How to lead a study group: a guide for facilitators
Content
How to lead a
Bettercare study group
A facilitator’s guide
We have taken every care to ensure that drug dosages and
related medical advice in this book are accurate. However,
drug and disinfectant dosages can change and are updated
often, so always double-check dosages and procedures
against a reliable, up-to-date formulary and the given drug’s
documentation before administering it.
How to lead a Bettercare study group: A facilitator’s guide
First published in 2012 by Bettercare, a division of Electric Book Works.
Updated 25 Feb 2013, 4 Apr 2014, 1 Nov 2014, 16 April 2015
Text © Electric Book Works
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-920218-68-3
ISBN (PDF ebook): 978-1-920218-69-0
Excluding content explicitly credited to others, this book is published under
a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License.
For details, see creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0.
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For any other uses, please contact Electric Book Works.
Contents
Acknowledgements
4
Introduction
5
Dear Facilitator
7
Facilitator’s checklist
9
1 Introduction to studying in groups
11
2 Planning a group
14
3 Starting a group
21
4 Running a group
24
5 Tips for successful group work
32
6 Finishing a course
35
7 Contact details
40
8 Templates
41
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Dr Elbeth Hoffman from Kidz Positive and Prof
Dave Woods from the Perinatal Education Programme for their contribution
towards this guide.
It was developed with their input by Emma Attwell and Julia Norrish,
assisted by Dezre Little and Arthur Attwell.
With your help, it can be better: please send your comments to
[email protected].
Introduction
About the Bettercare series
Bettercare creates learning programmes for healthcare professionals. A
learning programme is the curriculum and study material you need to run a
course, all in one book. Whether you lead a study group or manage formal
training, our learning programmes make your job simpler and easier.
We have developed these programmes in partnership with renowned
experts and organisations, including the Perinatal Education Trust,
Eduhealthcare, the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, the Desmond Tutu TB
Centre, Infection Control Africa Network, Breast Course 4 Nurses and the
Perinatal Mental Health Project.
Our aim is to provide appropriate, affordable and up-to-date learning
material for healthcare workers in under-resourced areas, so that they can
deliver excellent patient care.
The Bettercare methodology is built on the work of the Perinatal Education
Programme (PEP), which has provided learning opportunities to over 60 000
nurses and doctors in South Africa since 1992. Many of the educational
methods developed by PEP are now being adopted by the World Health
Organisation (WHO).
Why decentralised learning?
We believe excellent learning material enables health professionals to set up
and manage their own courses.
Continuing education for health workers traditionally consists of courses
and workshops run by formal trainers at large central hospitals. These
courses are expensive to attend, and are often far away from the health
workers’ families and places of work. And the content often fails to address
the biggest healthcare challenges of poor, rural communities.
5
INTRODUCTION
To help solve these problems, we offer a self-help, decentralised learning
method that addresses the needs of professional healthcare workers,
especially in poor, rural communities.
Contributors
Our learning materials have been developed by multi-disciplinary teams of
nurses, midwives, obstetricians, neonatologists, and general paediatricians.
The development and review of all course material is overseen by the
Editor-in-Chief, emeritus Professor Dave Woods, a previous head of
neonatal medicine at the University of Cape Town who now consults to
UNICEF and the WHO.
Updating the course material
Bettercare learning materials are regularly updated to keep up with
developments and changes in healthcare protocols. Course participants can
make important contributions to the continual improvement of Bettercare
books by reporting factual or language errors, by identifying sections that
are difficult to understand, and by suggesting additions or improvements to
the contents. Details of alternative or better forms of management would be
particularly appreciated. Please send any comments or suggestions to
[email protected].
UPDATING THE COURSE MATERIAL
6
Dear Facilitator
We’ve developed this guide to help you run a Bettercare learning
programme in a study group.
Group learning is a great way for people to update their knowledge and
skills and learn from each other. However, it requires one person to take
responsibility for making sure that the group meets regularly, that people
stay on track, and that the group makes progress: this is your role.
Your role is not to teach or tutor the members of the group. Each member of
the group takes responsibility for their own learning. But you need to
support and encourage each person to participate in the group sessions, so
that they can contribute towards the learning and understanding of the
others. You also need to make sure that everything is in place so that your
group’s sessions can be interesting and productive.
In this guide, you will learn about:
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•
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what makes group work powerful
starting your group and getting support
goal-setting and managing finances
managing group meetings and tests
keeping participants motivated
exams, certificates and ceremonies
measuring the impact of learning on your daily work.
To help you get started, you’ll find:
• checklists showing exactly which steps to take when
• template forms for planning and running your group.
This guide describes the best way to run a Bettercare study group, but we
understand that it will take practise to develop all the skills of a great
facilitator. You may not get everything right the first time, but don’t let that
stop you from running more courses. The most important thing is that your
study group is supportive of the learning process.
It takes practise to develop all the skills of a great facilitator.
7
DEAR FACILITATOR
Being a good facilitator requires initiative and leadership skills. Because of
this, we want to reward our facilitators for the important role they play in
the empowerment and training of healthcare workers. If more than half of
your group members who write the exam qualify for a certificate, we will
also mail you a Bettercare Facilitator certificate acknowledging your
leadership capability and commitment to a goal. You can earn one of these
certificates for each different Bettercare course that you facilitate (e.g. one
for Newborn Care and another one for Childhood HIV).
If you have any questions or need help with any aspect of the group
learning process, please contact us. You can email [email protected] or
call +27 21 671 1278.
Best wishes
The Bettercare Team
CONTACT US
8
Checklists
Before the first group meeting
☐ Identify needs for training at your institution.
☐ Decide which need is the most urgent (you can get input from other
staff members here).
☐ Choose an appropriate Bettercare course.
☐ Draw up a training budget.
☐ Get stakeholder buy-in.
☐ Advertise the course.
☐ Hold a preliminary information session about the Bettercare course you
will run.
☐ Sign up group members (about 5–10) and get their contact details.
☐ Organise how you will read the books (online for free or order print
versions).
☐ Contact everyone to say when and where the first official meeting will
be held.
☐ Start a ‘Facilitator’s File’ (a flip-file is an easy and neat option) where
you keep copies of templates, notes and important documents.
At the first group meeting
☐ Let group members introduce themselves.
☐ Introduce and discuss what decentralised learning means.
☐ Make group rules that everyone agrees with.
☐ Establish goals that everyone shares.
☐ Explain how the learning programme works.
☐ Explain your role in the group (not a teacher, but a facilitator).
☐ Decide how, when and where future group meetings will happen.
☐ Decide if you will write the exam at the end of the course (you can
change your mind).
☐ Choose a treasurer (who will monitor the budget and finances).
9
CHECKLISTS
Before every group meeting
☐ All group members must read the relevant chapter.
☐ Create the lesson plan (see Chapter 4: How to run a Bettercare group).
☐ Make sure you have all the resources you need for the meeting.
☐ Organise someone to demonstrate the skill if needed.
☐ Send out a reminder SMS to all group members of session venue and
time.
At group meetings
☐ Discuss difficult sections of the chapter you have all studied the
previous week.
☐ Go through the chapter case studies.
☐ Have a demonstration and discussion of the relevant skill.
☐ Everyone does the post-test for the chapter you have studied and
discussed.
☐ Everyone marks and records the pre- and post-tests.
☐ Everyone completes the pre-test for the next chapter.
After completing the chapters
☐ Decide who will write the exam (including yourself).
☐ Email [email protected] to request as many exams as you need.
☐ If you will be writing the exam, organise an exam invigilator.
☐ Write the one-hour, 75-question exam.
☐ Notify Bettercare of the participants’ results.
☐ Receive certificates.
☐ If 50% of your group are successful in the exam, you will receive a
facilitator’s certificate.
☐ Arrange a certificate handover ceremony if possible.
☐ Take a group photo and send to [email protected].
AFTER COMPLETING THE CHAPTERS
10
1
Introduction to
studying in groups
What is group learning?
Small group learning is an ideal way for people to
• learn from each other
• test out new knowledge and clinical skills
• practise teamwork and improve their people skills.
Learning in a group is about teamwork. It is about moving forward towards
a common goal. In a Bettercare study group, a common goal is to complete
the Bettercare course you have all chosen to do and to learn more about that
area of healthcare.
Everyone has worked in a group before:
• At home, you work as a group to keep the house clean and to prepare
meals.
• At school, you worked in groups to complete projects or prepare for
exams.
Every member of the group is important, but someone needs to lead the
others and make it easier for the group to keep on track. This is your role as
the facilitator.
Group work is about team work and moving towards a
common goal.
11
INTRODUCTION TO STUDYING IN GROUPS
Why is it good to learn in a group?
Group learning helps people develop:
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people skills
problem-solving skills
presentation skills
communication skills
listening skills
an appreciation for other people’s views.
These skills are difficult to learn on your own. They are also very important
skills to have if you have a job in healthcare.
What does the group facilitator do?
The facilitator is not a tutor. You will not be teaching the group members.
Every member should take responsibility for their own learning and should
work through the chapters of the book on their own.
Your role is:
• To make it easier for group members to talk about and understand
concepts they struggle with.
• To make it easier for group members to share their knowledge and
experience.
• To make sure all the practical arrangements for the course are taken care
of.
The facilitator is not a tutor or a teacher. Every participant
takes responsibility for their own learning.
Ideally, managing and facilitating a Bettercare course should be part of your
routine duties in your environment. For this, you will need to get the
permission of the authorities at your clinic or hospital.
WHAT DOES THE GROUP FACILITATOR DO?
12
What makes a group successful?
There are four important elements for successful group learning:
• Trust – members must feel safe in the group.
