1. Personal Qualities of a Health Care Worker
Unit 3

2. Objectives:
Explain how diet, rest, exercises, good posture, and avoiding use of tobacco and drugs contribute to good health
Demonstrate the standards of a professional appearance as they apply to uniforms, clothing, shoes, nails, hair, jewelry, and makeup.

3. Personal and Professional Characteristics
Certain personal attitudes, values, and rules of appearance apply to all health care professions.
It is an appearance that inspires confidence and a positive self-image.

4. Personal and Professional Characteristics
Research shows that within twenty seconds to 4 minutes people form an impression about a person based on their appearance.
Video

5. Professional Standards
Professional standards apply to most health careers
Must be observed to create a positive impression

6. 5 Factors That Contribute to Good Health
Health care professionals promote health and disease prevention. A health care worker should present a healthy appearance.
Diet
Rest
Exercise
Good Posture
Avoid tobacco, alcohol, and drugs

7. Diet Eat well balanced meals
Foods from 5 major food groups: milk, meat, veggies, fruits, bread, cereals, rice, pasta

8. Rest Adequate rest and sleep provide energy and stress management
Amount required varies from individual to individual

9. Exercise Maintain circulation and improve muscle tone
Helps mental attitude
Contributes to a more restful sleep

10. Good Posture Prevents fatigue and puts less stress on muscles
Stand strait
Stomach muscles in
Shoulders relaxed
Weight balanced equally on each foot

12. Avoid tobacco, drugs, alcohol
Affects good health
Impairs mental function
Can result in loss of a job

13. Q&A Does a uniform create an impression on a patient?
Can the impression be poor? HOW?

14. Personal Appearance
In health care it is importance to have a clean, neat and professional appearance.
Know what rules are established at your place of employment

15. Professional Appearance
Uniforms
Clothing
Name Badge
Shoes
Personal hygiene
Nails
Hair
Jewelry
Make up

16. Uniform Required Neat, well fitting, NO WRINKLES
White/neutral undergarments
Follow standards established

17. Clothing Neat, clean, in good repair Professional
Style should allow for movement
Appropriate for position
Clean, neat,
Washable fabrics best

18. Name badge
Required as form of identification
Name, title, department

19. Shoes White shoes may be required Fit well, provide support
Clean frequently, replace as needed
Stockings/compression socks

22. Personal Hygiene Close contact with others Control body odor
Daily showers
Deodorant
Oral hygiene
Clean undergarments
Avoid strong odors
Perfumes
Scented hairsprays, lotions

23. Nails Clean and short Avoid color polish
Long nails can injure the patient, can puncture gloves
Avoid color polish
Polish chips
Conceals dirt under fingernails
Use hand cream/lotion to prevent dryness

25. Hair Clean and neat Avoid fancy, extreme styles
Pinned back and kept off collar
Prevents hair from touching patient
Avoids blocking vision during procedures

26. Jewelry Usually not permitted
Can cause injury, transmit germs
Watch, wedding ring, small pierced earrings
Avoid earrings with hoops, dangling necklace
Body jewelry is prohibited
Nose, eyebrow, tongue
Excessive jewelry detracts from professional appearance

27. Makeup
Avoid excessive makeup
Should be natural, attractiveness

28. Q&A What 5 main factors contribute to good health?
List 3 rules pertaining to uniform.
Why must nails be short and clean?
Why should hair be pinned back?

32. Objectives:
Understand personal and professional characteristics and attitudes that apply to all healthcare occupations
Identify at least 5 characteristics of a health care worker that include personal as well as professional traits

33. Personal Characteristics
Certain personal and professional characteristics and attitudes apply to all health occupations
Make an effort to develop these characteristics and attitudes in your personality
13 personal characteristics

34. Personal Characteristics
Empathy – being able to understand another persons feelings, situation, and motives
Healthcare workers deal with all ages
Understanding needs and learning effective communication is one way to develop empathy
Video

35. Personal Characteristics
Honesty – truthfulness and integrity are important in any career
Patients, family members, co-workers must be able to trust you
Must be willing to admit mistakes so they can be corrected

36. Personal Characteristics
Dependability – employers and patients rely on you, so you must accept responsibility by being prompt to work and doing your job accurately and timely
What situations require dependability??

37. Personal Characteristics
Willingness to learn – You must be willing to adapt to change
Changes occur with research, inventions, technological advances
Additional education may be required
CEU’s
Lifelong learning allows to remain competent and keep knowledge of skills

38. Personal Characteristics
Patience – tolerant and understanding
deal with anger, control your temper
Learn to deal with frustration and overcome obstacles
Acceptance of Criticism – criticism can be constructive and allow you to improve your work
Everyone has areas where performance can be improved

39. Personal Characteristics
Enthusiasm – enjoy your work and display a positive attitude
Contagious-helps you do your best, encourages others to do the same
Focus on the positive and negative will not seem important

40. Personal Characteristics
Self-motivated – ability to begin and follow through on a task.
Set goals and work to attain them
Able to determine things that need to be done without constant direction

41. Personal Characteristics
Tact – the ability to do and say the kindest or most fitting thing in a difficult situation
Everyone has a right to their own feelings
Show consideration of feelings of others
Workload example

42. Personal Characteristics
Competence: qualified of performing a task
Follow instructions
Strive for accuracy
Asks for guidance when necessary

43. Personal Characteristics
Responsibility – willing to be held accountable for your actions.
Discretion – use good judgment in what you say or do. Confidentiality is important.
Team Player – learn to work well with others. Working together can accomplish a goal much faster than individually.

