Unique mentorship program started in York Central Hospital

As part of building capacity at York Central Hospital in Richmond Hill, Ontario, a strategy was created to enhance the learning environment for staff, attract staff to the organization and reduce the significant turnover within the first year.

To this end a dynamic mentorship program, the first of its kind in Canada, was created supported by the Ministry of Health and Long-Term Care inter-professional education initiative and York Central Hospital (YCH) Foundation.

“The mentorship program has been extremely successful in recruiting and retaining staff nurses,” says Interim Professional Practice Leader Audrey Sheridan.

“Many new graduates told us that they chose YCH over other hospitals because of the mentorship program.
It speaks volumes about the value the organization places on nursing, both experienced and new graduates. The mentorship program has truly been a catalyst for YCH, raising the bar for nursing education and clinical development across the organization.”

This multifaceted program includes a number of components including mentorship development; supernumerary time for mentor support of newly hired staff; extended program development support for both experienced and new graduate staff; clinical fellowships; specialty certifications; national certifications and degree support bursaries.

New hires (experienced and new graduates) spend their first three weeks on the job learning in a classroom environment. Content includes: Assessment and Management of Pain; Risk Prevention and Assessment and Management of Stage I-IV Pressure Ulcers; Screening and Caregiving Strategies for Delirium and Dementia; Fall Prevention; Vascular Access and Diabetes Management drawn from the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario’s (RNAO) Best Practice Guidelines (BPGs).

Following the in-class portion, new nursing hires are assigned mentors and begin working with them on their specific nursing services. Further development components related to relationships include: providing and receiving feedback, responding to emotionally charged situations, building trust and Patient Focused Care which was based on the RNAO’s BPGs for Client Centered Care, Therapeutic Relationships and Leadership.

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Editor's opinion:

“Mentorship is a key solution to transfer valuable knowledge in any kind of profession.
Recently, I came across a virtual community for health care Professionals that has a built-in mentorship program.
Health care professionals can share their knowledge in various ways on that community, such as on a forum and via private messaging.

It's called LinkHealthPro and is free to sign on. ”

More Canadians should get tax-incentive to start exercising

If we look at the numbers according to Obesity Canada, a network of health care professionals, as many as 25% of all teens and 50% of all adults in Canada are overweight.

A staggering 10%-12% of adult Canadians are classified as obese, putting them at serious risk of heart attack, stroke and diabetes, to name but a few of the threats they are exposed to.
The leading factors in the 'obesity epidemic' are a poor diet and inactive lifestyles.

Therefore, a New Year's resolution of the Harper government should be to get more Canadians off their couches and start exercising.
In 2007, the Tories already made a great step in the good direction with the introduction of the Children's Fitness Tax Credit, which allows parents to claim on their income tax a portion of the fees they pay to enroll their kids in sports.

The government really needs to expand the program now and include everyone over the age of 16.
Rewarding people for joining health clubs or signing up for recreational sports programs is a simple, yet effective way to get more Canadians active in our increasingly sedentary society.

Over the years, governments leaned toward using the 'stick-approach' to improving our health, but shaming and hectoring people through nagging awareness campaigns, food labelling, tobacco-use restrictions and the like will only go so far.

Now it's time to start offering rewards to people for making healthy choices.

Allowing people to claim only a portion of activity fees on their taxes will be a safeguard against abusers simply buying a gym membership as a tax write-off and then never showing up, but it will still reward people genuinely trying to get healthier.

In the long run, all Canadians will benefit.
More people leading healthy lifestyles will ease pressure on our overburdened health care system.

Source: Winnipeg Sun