• Sharing – members must feel able to share their knowledge, skills and
experience with the rest of the group.
• Interdependence – members must work together to achieve the goals of
the group.
• Accountability – each member of the group must contribute to the
process.
Trust, sharing, interdependence and accountability make
group work successful.
13
INTRODUCTION TO STUDYING IN GROUPS
2
Planning a group
Identifying a need
If you are reading this guide, you have already identified a need for extra
training at your organisation. A need comes from a problem or a gap that
needs to be filled. It is important to know more about that gap, and whether
training will help to fill it, or if some other means is necessary. You also
need to decide which learning areas need attention the most.
Here are five steps to identifying training needs:
1. Identify the job expectations of your group members
You can get this information from:
• the employees’ job descriptions
• observing what staff have to deal with on a day-to-day basis
• asking staff what they are required to do.
2. Compare actual employee performance with job expectations
• Are staff able to do what is required of them?
• If they are not doing what is required of them, is the problem that they
do not know how?
• Is the problem that they do not have time?
• Is the problem that they do not want to?
• Is the problem that they do not have the right equipment or resources?
Often, there are many reasons for a gap between what people are expected
to do and what they are able to do. The solution to this needs to take all of
these factors into account. Training on its own can be a solution, but it can
also be only part of the solution.
IDENTIFYING A NEED
14
3. Hold a meeting to discuss training needs
Invite staff to a meeting. Ask each person to bring a list of their top five
training needs (what they need to know more about to make their job
easier). Talk about everyone’s lists and your own observations.
4. Put training needs into groups
Put the training needs identified in the meeting into categories. For
example:
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•
•
•
HIV care and management
maternal care
newborn care
infection prevention and control, etc
5. Prioritise training needs
With the group, decide which training needs are the most urgent. For
example, if you have many HIV-positive patients it makes sense that
training on their care and management is urgent. If you have many
pregnant mothers seeking medical help, perinatal care is important.
The group learns best when the chosen course matches their
real training needs.
Choosing the right course
After you have identified the most urgent need, you need to choose a course
that meets that need. It is important to make sure that the course covers the
essential knowledge and clinical skills required for your particular work
setting.
Look through our learning programme books, the online catalogue or call us
on +27 (0)21 671 1278. Compare the needs you identified to the training
material available. Which course best meets the needs you identified?
15
PLANNING A GROUP
From here, you can make a training schedule to show which courses are
most important and should be done first and which can wait until later.
Getting stakeholder buy-in
A stakeholder is anyone who has interest or concern in an organization or
service. At a hospital or clinic, the stakeholders would be
•
•
•
•
the community (who use the service)
the hospital management (who set policies and manage finances)
the staff (who provide the service)
the local or provincial government (who fund the service).
You need to make sure you have the support of these people to successfully
implement your training programme (e.g. getting permission to hold group
meetings during work hours or for finances to buy books and pay for the
exam).
A stakeholder is anyone who has interest or concern in an
organization or service.
To do that, you must clearly describe:
•
•
•
•
what the training need is
how the training programme will meet the need
the logistics (e.g. time off, a room to meet in)
what you need from the stakeholder (e.g. finances, permission, support,
help with logistics)
• the costs involved (e.g. to buy learning materials and pay for the exams).
If you have identified the training need well, you can make a good argument
for why training is important, and have the support of staff and the
community.
GETTING STAKEHOLDER BUY-IN
16
A training budget
If you have to buy books for the group members, you will need to make a
budget. Some hospitals and clinics will pay for learning materials for their
staff, but you need to give them a clear budget for how much the materials
will cost and any other costs you might have.
If you need a formal quote for books, please contact us at
[email protected] or call us at 021 671 1278 and we will give you a
formal estimate. If the participants have to buy their own books, you can
give them information about how much the books will cost, collect the
money and order and pay for the books at once.
However, you do not need to buy the books to do a Bettercare course
because you can read all our books online, for free: go to
www.bettercare.co.za. You only need to pay if you want to write the exam at
the end of the course to get a certificate.
You might have other costs besides the books.
• If you want to have refreshments at your meetings, you need to put this
in the budget you submit to your institution. You can delegate the task
of buying the refreshments to different group members each week.
• If you want to give a small gift to the people who demonstrate the skills
workshops or if you need to pay for their transport, this also needs to be
in the budget.
• Airtime for your cellphone will also need to be in the budget, because
you need to be able to contact the group members at least once a week.
• Photocopying and printing needs to be in the budget because there are
various materials that need to be printed or photocopied for each
session.
As the facilitator, you do not have to manage the finances. The group can
choose someone who likes working with numbers to manage money and
the training budget. Group finances should be transparent: this means that
everyone in the group should know how much money is in the budget and
how it is being spent. Always keep till slips, invoices and a record of all
expenses.
17
PLANNING A GROUP
A well-structured training budget will increase the chance of
buy-in from stakeholders.
Example training budget
Budget for Bettercare Learning Programme
Course name:
Proposed dates of course:
Budget Item
Cost:
1. Books for 10 members
R160 x 10 = R1 600
2.Refreshments
R30 x 14 = R420
R30 per meeting.
12 chapters, therefore 12 meetings plus first meeting
and certificate ceremony. 14 meetings in total.
3. Exam admin fee for 10 members
R100 x 10 = R1 000
4. Gifts for skills demonstrators
R20 x 4 = R80
Four skills chapters in the book, therefore four gifts
needed.
5. Airtime for facilitator
R1.00 x 14 x 10 = R140
14 meetings in total x 10 members x R1.00/sms
Total:
R 3240
Advertising
The next step is getting people to join your study group. There are many
ways of doing this:
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word of mouth
putting up posters inviting people to join the group
handing out flyers at your facility
inviting people face-to-face.
It is best to first invite people to an informational meeting where you
discuss what the training involves, where it will take place and any costs
ADVERTISING
18
involved e.g. do group members have to buy their own books? That way,
people know what they are getting into before they commit themselves to
the group. It would be helpful if at this meeting you describe what group
learning is about (discussed in Chapter 1) and emphasise that each group
member takes responsibility for their own learning (working through the
course book).
First invite interested people to an informational meeting.
Participant requirements
If you require anything specific of your future group members, you must
explain this at the first informational meeting. These requirements could be:
• job category (e.g. enrolled nurse, registered nurse, CHW, medical officer,
etc.)
• prior experience
• current responsibilities.
Some Bettercare programmes are better suited to some job categories than
to others. However, you don’t have to be currently employed to do a
Bettercare learning programme.
Anyone can do a Bettercare learning programme.
Group size
Collaborative learning works best in small groups of 5 to 10 members.
This gives every member the opportunity to contribute to the group and
share their knowledge, skills and experience. It also allows group members
to get to know each other better, encourage each other and support each
other in the workplace.
19
PLANNING A GROUP
Group learning works best in groups of 5 to 10 members.
Group learning is based on sharing, discussion and teamwork, and this
happens more easily in smaller groups.
Group location
It is easier to form a group of participants from the same institution. This
way:
• Group members don’t have to travel to get to the group meetings.
• Group members can support each other and share their new skills and
knowledge with their fellow group members on the job.
If your institution is small and there are not many people in the same job
category, you might have to invite people from other clinics or hospitals
nearby. The advantage is that they will have different experiences and this
can stimulate discussion and help to understand the topic more deeply.
To run the group, you will need to find a venue that everyone can reach
easily. You could book one of the staff rooms or offices at your workplace if
group sessions are going to be during work hours or directly before or after
work hours. Make sure it has enough seating for the members of the group
and enough light and fresh air. You could get permission to put relevant
posters and charts on the walls to make the space more interesting.
Find a venue that everyone can reach easily.
If your group sessions are after hours, you could meet in a group member’s
home. Group members could take turns to host the sessions in their homes.
If possible, you could have a roster for providing tea, coffee and biscuits for
the group.
GROUP LOCATION
20
3
Starting a group
Group meeting times
The first thing you need to decide on once you have formed a group is what
time the group will meet. Group sessions should be at regular intervals and
often enough to keep participants focused and on track.
We recommend that each meeting concerns one chapter of the book and
that these meetings happen once a week or once every two weeks.
Once you have formed a group, you need to decide together
on a regular meeting time. Once a week, if possible, is ideal.
Although group meetings need to be regular, you should be flexible.
People’s work schedules may change, or they may have other commitments
that come up. You should find a way to communicate with all group
members about changing meeting times and venues. SMS messages or a
Whatsapp group are a convenient and cheap way to do this, so make sure
you have everyone’s cellphone numbers (find a template ‘Group Members
Contact List’ at the end of this guide).
Remember the group should decide together on a meeting time that suits
everyone and fits into your work schedule. If you have 10 or more people
wanting to do the course, you can split the group in two and have two
different meeting times (e.g. a morning group and an afternoon group).
You will also need to get permission from the authorities at your institution
if the group meeting time is during working hours or if you want to use a
venue at work for the meetings.
21
STARTING A GROUP
How to get the books
• You can read all our books online for free. Visit www.bettercare.co.za
• You can order print versions of all our books by emailing:
[email protected]
• All our books are also available as ebooks on Amazon.
Visit www.bettercare.co.za for more information.
Preparing for skills demonstrations
Some of our books include skills chapters. These work best if you have
someone who knows the skill well to demonstrate it to the group. There
should also be an opportunity for the group members to practise the skill at
the group meeting.
The first step is to find a person who has that particular skill and is willing
to demonstrate it to the group. This could be an experienced co-worker, a
visiting mentor or someone from a different job category. It is more
convenient if the person is from the same institution as yourself, but if that
is not possible, you can invite someone from a nearby health facility. When
you invite someone, you need to be clear about what they have to do. Give
them a copy of the skills chapter they will be covering, and remember to
give them clear information about the time and place of the meeting,
preferably in writing. If you like, you can give the demonstrator a small gift
to show your appreciation. A card signed by the group members is
meaningful and doesn’t cost a lot of money (remember to include this in
your budget).