44. Summary All characteristics must be practiced
Some take more time than others
Strive constantly to improve
Will help provide best patient care
Will make you an asset to your employer
Video

45. Teamwork

46. Teamwork
Teamwork consists of many professionals, with different levels of educations, ideas, backgrounds, and interests, working together for the benefit of the patient.
Provides quality care
Improves communication and continuity of care.
A leader is an important part of every team.
Good interpersonal relationships are essential

47. Interpersonal Relationships
Poor relations can harm quality of care, prevent team from meeting goals Golden Rule: “Treat others the way you want to be treated!!” Ways to develop interpersonal relationships: Maintain positive attitude Be friendly Assist others when they need help Listen carefully Respect others opinions Be open-minded and willing to compromise Learn good communication skills Support and encourage other team members

48. Conflict Deal with in a positive way
Meet, talk, identify the problem, listen, avoid hostility, determine a way to resolve the problem
Use a mediator
Must be resolved in order to meet goals

49. Summary
Effective teams include hard work, patience, commitment, practice
Why is teamwork important?
Name 5 examples to develop good interpersonal relationships
How should conflict be handled?

50. Professional Leadership
The skill or ability to encourage people to work together and do their best to achieve common goals.
A leader is defined as an individual who leads or guides others, or who is in charge to command others.
In a group, every member who makes a contribution to an idea can be considered a leader.
Leadership in a group passes from person to person as each individual contributes to the group’s goal.

51. Characteristics of a Leader
Respects rights, opinions, abilities of others
Understands principals of democracy
Works with the group to achieve a goal
Understands your own strengths and weaknesses
Displays confidence
Praises others, gives credit

52. Professional Leadership
Leaders are frequently classified as one of three types based on how they perform their leadership skills.
Democratic leader – encourages the participation of all individuals in decisions. Listens to others opinions. Bases decision on what is best for the group as a whole
Laissez-faire leader – informal type of leader, will have minimal rules, group functions with little or no direction., leader is ”hands-off”
Autocratic – often called a dictator, maintains total rule, makes all decisions, has difficulty sharing duties, does not ask for others opinion

53. Show your leadership and teamwork
Simon Says
Everyone must do whatever Simon says, as long as Simon prefaces his or her request with the phrase, "Simon says ..." So "Simon says, stand on one foot" must be complied with, but "Jump up and down" should not. Anyone who compiles at the wrong time is out. Last one in the game wins -- and, if you're willing to risk it, becomes the next Simon.

54. Stress
Working in health care can be very stressful. Sometimes you will deal with life and death situations.
How do you handle stress?

55. Stress Management
Stress is defined as the bodys reaction to any stimulus that requires a person to adjust to a changing environment
CHANGE always initiates stress

56. When you are stressed…
Blood vessels constrict, resulting in cool skin, decreased production of urine
Pupils dilate
Saliva decreases, mouth becomes dry
Heart rate increases
Blood pressure rises
Respiratory rate increases

57. Stress Stressors can be caused by internal or external forces.
Internal stress – “heart attack,” cancer
External stress – new job, marriage, divorce, test.
Identify stressors, they can be eliminated

58. Problem-Solving Method
Gather information or data
Identify the problem
List possible solutions
Make plan
Act on your solution
Evaluate the results
Change the solution

59. Stress Not all stress is harmful.
A small amount of stress is essential to an individual’s well-being because it makes the person more alert and raises the energy level.
Stress can cause positive feelings such as excitement, anticipation, self-confidence, and a sense of achievement.

60. Stress – How can you handle it?
Stop: immediately stop what you are doing to break out of the stress response.
Breathe: take a slow deep breath to relieve the physical tension.
Reflect: think about the problem and the cause of the stress.
Choose: determine how you want to deal with the stress.

61. Summary Stress is present in everyone’s life
Be aware of stressors, practice techniques to reduce it
Remember that patients experience stress!
Identify a major stress in your life. What steps can you take to reduce it?

62. Time Management
A system of practical skills that allows an individual to use time in the most effective and productive way possible
Helps prevent or reduce stress
First step is to keep an activity record
Start to organize time based on information collected in activity record

63. Goal Setting
A goal is a desired result or purpose toward which one is working
Goals allow you to know where you are going and provide direction to your life
Need both short term and long term goals

64. Short term goals Days, weeks, months to accomplish
Smaller steps taken to reach long term goals
Will change as one goal is accomplished and another goal is established

65. Long Term Goals Goals that take longer to achieve
Take years or even a lifetime to achieve
Examples??

66. Setting goals effectively
State the goal in a positive manner
Define the goal clearly
Prioritize multiple goals
Write your goals down
Make sure the goal is at the right level!

67. Goals
After the goal is achieved, you will enjoy a sense of accomplishment and satisifcation
If you fail…
Was the goal realistic?
Did you lack skills or knowledge?
Is there another way to achieve the goal?

68. Time Management Great tool to ensure success in meeting goals
Schedule tasks:
Use a daily planner
Include time for rest, exercise, social activities
“To-do” list :
List tasks, cross off as completed
Planning
One thing at a time, have all materials needed, ask for assistance if needed

69. Summary
Time management provides for an organized, efficient use of time
Take credit for a job well done
Overscheduling, rescheduling are common
If goals are not reached, reevaluate and revise

70. Q&A What can help with time management?
How do you determine if you use time effectively?
What is the difference between long term and short term goals?
How can you set effective goals??