Conestoga's School of Health & Life Sciences hosted the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario (RNAO)'s Best Practice Champions Workshop on October 22 at the Doon campus. The free, interactive one-day workshop drew college employees, health care professionals from hospitals and long-term care centres as well as students from the college’s nursing, PSW and pre-health programs to introduce them to evidence-based practice, RNAO’s Best Practice Guidelines (BPG) and how to implement them in a work setting.
The School of Health & Life Sciences hosted the Registered Nurses' Association of Ontario's Best Practice Champions Workshop on October 22 at the Doon campus.
“We do hope that by the end of today you are going to be able to identify champion roles that you can apply to your work or school setting because this is what you are here for. It’s not just to learn about the best practice guidelines, but for you to develop yourself as a champion,” said Althea Stewart-Pyne, RNAO program manager. “You’re going to be that knowledge broker - the one who’s going to take down the information about best practices and evidence to be used in the care that you deliver. You’ll also be able to speak to the Best Practice Guidelines and articulate clearly to others in your workplace why we need them.”
During her opening remarks Stewart-Pyne also commented on the interprofessional approach the School of Health & Life Sciences takes and encouraged students in attendance at the workshop to share their knowledge of the guidelines with others outside their areas of study.
“Conestoga is committed to integrating evidence-informed best practices to support graduates to be career-ready in our community," said Michelle Heyer, director, Seniors Care. “We thank RNAO for their support in helping us move forward to promote quality health care in Ontario.”
RNAO is the professional association representing registered nurses, nurse practitioners and nursing students in Ontario and launched the BPG program launched in 1999 to provide the best evidence for patient care across a range of health care settings. The program has overseen development of 50 guidelines to date that are implemented in provincial, national and international health care settings.
In 2018, the RNAO named Conestoga a pre-designate Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO). The BPSO program is a partnership between the RNAO and health care organizations and academic settings that commit to implementing multiple best practice guidelines throughout their organization, and sustaining an evidence-based nursing practice culture. BPSO pre-designates commence a three-year qualifying period and, on successful achievement of specific deliverables, are designated a BPSO.
Conestoga’s School of Health & Life Sciences offers a range of credentials that deliver the most up-to-date training by expert faculty and staff in state-of-the-art facilities. Work-integrated learning through field placements, clinical practicums or co-operative education experiences provide students with valuable work experiences to put training into practice. Living Classrooms also provide training on-site for personal support workers and practical nursing at The Village at University Gates in Waterloo and The Village of Riverside Glen in Guelph. The Living Classroom model is highly acclaimed and renowned across the province for its interprofessional approach to preparing students for successful careers working with older adults.