Find a person who has that particular skill and is willing to
demonstrate it to the group.
Often the skills demonstrations require resources (e.g. medical equipment, a
dummy or medical charts). Make a list of these requirements in advance and
PREPARING FOR SKILLS DEMONSTRATIONS
22
make a plan to ensure you have all the necessary resources for a successful
workshop. You can delegate this task to someone in the group. Group
members can take turns to get the resources together for the skills
workshops.
Establishing goals
Establish everyone’s goals for the course during the first meeting. An easy
way to do this is for each person to introduce themselves and then give a
brief explanation of their work day, and what they hope to learn during this
course. You can then select two or three of the common goals and write
them down for easy reference as the course goes on. It helps to motivate
participants if the goals are written down on a large piece of paper or
cardboard and stuck on the wall of the meeting room.
Select common goals and write them somewhere participants
will be able to see as the course goes on.
Each group member may like to write down their own, personal goals for
the course, and keep track of how they are progressing in achieving their
goal. You can use the template at the end of this guide to record your group
and personal goals.
23
STARTING A GROUP
4
Running a group
Establishing group rules
In your first meeting, you will need to establish some group rules. It’s best if
the group members decide on the rules together. Ask the group members to
give you some ideas of group rules. Discuss these and write them down.
Some examples of rules could be:
• Group members must attend sessions and excuse themselves if they
cannot attend.
• Members must respect different opinions and viewpoints.
• Members must listen to others in the group.
• No one should interrupt or talk over other group members.
• Debate is good, arguing is not.
• All members must prepare for group sessions.
• Everyone should participate in group discussions by listening and
sharing.
Write the rules down on a large piece of paper and display them on the wall
if possible (you can put the rules up at the beginning of the session and take
them down at the end).
In your first meeting, all group members should establish
group rules that everyone agrees with.
ESTABLISHING GROUP RULES
24
How Bettercare learning programmes
work
In the first meeting, the group must read through the introduction carefully.
Take time to discuss:
• what decentralised, on-site learning is,
• each person’s role in the group, and
• how the course and books work.
All group members should understand what group learning is
before starting a Bettercare course.
As a group, it is also useful to discuss at the first meeting if you would all
like to take the final exam or not, but this decision does not have to be final.
You can change your mind later.
How the books work
Objectives
These are listed at the beginning of each chapter. They highlight the most
important lessons to be learned in the chapter.
Pre- and post-tests
There is a multiple-choice test of 20 questions for each chapter provided at
the end of the book. Participants should:
• Do the test before studying each chapter (use the ‘Multiple choice
answer sheet’ template at the back of the book).
• Do not look at the answers or mark their test yet.
• Do the test again after they have studied the chapter (using a new
‘Multiple choice answer sheet’).
25
RUNNING A GROUP
You can do the tests on a computer or phone by going to
bettercare.co.za and selecting the Learning Station.
When both tests have been completed, each participant can look up the
correct answers and mark their own pre- and post tests. If any answers in
the post test are wrong, participants should study those sections of the
chapter again and repeat the test before moving on to the next chapter.
You should all discuss the difficult sections of that chapter in the group
meeting each week. Each chapter needs to be studied and understood before
moving on to the next chapter. Some chapters may require more than one
meeting to make sure everyone fully understands. Some chapters are very
short and you may be able to discuss two in one meeting.
Group members should keep track of their pre- and post-test results to track
their learning. It is important that participants take responsibility for
assessing their own progress through the book. You will find a template at
the back of this guide that can be used for keeping track of pre- and post
test scores.
Group members should keep track of their pre- and post-test
results.
Notes
Notes, in smaller writing, give non-essential information. This is for the
participants’ interest. These facts are not used in the case studies, multiplechoice tests or the exam.
NOTE
Notes are shown like this.
Important lessons and key concepts
Important lessons are shown like this.
HOW THE BOOKS WORK
26
Case studies
Each chapter ends with a few case studies. These help participants to apply
what they have learned in the chapter. The case studies give the participant
the opportunity to see a problem as it usually presents itself in real life. You
can go through these case studies and the answers to them in your group
sessions. Group members can take turns in reading the case studies aloud
and others can answer the questions.
Practical training
Skills workshops are very useful for a practical example of how the skills
you learn in a Bettercare course are used. Skills workshops are not
examined in the final exam, but you may want to arrange your own tests
moderated by a senior medical or nursing colleague.
Final examination
When you and participants have finished the course, for a fee you can take a
75-question multiple-choice exam. If you pass you will receive a certificate
of completion in the post. This certificate proves that you have completed
the Bettercare course for which you studied. You can take the exam as many
times as you like.
If you and your group are interested in writing the exams, please email
[email protected] and we will send you the exam and instructions.
You can read more about the exam process in Chapter 6:
Finishing a course.
Planning for group sessions
It’s helpful to have a predictable structure for each group session. You can
do this by making a simple session plan. A session plan is a list of the steps
you will follow in the session. The main parts of a session plan are:
• an introduction that describes why the session is important or useful
• the learning objectives
27
RUNNING A GROUP
•
•
•
•
a schedule or list showing the order of activities
a list of resources needed for the session
a description of what needs to be prepared in advance
the time each activity should take
Example session plan
Chapter title Newborn Care, Chapter 3: The routine care of normal infants
Date
14 March 2015
Introduction This session is important because: it is essential to be able to tell the
difference between a normal newborn infant and an infant that needs more
specialised care to prevent complications from happening.
Learning
By the end of the session, participants should be able to:
objectives
Manage a normal infant at delivery.
Assess a newborn infant after delivery.
Give routine care to a healthy infant.
Advise a mother about the care of a normal infant.
Appreciate the importance of the road-to-health booklet.
Resources
Qualified doctor to present skills workshop (only necessary for skills chapters)
Photos/videos of normal infants
Pens and paper
Advance
Invite doctor to present and demonstrate (only necessary for skills chapters)
preparation Obtain infant model or get permission and consent for demonstration on an
infant in the newborn nursery
Schedule
1. Discuss what has been studied before the session. (30 minutes)
(with times) 2. Skills workshop. (20 minutes)
3. Post-test multiple-choice and mark pre- and post tests. (20 minutes)
4. Pre-test multiple-choice for next section. (10 minutes)
Total time
80 minutes
Keep your session plan short and simple. You can use the
session plan template in Chapter 8 as a guide.
PLANNING FOR GROUP SESSIONS
28
Inviting resource people
Occasionally you will need to invite a co-worker to give a demonstration or
a talk to the group. Try to get to know the various health professionals who
have expertise in the area of healthcare that you are studying. Ideally find
people at your own facility or at nearby clinics and hospitals. You can ask
co-workers to refer you to people who have helped them in the past or who
are particularly knowledgeable. Make a note of these people and their
contact details in your diary or facilitator’s file. You can use the template at
the end of this guide to keep a record of contact details.
You can contact resource people via email, phone or in person. It is often
easiest and quickest to speak to someone in person or on the phone, so you
can answer any questions they might have immediately and give them a
clear explanation of what you need them to do.
Contact someone in person or on the phone when inviting
them to do a skills demonstration.
When you invite someone, you need to be clear about what they have to do.
Give/send them a copy of the skills workshop they will be covering, and
remember to give them clear information about the time and place of the
meeting. Give the resource person a reminder phone call the day before.
If you like, you can give the demonstrator a small gift to show your
appreciation. A card signed by the members of the group is meaningful and
doesn’t cost a lot of money. This would need to be included in your initial
training budget.
When you invite guest speakers, be very clear about what they
have to do.
29
RUNNING A GROUP
Preparing for group sessions
Each member of the group studies the material that is going to be covered
before the session. As the facilitator, you must study the material too. The
group members can make a list of questions they would like to discuss in
the meeting and note any sections they found difficult.
As the facilitator, you must also study the chapter to be
discussed in that session.
Make sure you have everything you will need in the session, for example,
equipment you need for the demonstrations.
Using the multiple-choice tests
All participants, including the facilitator, do the pre-test at the end of the
meeting before you study the next chapter. You then all do the post-test
after you have discussed the chapter at the next meeting and learnt from
one another. When both tests have been completed, each participant should
look up the correct answers and mark their own pre- and post-test. If any
answers are wrong in the post-test, participants should study those sections
of the chapter again by themselves and repeat the test before moving on to
the next chapter. A participant might ask for your help after a meeting if
they find a chapter very difficult. If you have the time, set up an individual
meeting with them to go through what they are struggling with. You could
also refer them to a participant who did well in that particular chapter.
All participants, including the facilitator, do the pre-test at the
end of the meeting before you study the next chapter.
Discuss the pre- and post-test results in the group. They will help you to
identify which sections need more work. However, results are personal and
if an individual does not want to share this information, they should not be
forced to.
USING THE MULTIPLE-CHOICE TESTS
30
You then all do the post-test after you have discussed the
chapter at the next meeting and learnt from one another.
You can photocopy the template multiple-choice test answer sheets at the
end of this guide. Participants will need two answer sheets for each chapter
(one for the pre-test and one for the post-test).
Participants also need to record their pre- and post-test scores to see if they
are improving. A template scorecard can be found at the back of the book.
Figure 4-1: Using the multiple-choice tests
31
RUNNING A GROUP
5
Tips for successful
group work
How do I keep my group members
motivated?
Group members need to stay motivated to achieve their goals. When a
course runs over a long period of time, it is easy to lose motivation. Here are
some ways to keep members motivated.
