here.
SGNA is a community of nurses, technicians, medical assistants, industry representatives and other GI professionals. Members join to stay up-to-date on industry trends and evidence-based practice, receive free and discounted education, network with others passionate about gastroenterology and to feel pride in their profession. Join SGNA today!