• Get group members to keep a learning journal. In their journal they can
briefly record what they have learned and, more importantly, how they
have applied their new knowledge and skills in the workplace. They can
share these experiences with the group at the beginning or end of each
session. Hearing how other people have grown is very motivational, as
is seeing your own progress.
• Record (in your facilitator’s file) the group members’ post-test scores on
the multiple-choice tests. You can have a ‘top achiever’ of the week.
Name the top achiever and let the group congratulate him or her. If you
have the time and resources, you could make a certificate that you give
to him or her.
• You could do the same for the most improved participant each week.
• Remind the group of the goals you set together at the beginning of the
process. As a group, talk about how far you are in meeting those goals,
and if any of those goals have changed.
A learning journal, goals and small rewards help participants
stay motivated throughout the course.
HOW DO I KEEP MY GROUP MEMBERS MOTIVATED?
32
How do I keep the course interesting?
Participants stay motivated when what they are learning is presented in an
interesting way and when they feel they are part of the process.
Here are some more ideas to keep participants interested:
• Create slideshows of the key points in the chapter. Include photos,
images, graphs, video clips, sound bites, newspaper clippings, etc.
Youtube is a great resource for educational videos.
• Show and tell: If you can, bring examples of items discussed in the
chapter, such as empty medicine containers, equipment, X-rays, etc.
• Bring in help: You can arrange for experienced medical or nursing
colleagues to visit your group and do demonstrations or ten-minute
lessons covering a section. Group members can then ask questions and
gain clarity on difficult topics.
• Case studies: Ask one group member each week to prepare a case study
from one of their actual patients for everyone else in the group to learn
from.
• Role-playing: You can ask group members to play out nurse–patient
scenarios described in the book, and then get feedback from the rest of
the group members on what was done correctly, and what could have
been done better.
• If you have access to the Internet and a projector, you can use the
learning station - bettercare.co.za/learningstation - to display the section
of the book, figure or photo that you are discussing for everyone to see.
There are also videos at the end of some of the chapters which you could
show to the group.
Using other resources like videos keeps the course interesting.
Remember to include all group members in presenting information to the
group. For example, the participants can:
• Take turns to present case studies from their own experience.
33
TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL GROUP WORK
• Help with session preparation by bringing the necessary equipment for
demonstrations.
• Identify and invite resource people to present to the group.
Including each group member in presenting information to the
group and in giving examples from their work will help all
participants to feel involved and interested in the course.
Each member of the group contributes to the success of the group as a
whole. At the same time, they are all responsible for their own learning.
Ensuring skills are applied at work
The idea behind learning new skills and knowledge is that it can then be
applied in your work. Here are some ways to make sure new knowledge and
skills are carried over into ‘real life’:
• The members of the group can share at the beginning or end of each
session what they have started doing differently since gaining
knowledge in a specific areas.
• Ask a superior or co-workers if they have noticed a change in the group
members’ professional behaviour and attitudes. Emphasise that you are
not ‘checking up on them’. You are gathering information to find out if
the learning process is successful.
• If the material in the course is different to your organisation’s policies,
discuss this in the group. Try to reach a compromise after reviewing
both points of view.
ENSURING SKILLS ARE APPLIED AT WORK
34
6
Finishing a course
Completing the course with an exam
When your group has worked through the entire book, you can choose to
take a formal 75-question multiple-choice examination. It is not required for
every member of the group to take the exam even if the majority would like
to: it should be an individual choice.
The exam questions are taken from the multiple-choice tests in the book.
The content of the skills chapters and notes will not be included in the
examination.
The exam questions are taken from the chapter tests.
How to request exams
Exam papers can be requested from [email protected]. The exam
paper and answer sheet will be emailed (or posted if necessary) to the group
facilitator.
Please state clearly which course exam you require (this is the same as the
name of the book). It’s best to request the exam paper at least two weeks
before you would like to write the exam.
Email [email protected] to request exams or for help
with exams.
Writing the exam
• As the facilitator, you will need to arrange a venue for the exam. The
venue should have enough tables and chairs for each person writing the
35
FINISHING A COURSE
•
•
•
•
exam to have their own. Each person will also need a pen or pencil and
an exam answer sheet.
You will also need an invigilator who supervises the exam process. If, as
the course facilitator, you have already completed the exam or choose
not to take it, you can act as the exam invigilator. If you have facilitated
the course, but would like to write the exam, you need to arrange for
someone else to act as the invigilator.
The time needed to write the exam is one hour, but writers should arrive
at the venue at least 15 minutes before the exam is due to start so that
they can find a seat, make sure they have everything they need and get
ready to write.
The invigilator should monitor the time and let those writing know
when there are 30 minutes left (half-way) and again when there are only
10 minutes left. A clock in the exam venue is also helpful to the people
who are writing the exam.
When time is up, everyone must hand in their answer sheets to the
invigilator.
An invigilator supervises the exam process. If you are not
writing the exam, you can be the invigilator.
Marking completed exams
The correct answer sheet will be emailed to you, the facilitator, along with
the exam. It must not be looked at before the exam is complete. Once the
exam is complete, the group facilitator should mark the exams immediately
and give the participants their results.
Getting certificates for completed exams
Once the exam has been written, you need to send a list of the names of the
people who wrote the exam, with their mark (out of 75) to
[email protected].
Participants need to achieve at least 80% (60 or more out of 75) in the exam
to qualify for a certificate. Certificates will be sent to the facilitator.
Being a successful facilitator requires initiative and leadership skills.
Because of this, we want to reward our facilitators for the important role
COMPLETING THE COURSE WITH AN EXAM
36
they play in the empowerment and training of healthcare workers. If more
than half of your group members who write the exam qualify for a
certificate, we will also mail you a Bettercare Group Facilitator certificate
acknowledging your leadership capability and commitment to a goal. You
can earn one of these certificates for each different Bettercare course that
you facilitate (e.g. one for Newborn Care and another one for Childhood
HIV).
Participants need to achieve at least 80% (60 or more out of
75) in the exam to qualify for a certificate.
Arranging a certificate-handover
ceremony
Once members of your group have completed the course and passed the
exam, you may want to have a certificate-handover ceremony to honour the
graduates.
A simple certificate-handover ceremony honours those who
successfully complete the course.
The ceremony does not have to be fancy or time-consuming – a simple
handover and public acknowledgement during a morning or lunch break is
fine. If Bettercare graduates would like to invite family or friends to the
ceremony, it helps to make the occasion special. If there is any leftover
money in the budget, you can buy a few snacks for graduates and guests.
Alternatively, you could add this into the budget in the planning stages of
the course.
37
FINISHING A COURSE
The Bettercare exam process
Figure 6-1: The Bettercare exam process
Photographs
We would love to feature photographs of your groups on our website – you
can send photos of your group during your weekly sessions, while doing
PHOTOGRAPHS
38
skills workshops or at the certificate-handover ceremony and we will add
them to our website.
You can email photographs with names to
[email protected] to publish them on our website or
Facebook page.
Updating the course material
Bettercare learning materials are regularly updated to keep up with
developments and changes in healthcare. Feedback from participants helps
us to continuously improve our learning material. You can help by letting us
know about factual or language errors, sections that are difficult to
understand or by suggesting additions to the contents.
Please send comments or suggestions to
[email protected].
Your next Bettercare course
We have an extensive range of Bettercare titles. Once you have completed a
course, look at others that might interest you or your colleagues as we
believe that well-trained healthcare workers are empowered healthcare
workers. Different members at your institution can take turns in being the
group facilitator for different courses.
Explore other Bettercare titles by visiting
www.bettercare.co.za
39
FINISHING A COURSE
7
Contact details
Thank you for using Bettercare. If you have any queries or feedback, or
require assistance with using this material, please contact us.
Bettercare
Website: www.bettercare.co.za
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +27 (0)21 671 1278
Fax: +27 (0)86 219 8093
Editor-in-Chief
Professor Dave Woods
Website: www.pepcourse.co.za
Email: [email protected]
Phone/fax: +27 (0)21 786 5369
Exams
[email protected]
EXAMS
40
8
Templates
In this section you will find templates for:
•
•
•
•
•
•
group contact details
goal-setting
a session-plan template
an external experts contact-details sheet
multiple-choice answer sheets
pre- and post-test record cards.
These templates are meant to make it easier to run a Bettercare group. You
can photocopy these pages for use in your group sessions, planning and
record-keeping in your facilitator’s file. However, you do not have to use
these templates to complete a Bettercare course.
These templates make it easier for you to facilitate a
Bettercare course, but you do not have to use them.
41
TEMPLATES
Group contact details
Course name:
Meeting time:
Name
Phone number
Email address
GROUP CONTACT DETAILS
42
Goal-setting
Goal 1
How will I achieve it?
I will know it is achieved
when…
Goal 2
How will I achieve it?
I will know it is achieved
when…
Goal 3
How will I achieve it?
I will know it is achieved
when…
43
TEMPLATES
Session plan
See chapter 4 for an example.
Chapter title
Date
Introduction
This session is important because…
Learning objectives
Resources
Advance preparation
Schedule (with times)
Total time
SESSION PLAN
44
Guest speakers
Name
Institution and
department
Job title
Phone number
Email address
Reason for contacting
Name
Institution and
department
Job title
Phone number
Email address
Reason for contacting
Name
Institution and
department
Job title
Phone number
Email address
Reason for contacting
45
TEMPLATES
Multiple-choice answer sheet
Each participant needs two answer sheets per chapter: one for the pre-test
and one for the post-test.
Name
Date
Course title
Chapter
Pre-test or post-test?
Circle the most correct answer to each question. You may only circle one
answer for each question.
1. a b
c d
11. a b
c
d
2. a b
c d
12. a b
c
d
3. a b
c d
13. a b
c
d
4. a b
c d
14. a b
c
d
5. a b
c d
15. a b
c
d
6. a b
c d
16. a b
c
d
7. a b
c d
17. a b
c
d
8. a b
c d
18. a b
c
d
9. a b
c d
19. a b
c
d
20. a b
c
d
10. a
b c
d
MULTIPLE-CHOICE ANSWER SHEET
46
Pre- and post-test scores
Fill in pre- and post-test scores for each chapter. You may need two or three,
depending on how many chapters are in your course.
Test scores
Name:
Course:
Chapter:
Pre-test score:
Post-test score:
Chapter:
Pre-test score:
Post-test score:
Chapter:
Pre-test score:
Post-test score:
Chapter:
Pre-test score:
Post-test score:
Chapter:
Pre-test score:
Post-test score:
Chapter:
Pre-test score:
Post-test score:
Chapter:
Pre-test score:
47
TEMPLATES
Post-test score:
Bettercare study group
A facilitator’s guide
We have taken every care to ensure that drug dosages and
related medical advice in this book are accurate. However,
drug and disinfectant dosages can change and are updated
often, so always double-check dosages and procedures
against a reliable, up-to-date formulary and the given drug’s
documentation before administering it.
How to lead a Bettercare study group: A facilitator’s guide
First published in 2012 by Bettercare, a division of Electric Book Works.
Updated 25 Feb 2013, 4 Apr 2014, 1 Nov 2014, 16 April 2015
Text © Electric Book Works
ISBN (paperback): 978-1-920218-68-3
ISBN (PDF ebook): 978-1-920218-69-0
Excluding content explicitly credited to others, this book is published under
a Creative Commons Attribution Non-Commercial No Derivatives License.
For details, see creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nc-nd/4.0.
This licence means you may share, copy and redistribute the material in any
medium or format under the following terms:
• Attribution — You must give appropriate credit, provide a link to the
licence, and indicate if changes were made. You may do so in any
reasonable manner, but not in any way that suggests the licensor
endorses you or your use.
• Non-Commercial — You may not use the material for commercial
purposes.
• No Derivatives — If you remix, transform, or build upon the material,
you may not distribute the modified material.
For any other uses, please contact Electric Book Works.
Contents
Acknowledgements
4
Introduction
5
Dear Facilitator
7
Facilitator’s checklist
9
1 Introduction to studying in groups
11
2 Planning a group
14
3 Starting a group
21
4 Running a group
24
5 Tips for successful group work
32
6 Finishing a course
35
7 Contact details
40
8 Templates
41
Acknowledgements
We would like to thank Dr Elbeth Hoffman from Kidz Positive and Prof
Dave Woods from the Perinatal Education Programme for their contribution
towards this guide.
It was developed with their input by Emma Attwell and Julia Norrish,
assisted by Dezre Little and Arthur Attwell.
With your help, it can be better: please send your comments to
[email protected].
Introduction
About the Bettercare series
Bettercare creates learning programmes for healthcare professionals. A
learning programme is the curriculum and study material you need to run a
course, all in one book. Whether you lead a study group or manage formal
training, our learning programmes make your job simpler and easier.
We have developed these programmes in partnership with renowned
experts and organisations, including the Perinatal Education Trust,
Eduhealthcare, the Desmond Tutu HIV Foundation, the Desmond Tutu TB
Centre, Infection Control Africa Network, Breast Course 4 Nurses and the
Perinatal Mental Health Project.
Our aim is to provide appropriate, affordable and up-to-date learning
material for healthcare workers in under-resourced areas, so that they can
deliver excellent patient care.
The Bettercare methodology is built on the work of the Perinatal Education
Programme (PEP), which has provided learning opportunities to over 60 000
nurses and doctors in South Africa since 1992. Many of the educational
methods developed by PEP are now being adopted by the World Health
Organisation (WHO).
Why decentralised learning?
We believe excellent learning material enables health professionals to set up
and manage their own courses.
Continuing education for health workers traditionally consists of courses
and workshops run by formal trainers at large central hospitals. These
courses are expensive to attend, and are often far away from the health
workers’ families and places of work. And the content often fails to address
the biggest healthcare challenges of poor, rural communities.
5
INTRODUCTION
To help solve these problems, we offer a self-help, decentralised learning
method that addresses the needs of professional healthcare workers,
especially in poor, rural communities.
Contributors
Our learning materials have been developed by multi-disciplinary teams of
nurses, midwives, obstetricians, neonatologists, and general paediatricians.
The development and review of all course material is overseen by the
Editor-in-Chief, emeritus Professor Dave Woods, a previous head of
neonatal medicine at the University of Cape Town who now consults to
UNICEF and the WHO.
Updating the course material
Bettercare learning materials are regularly updated to keep up with
developments and changes in healthcare protocols. Course participants can
make important contributions to the continual improvement of Bettercare
books by reporting factual or language errors, by identifying sections that
are difficult to understand, and by suggesting additions or improvements to
the contents. Details of alternative or better forms of management would be
particularly appreciated. Please send any comments or suggestions to
[email protected].
UPDATING THE COURSE MATERIAL
6
Dear Facilitator
We’ve developed this guide to help you run a Bettercare learning
programme in a study group.
Group learning is a great way for people to update their knowledge and
skills and learn from each other. However, it requires one person to take
responsibility for making sure that the group meets regularly, that people
stay on track, and that the group makes progress: this is your role.
Your role is not to teach or tutor the members of the group. Each member of
the group takes responsibility for their own learning. But you need to
support and encourage each person to participate in the group sessions, so
that they can contribute towards the learning and understanding of the
others. You also need to make sure that everything is in place so that your
group’s sessions can be interesting and productive.
In this guide, you will learn about:
•
•
•
•
•
•
•
what makes group work powerful
starting your group and getting support
goal-setting and managing finances
managing group meetings and tests
keeping participants motivated
exams, certificates and ceremonies
measuring the impact of learning on your daily work.
To help you get started, you’ll find:
• checklists showing exactly which steps to take when
• template forms for planning and running your group.
This guide describes the best way to run a Bettercare study group, but we
understand that it will take practise to develop all the skills of a great
facilitator. You may not get everything right the first time, but don’t let that
stop you from running more courses. The most important thing is that your
study group is supportive of the learning process.
It takes practise to develop all the skills of a great facilitator.
7
DEAR FACILITATOR
Being a good facilitator requires initiative and leadership skills. Because of
this, we want to reward our facilitators for the important role they play in
the empowerment and training of healthcare workers. If more than half of
your group members who write the exam qualify for a certificate, we will
also mail you a Bettercare Facilitator certificate acknowledging your
leadership capability and commitment to a goal. You can earn one of these
certificates for each different Bettercare course that you facilitate (e.g. one
for Newborn Care and another one for Childhood HIV).
If you have any questions or need help with any aspect of the group
learning process, please contact us. You can email [email protected] or
call +27 21 671 1278.
Best wishes
The Bettercare Team
CONTACT US
8
Checklists
Before the first group meeting
☐ Identify needs for training at your institution.
☐ Decide which need is the most urgent (you can get input from other
staff members here).
☐ Choose an appropriate Bettercare course.
☐ Draw up a training budget.
☐ Get stakeholder buy-in.
☐ Advertise the course.
☐ Hold a preliminary information session about the Bettercare course you
will run.
☐ Sign up group members (about 5–10) and get their contact details.
☐ Organise how you will read the books (online for free or order print
versions).
☐ Contact everyone to say when and where the first official meeting will
be held.
☐ Start a ‘Facilitator’s File’ (a flip-file is an easy and neat option) where
you keep copies of templates, notes and important documents.
At the first group meeting
☐ Let group members introduce themselves.
☐ Introduce and discuss what decentralised learning means.
☐ Make group rules that everyone agrees with.
☐ Establish goals that everyone shares.
☐ Explain how the learning programme works.
☐ Explain your role in the group (not a teacher, but a facilitator).
☐ Decide how, when and where future group meetings will happen.
☐ Decide if you will write the exam at the end of the course (you can
change your mind).
☐ Choose a treasurer (who will monitor the budget and finances).
9
CHECKLISTS
Before every group meeting
☐ All group members must read the relevant chapter.
☐ Create the lesson plan (see Chapter 4: How to run a Bettercare group).
☐ Make sure you have all the resources you need for the meeting.
☐ Organise someone to demonstrate the skill if needed.
☐ Send out a reminder SMS to all group members of session venue and
time.
At group meetings
☐ Discuss difficult sections of the chapter you have all studied the
previous week.
☐ Go through the chapter case studies.
☐ Have a demonstration and discussion of the relevant skill.
☐ Everyone does the post-test for the chapter you have studied and
discussed.
☐ Everyone marks and records the pre- and post-tests.
☐ Everyone completes the pre-test for the next chapter.
After completing the chapters
☐ Decide who will write the exam (including yourself).
☐ Email [email protected] to request as many exams as you need.
☐ If you will be writing the exam, organise an exam invigilator.
☐ Write the one-hour, 75-question exam.
☐ Notify Bettercare of the participants’ results.
☐ Receive certificates.
☐ If 50% of your group are successful in the exam, you will receive a
facilitator’s certificate.
☐ Arrange a certificate handover ceremony if possible.
☐ Take a group photo and send to [email protected].
AFTER COMPLETING THE CHAPTERS
10
1
Introduction to
studying in groups
What is group learning?
Small group learning is an ideal way for people to
• learn from each other
• test out new knowledge and clinical skills
• practise teamwork and improve their people skills.
Learning in a group is about teamwork. It is about moving forward towards
a common goal. In a Bettercare study group, a common goal is to complete
the Bettercare course you have all chosen to do and to learn more about that
area of healthcare.
Everyone has worked in a group before:
• At home, you work as a group to keep the house clean and to prepare
meals.
• At school, you worked in groups to complete projects or prepare for
exams.
Every member of the group is important, but someone needs to lead the
others and make it easier for the group to keep on track. This is your role as
the facilitator.
Group work is about team work and moving towards a
common goal.
11
INTRODUCTION TO STUDYING IN GROUPS
Why is it good to learn in a group?
Group learning helps people develop:
•
•
•
•
•
•
people skills
problem-solving skills
presentation skills
communication skills
listening skills
an appreciation for other people’s views.
These skills are difficult to learn on your own. They are also very important
skills to have if you have a job in healthcare.
What does the group facilitator do?
The facilitator is not a tutor. You will not be teaching the group members.
Every member should take responsibility for their own learning and should
work through the chapters of the book on their own.
Your role is:
• To make it easier for group members to talk about and understand
concepts they struggle with.
• To make it easier for group members to share their knowledge and
experience.
• To make sure all the practical arrangements for the course are taken care
of.
The facilitator is not a tutor or a teacher. Every participant
takes responsibility for their own learning.
Ideally, managing and facilitating a Bettercare course should be part of your
routine duties in your environment. For this, you will need to get the
permission of the authorities at your clinic or hospital.
WHAT DOES THE GROUP FACILITATOR DO?
12
What makes a group successful?
There are four important elements for successful group learning:
• Trust – members must feel safe in the group.
• Sharing – members must feel able to share their knowledge, skills and
experience with the rest of the group.
• Interdependence – members must work together to achieve the goals of
the group.
• Accountability – each member of the group must contribute to the
process.
Trust, sharing, interdependence and accountability make
group work successful.
13
INTRODUCTION TO STUDYING IN GROUPS
2
Planning a group
Identifying a need
If you are reading this guide, you have already identified a need for extra
training at your organisation. A need comes from a problem or a gap that
needs to be filled. It is important to know more about that gap, and whether
training will help to fill it, or if some other means is necessary. You also
need to decide which learning areas need attention the most.
Here are five steps to identifying training needs:
1. Identify the job expectations of your group members
You can get this information from:
• the employees’ job descriptions
• observing what staff have to deal with on a day-to-day basis
• asking staff what they are required to do.
2. Compare actual employee performance with job expectations
• Are staff able to do what is required of them?
• If they are not doing what is required of them, is the problem that they
do not know how?
• Is the problem that they do not have time?
• Is the problem that they do not want to?
• Is the problem that they do not have the right equipment or resources?
Often, there are many reasons for a gap between what people are expected
to do and what they are able to do. The solution to this needs to take all of
these factors into account. Training on its own can be a solution, but it can
also be only part of the solution.
IDENTIFYING A NEED
14
3. Hold a meeting to discuss training needs
Invite staff to a meeting. Ask each person to bring a list of their top five
training needs (what they need to know more about to make their job
easier). Talk about everyone’s lists and your own observations.
4. Put training needs into groups
Put the training needs identified in the meeting into categories. For
example:
•
•
•
•
HIV care and management
maternal care
newborn care
infection prevention and control, etc
5. Prioritise training needs
With the group, decide which training needs are the most urgent. For
example, if you have many HIV-positive patients it makes sense that
training on their care and management is urgent. If you have many
pregnant mothers seeking medical help, perinatal care is important.
The group learns best when the chosen course matches their
real training needs.
Choosing the right course
After you have identified the most urgent need, you need to choose a course
that meets that need. It is important to make sure that the course covers the
essential knowledge and clinical skills required for your particular work
setting.
Look through our learning programme books, the online catalogue or call us
on +27 (0)21 671 1278. Compare the needs you identified to the training
material available. Which course best meets the needs you identified?
15
PLANNING A GROUP
From here, you can make a training schedule to show which courses are
most important and should be done first and which can wait until later.
Getting stakeholder buy-in
A stakeholder is anyone who has interest or concern in an organization or
service. At a hospital or clinic, the stakeholders would be
•
•
•
•
the community (who use the service)
the hospital management (who set policies and manage finances)
the staff (who provide the service)
the local or provincial government (who fund the service).
You need to make sure you have the support of these people to successfully
implement your training programme (e.g. getting permission to hold group
meetings during work hours or for finances to buy books and pay for the
exam).
A stakeholder is anyone who has interest or concern in an
organization or service.
To do that, you must clearly describe:
•
•
•
•
what the training need is
how the training programme will meet the need
the logistics (e.g. time off, a room to meet in)
what you need from the stakeholder (e.g. finances, permission, support,
help with logistics)
• the costs involved (e.g. to buy learning materials and pay for the exams).
If you have identified the training need well, you can make a good argument
for why training is important, and have the support of staff and the
community.
GETTING STAKEHOLDER BUY-IN
16
A training budget
If you have to buy books for the group members, you will need to make a
budget. Some hospitals and clinics will pay for learning materials for their
staff, but you need to give them a clear budget for how much the materials
will cost and any other costs you might have.
If you need a formal quote for books, please contact us at
[email protected] or call us at 021 671 1278 and we will give you a
formal estimate. If the participants have to buy their own books, you can
give them information about how much the books will cost, collect the
money and order and pay for the books at once.
However, you do not need to buy the books to do a Bettercare course
because you can read all our books online, for free: go to
www.bettercare.co.za. You only need to pay if you want to write the exam at
the end of the course to get a certificate.
You might have other costs besides the books.
• If you want to have refreshments at your meetings, you need to put this
in the budget you submit to your institution. You can delegate the task
of buying the refreshments to different group members each week.
• If you want to give a small gift to the people who demonstrate the skills
workshops or if you need to pay for their transport, this also needs to be
in the budget.
• Airtime for your cellphone will also need to be in the budget, because
you need to be able to contact the group members at least once a week.
• Photocopying and printing needs to be in the budget because there are
various materials that need to be printed or photocopied for each
session.
As the facilitator, you do not have to manage the finances. The group can
choose someone who likes working with numbers to manage money and
the training budget. Group finances should be transparent: this means that
everyone in the group should know how much money is in the budget and
how it is being spent. Always keep till slips, invoices and a record of all
expenses.
17
PLANNING A GROUP
A well-structured training budget will increase the chance of
buy-in from stakeholders.
Example training budget
Budget for Bettercare Learning Programme
Course name:
Proposed dates of course:
Budget Item
Cost:
1. Books for 10 members
R160 x 10 = R1 600
2.Refreshments
R30 x 14 = R420
R30 per meeting.
12 chapters, therefore 12 meetings plus first meeting
and certificate ceremony. 14 meetings in total.
3. Exam admin fee for 10 members
R100 x 10 = R1 000
4. Gifts for skills demonstrators
R20 x 4 = R80
Four skills chapters in the book, therefore four gifts
needed.
5. Airtime for facilitator
R1.00 x 14 x 10 = R140
14 meetings in total x 10 members x R1.00/sms
Total:
R 3240
Advertising
The next step is getting people to join your study group. There are many
ways of doing this:
•
•
•
•
word of mouth
putting up posters inviting people to join the group
handing out flyers at your facility
inviting people face-to-face.
It is best to first invite people to an informational meeting where you
discuss what the training involves, where it will take place and any costs
ADVERTISING
18
involved e.g. do group members have to buy their own books? That way,
people know what they are getting into before they commit themselves to
the group. It would be helpful if at this meeting you describe what group
learning is about (discussed in Chapter 1) and emphasise that each group
member takes responsibility for their own learning (working through the
course book).
First invite interested people to an informational meeting.
Participant requirements
If you require anything specific of your future group members, you must
explain this at the first informational meeting. These requirements could be:
• job category (e.g. enrolled nurse, registered nurse, CHW, medical officer,
etc.)
• prior experience
• current responsibilities.
Some Bettercare programmes are better suited to some job categories than
to others. However, you don’t have to be currently employed to do a
Bettercare learning programme.
Anyone can do a Bettercare learning programme.
Group size
Collaborative learning works best in small groups of 5 to 10 members.
This gives every member the opportunity to contribute to the group and
share their knowledge, skills and experience. It also allows group members
to get to know each other better, encourage each other and support each
other in the workplace.
19
PLANNING A GROUP
Group learning works best in groups of 5 to 10 members.
Group learning is based on sharing, discussion and teamwork, and this
happens more easily in smaller groups.
Group location
It is easier to form a group of participants from the same institution. This
way:
• Group members don’t have to travel to get to the group meetings.
• Group members can support each other and share their new skills and
knowledge with their fellow group members on the job.
If your institution is small and there are not many people in the same job
category, you might have to invite people from other clinics or hospitals
nearby. The advantage is that they will have different experiences and this
can stimulate discussion and help to understand the topic more deeply.
To run the group, you will need to find a venue that everyone can reach
easily. You could book one of the staff rooms or offices at your workplace if
group sessions are going to be during work hours or directly before or after
work hours. Make sure it has enough seating for the members of the group
and enough light and fresh air. You could get permission to put relevant
posters and charts on the walls to make the space more interesting.
Find a venue that everyone can reach easily.
If your group sessions are after hours, you could meet in a group member’s
home. Group members could take turns to host the sessions in their homes.
If possible, you could have a roster for providing tea, coffee and biscuits for
the group.
GROUP LOCATION
20
3
Starting a group
Group meeting times
The first thing you need to decide on once you have formed a group is what
time the group will meet. Group sessions should be at regular intervals and
often enough to keep participants focused and on track.
We recommend that each meeting concerns one chapter of the book and
that these meetings happen once a week or once every two weeks.
Once you have formed a group, you need to decide together
on a regular meeting time. Once a week, if possible, is ideal.
Although group meetings need to be regular, you should be flexible.
People’s work schedules may change, or they may have other commitments
that come up. You should find a way to communicate with all group
members about changing meeting times and venues. SMS messages or a
Whatsapp group are a convenient and cheap way to do this, so make sure
you have everyone’s cellphone numbers (find a template ‘Group Members
Contact List’ at the end of this guide).
Remember the group should decide together on a meeting time that suits
everyone and fits into your work schedule. If you have 10 or more people
wanting to do the course, you can split the group in two and have two
different meeting times (e.g. a morning group and an afternoon group).
You will also need to get permission from the authorities at your institution
if the group meeting time is during working hours or if you want to use a
venue at work for the meetings.
21
STARTING A GROUP
How to get the books
• You can read all our books online for free. Visit www.bettercare.co.za
• You can order print versions of all our books by emailing:
[email protected]
• All our books are also available as ebooks on Amazon.
Visit www.bettercare.co.za for more information.
Preparing for skills demonstrations
Some of our books include skills chapters. These work best if you have
someone who knows the skill well to demonstrate it to the group. There
should also be an opportunity for the group members to practise the skill at
the group meeting.
The first step is to find a person who has that particular skill and is willing
to demonstrate it to the group. This could be an experienced co-worker, a
visiting mentor or someone from a different job category. It is more
convenient if the person is from the same institution as yourself, but if that
is not possible, you can invite someone from a nearby health facility. When
you invite someone, you need to be clear about what they have to do. Give
them a copy of the skills chapter they will be covering, and remember to
give them clear information about the time and place of the meeting,
preferably in writing. If you like, you can give the demonstrator a small gift
to show your appreciation. A card signed by the group members is
meaningful and doesn’t cost a lot of money (remember to include this in
your budget).
Find a person who has that particular skill and is willing to
demonstrate it to the group.
Often the skills demonstrations require resources (e.g. medical equipment, a
dummy or medical charts). Make a list of these requirements in advance and
PREPARING FOR SKILLS DEMONSTRATIONS
22
make a plan to ensure you have all the necessary resources for a successful
workshop. You can delegate this task to someone in the group. Group
members can take turns to get the resources together for the skills
workshops.
Establishing goals
Establish everyone’s goals for the course during the first meeting. An easy
way to do this is for each person to introduce themselves and then give a
brief explanation of their work day, and what they hope to learn during this
course. You can then select two or three of the common goals and write
them down for easy reference as the course goes on. It helps to motivate
participants if the goals are written down on a large piece of paper or
cardboard and stuck on the wall of the meeting room.
Select common goals and write them somewhere participants
will be able to see as the course goes on.
Each group member may like to write down their own, personal goals for
the course, and keep track of how they are progressing in achieving their
goal. You can use the template at the end of this guide to record your group
and personal goals.
23
STARTING A GROUP
4
Running a group
Establishing group rules
In your first meeting, you will need to establish some group rules. It’s best if
the group members decide on the rules together. Ask the group members to
give you some ideas of group rules. Discuss these and write them down.
Some examples of rules could be:
• Group members must attend sessions and excuse themselves if they
cannot attend.
• Members must respect different opinions and viewpoints.
• Members must listen to others in the group.
• No one should interrupt or talk over other group members.
• Debate is good, arguing is not.
• All members must prepare for group sessions.
• Everyone should participate in group discussions by listening and
sharing.
Write the rules down on a large piece of paper and display them on the wall
if possible (you can put the rules up at the beginning of the session and take
them down at the end).
In your first meeting, all group members should establish
group rules that everyone agrees with.
ESTABLISHING GROUP RULES
24
How Bettercare learning programmes
work
In the first meeting, the group must read through the introduction carefully.
Take time to discuss:
• what decentralised, on-site learning is,
• each person’s role in the group, and
• how the course and books work.
All group members should understand what group learning is
before starting a Bettercare course.
As a group, it is also useful to discuss at the first meeting if you would all
like to take the final exam or not, but this decision does not have to be final.
You can change your mind later.
How the books work
Objectives
These are listed at the beginning of each chapter. They highlight the most
important lessons to be learned in the chapter.
Pre- and post-tests
There is a multiple-choice test of 20 questions for each chapter provided at
the end of the book. Participants should:
• Do the test before studying each chapter (use the ‘Multiple choice
answer sheet’ template at the back of the book).
• Do not look at the answers or mark their test yet.
• Do the test again after they have studied the chapter (using a new
‘Multiple choice answer sheet’).
25
RUNNING A GROUP
You can do the tests on a computer or phone by going to
bettercare.co.za and selecting the Learning Station.
When both tests have been completed, each participant can look up the
correct answers and mark their own pre- and post tests. If any answers in
the post test are wrong, participants should study those sections of the
chapter again and repeat the test before moving on to the next chapter.
You should all discuss the difficult sections of that chapter in the group
meeting each week. Each chapter needs to be studied and understood before
moving on to the next chapter. Some chapters may require more than one
meeting to make sure everyone fully understands. Some chapters are very
short and you may be able to discuss two in one meeting.
Group members should keep track of their pre- and post-test results to track
their learning. It is important that participants take responsibility for
assessing their own progress through the book. You will find a template at
the back of this guide that can be used for keeping track of pre- and post
test scores.
Group members should keep track of their pre- and post-test
results.
Notes
Notes, in smaller writing, give non-essential information. This is for the
participants’ interest. These facts are not used in the case studies, multiplechoice tests or the exam.
NOTE
Notes are shown like this.
Important lessons and key concepts
Important lessons are shown like this.
HOW THE BOOKS WORK
26
Case studies
Each chapter ends with a few case studies. These help participants to apply
what they have learned in the chapter. The case studies give the participant
the opportunity to see a problem as it usually presents itself in real life. You
can go through these case studies and the answers to them in your group
sessions. Group members can take turns in reading the case studies aloud
and others can answer the questions.
Practical training
Skills workshops are very useful for a practical example of how the skills
you learn in a Bettercare course are used. Skills workshops are not
examined in the final exam, but you may want to arrange your own tests
moderated by a senior medical or nursing colleague.
Final examination
When you and participants have finished the course, for a fee you can take a
75-question multiple-choice exam. If you pass you will receive a certificate
of completion in the post. This certificate proves that you have completed
the Bettercare course for which you studied. You can take the exam as many
times as you like.
If you and your group are interested in writing the exams, please email
[email protected] and we will send you the exam and instructions.
You can read more about the exam process in Chapter 6:
Finishing a course.
Planning for group sessions
It’s helpful to have a predictable structure for each group session. You can
do this by making a simple session plan. A session plan is a list of the steps
you will follow in the session. The main parts of a session plan are:
• an introduction that describes why the session is important or useful
• the learning objectives
27
RUNNING A GROUP
•
•
•
•
a schedule or list showing the order of activities
a list of resources needed for the session
a description of what needs to be prepared in advance
the time each activity should take
Example session plan
Chapter title Newborn Care, Chapter 3: The routine care of normal infants
Date
14 March 2015
Introduction This session is important because: it is essential to be able to tell the
difference between a normal newborn infant and an infant that needs more
specialised care to prevent complications from happening.
Learning
By the end of the session, participants should be able to:
objectives
Manage a normal infant at delivery.
Assess a newborn infant after delivery.
Give routine care to a healthy infant.
Advise a mother about the care of a normal infant.
Appreciate the importance of the road-to-health booklet.
Resources
Qualified doctor to present skills workshop (only necessary for skills chapters)
Photos/videos of normal infants
Pens and paper
Advance
Invite doctor to present and demonstrate (only necessary for skills chapters)
preparation Obtain infant model or get permission and consent for demonstration on an
infant in the newborn nursery
Schedule
1. Discuss what has been studied before the session. (30 minutes)
(with times) 2. Skills workshop. (20 minutes)
3. Post-test multiple-choice and mark pre- and post tests. (20 minutes)
4. Pre-test multiple-choice for next section. (10 minutes)
Total time
80 minutes
Keep your session plan short and simple. You can use the
session plan template in Chapter 8 as a guide.
PLANNING FOR GROUP SESSIONS
28
Inviting resource people
Occasionally you will need to invite a co-worker to give a demonstration or
a talk to the group. Try to get to know the various health professionals who
have expertise in the area of healthcare that you are studying. Ideally find
people at your own facility or at nearby clinics and hospitals. You can ask
co-workers to refer you to people who have helped them in the past or who
are particularly knowledgeable. Make a note of these people and their
contact details in your diary or facilitator’s file. You can use the template at
the end of this guide to keep a record of contact details.
You can contact resource people via email, phone or in person. It is often
easiest and quickest to speak to someone in person or on the phone, so you
can answer any questions they might have immediately and give them a
clear explanation of what you need them to do.
Contact someone in person or on the phone when inviting
them to do a skills demonstration.
When you invite someone, you need to be clear about what they have to do.
Give/send them a copy of the skills workshop they will be covering, and
remember to give them clear information about the time and place of the
meeting. Give the resource person a reminder phone call the day before.
If you like, you can give the demonstrator a small gift to show your
appreciation. A card signed by the members of the group is meaningful and
doesn’t cost a lot of money. This would need to be included in your initial
training budget.
When you invite guest speakers, be very clear about what they
have to do.
29
RUNNING A GROUP
Preparing for group sessions
Each member of the group studies the material that is going to be covered
before the session. As the facilitator, you must study the material too. The
group members can make a list of questions they would like to discuss in
the meeting and note any sections they found difficult.
As the facilitator, you must also study the chapter to be
discussed in that session.
Make sure you have everything you will need in the session, for example,
equipment you need for the demonstrations.
Using the multiple-choice tests
All participants, including the facilitator, do the pre-test at the end of the
meeting before you study the next chapter. You then all do the post-test
after you have discussed the chapter at the next meeting and learnt from
one another. When both tests have been completed, each participant should
look up the correct answers and mark their own pre- and post-test. If any
answers are wrong in the post-test, participants should study those sections
of the chapter again by themselves and repeat the test before moving on to
the next chapter. A participant might ask for your help after a meeting if
they find a chapter very difficult. If you have the time, set up an individual
meeting with them to go through what they are struggling with. You could
also refer them to a participant who did well in that particular chapter.
All participants, including the facilitator, do the pre-test at the
end of the meeting before you study the next chapter.
Discuss the pre- and post-test results in the group. They will help you to
identify which sections need more work. However, results are personal and
if an individual does not want to share this information, they should not be
forced to.
USING THE MULTIPLE-CHOICE TESTS
30
You then all do the post-test after you have discussed the
chapter at the next meeting and learnt from one another.
You can photocopy the template multiple-choice test answer sheets at the
end of this guide. Participants will need two answer sheets for each chapter
(one for the pre-test and one for the post-test).
Participants also need to record their pre- and post-test scores to see if they
are improving. A template scorecard can be found at the back of the book.
Figure 4-1: Using the multiple-choice tests
31
RUNNING A GROUP
5
Tips for successful
group work
How do I keep my group members
motivated?
Group members need to stay motivated to achieve their goals. When a
course runs over a long period of time, it is easy to lose motivation. Here are
some ways to keep members motivated.
• Get group members to keep a learning journal. In their journal they can
briefly record what they have learned and, more importantly, how they
have applied their new knowledge and skills in the workplace. They can
share these experiences with the group at the beginning or end of each
session. Hearing how other people have grown is very motivational, as
is seeing your own progress.
• Record (in your facilitator’s file) the group members’ post-test scores on
the multiple-choice tests. You can have a ‘top achiever’ of the week.
Name the top achiever and let the group congratulate him or her. If you
have the time and resources, you could make a certificate that you give
to him or her.
• You could do the same for the most improved participant each week.
• Remind the group of the goals you set together at the beginning of the
process. As a group, talk about how far you are in meeting those goals,
and if any of those goals have changed.
A learning journal, goals and small rewards help participants
stay motivated throughout the course.
HOW DO I KEEP MY GROUP MEMBERS MOTIVATED?
32
How do I keep the course interesting?
Participants stay motivated when what they are learning is presented in an
interesting way and when they feel they are part of the process.
Here are some more ideas to keep participants interested:
• Create slideshows of the key points in the chapter. Include photos,
images, graphs, video clips, sound bites, newspaper clippings, etc.
Youtube is a great resource for educational videos.
• Show and tell: If you can, bring examples of items discussed in the
chapter, such as empty medicine containers, equipment, X-rays, etc.
• Bring in help: You can arrange for experienced medical or nursing
colleagues to visit your group and do demonstrations or ten-minute
lessons covering a section. Group members can then ask questions and
gain clarity on difficult topics.
• Case studies: Ask one group member each week to prepare a case study
from one of their actual patients for everyone else in the group to learn
from.
• Role-playing: You can ask group members to play out nurse–patient
scenarios described in the book, and then get feedback from the rest of
the group members on what was done correctly, and what could have
been done better.
• If you have access to the Internet and a projector, you can use the
learning station - bettercare.co.za/learningstation - to display the section
of the book, figure or photo that you are discussing for everyone to see.
There are also videos at the end of some of the chapters which you could
show to the group.
Using other resources like videos keeps the course interesting.
Remember to include all group members in presenting information to the
group. For example, the participants can:
• Take turns to present case studies from their own experience.
33
TIPS FOR SUCCESSFUL GROUP WORK
• Help with session preparation by bringing the necessary equipment for
demonstrations.
• Identify and invite resource people to present to the group.
Including each group member in presenting information to the
group and in giving examples from their work will help all
participants to feel involved and interested in the course.
Each member of the group contributes to the success of the group as a
whole. At the same time, they are all responsible for their own learning.
Ensuring skills are applied at work
The idea behind learning new skills and knowledge is that it can then be
applied in your work. Here are some ways to make sure new knowledge and
skills are carried over into ‘real life’:
• The members of the group can share at the beginning or end of each
session what they have started doing differently since gaining
knowledge in a specific areas.
• Ask a superior or co-workers if they have noticed a change in the group
members’ professional behaviour and attitudes. Emphasise that you are
not ‘checking up on them’. You are gathering information to find out if
the learning process is successful.
• If the material in the course is different to your organisation’s policies,
discuss this in the group. Try to reach a compromise after reviewing
both points of view.
ENSURING SKILLS ARE APPLIED AT WORK
34
6
Finishing a course
Completing the course with an exam
When your group has worked through the entire book, you can choose to
take a formal 75-question multiple-choice examination. It is not required for
every member of the group to take the exam even if the majority would like
to: it should be an individual choice.
The exam questions are taken from the multiple-choice tests in the book.
The content of the skills chapters and notes will not be included in the
examination.
The exam questions are taken from the chapter tests.
How to request exams
Exam papers can be requested from [email protected]. The exam
paper and answer sheet will be emailed (or posted if necessary) to the group
facilitator.
Please state clearly which course exam you require (this is the same as the
name of the book). It’s best to request the exam paper at least two weeks
before you would like to write the exam.
Email [email protected] to request exams or for help
with exams.
Writing the exam
• As the facilitator, you will need to arrange a venue for the exam. The
venue should have enough tables and chairs for each person writing the
35
FINISHING A COURSE
•
•
•
•
exam to have their own. Each person will also need a pen or pencil and
an exam answer sheet.
You will also need an invigilator who supervises the exam process. If, as
the course facilitator, you have already completed the exam or choose
not to take it, you can act as the exam invigilator. If you have facilitated
the course, but would like to write the exam, you need to arrange for
someone else to act as the invigilator.
The time needed to write the exam is one hour, but writers should arrive
at the venue at least 15 minutes before the exam is due to start so that
they can find a seat, make sure they have everything they need and get
ready to write.
The invigilator should monitor the time and let those writing know
when there are 30 minutes left (half-way) and again when there are only
10 minutes left. A clock in the exam venue is also helpful to the people
who are writing the exam.
When time is up, everyone must hand in their answer sheets to the
invigilator.
An invigilator supervises the exam process. If you are not
writing the exam, you can be the invigilator.
Marking completed exams
The correct answer sheet will be emailed to you, the facilitator, along with
the exam. It must not be looked at before the exam is complete. Once the
exam is complete, the group facilitator should mark the exams immediately
and give the participants their results.
Getting certificates for completed exams
Once the exam has been written, you need to send a list of the names of the
people who wrote the exam, with their mark (out of 75) to
[email protected].
Participants need to achieve at least 80% (60 or more out of 75) in the exam
to qualify for a certificate. Certificates will be sent to the facilitator.
Being a successful facilitator requires initiative and leadership skills.
Because of this, we want to reward our facilitators for the important role
COMPLETING THE COURSE WITH AN EXAM
36
they play in the empowerment and training of healthcare workers. If more
than half of your group members who write the exam qualify for a
certificate, we will also mail you a Bettercare Group Facilitator certificate
acknowledging your leadership capability and commitment to a goal. You
can earn one of these certificates for each different Bettercare course that
you facilitate (e.g. one for Newborn Care and another one for Childhood
HIV).
Participants need to achieve at least 80% (60 or more out of
75) in the exam to qualify for a certificate.
Arranging a certificate-handover
ceremony
Once members of your group have completed the course and passed the
exam, you may want to have a certificate-handover ceremony to honour the
graduates.
A simple certificate-handover ceremony honours those who
successfully complete the course.
The ceremony does not have to be fancy or time-consuming – a simple
handover and public acknowledgement during a morning or lunch break is
fine. If Bettercare graduates would like to invite family or friends to the
ceremony, it helps to make the occasion special. If there is any leftover
money in the budget, you can buy a few snacks for graduates and guests.
Alternatively, you could add this into the budget in the planning stages of
the course.
37
FINISHING A COURSE
The Bettercare exam process
Figure 6-1: The Bettercare exam process
Photographs
We would love to feature photographs of your groups on our website – you
can send photos of your group during your weekly sessions, while doing
PHOTOGRAPHS
38
skills workshops or at the certificate-handover ceremony and we will add
them to our website.
You can email photographs with names to
[email protected] to publish them on our website or
Facebook page.
Updating the course material
Bettercare learning materials are regularly updated to keep up with
developments and changes in healthcare. Feedback from participants helps
us to continuously improve our learning material. You can help by letting us
know about factual or language errors, sections that are difficult to
understand or by suggesting additions to the contents.
Please send comments or suggestions to
[email protected].
Your next Bettercare course
We have an extensive range of Bettercare titles. Once you have completed a
course, look at others that might interest you or your colleagues as we
believe that well-trained healthcare workers are empowered healthcare
workers. Different members at your institution can take turns in being the
group facilitator for different courses.
Explore other Bettercare titles by visiting
www.bettercare.co.za
39
FINISHING A COURSE
7
Contact details
Thank you for using Bettercare. If you have any queries or feedback, or
require assistance with using this material, please contact us.
Bettercare
Website: www.bettercare.co.za
Email: [email protected]
Phone: +27 (0)21 671 1278
Fax: +27 (0)86 219 8093
Editor-in-Chief
Professor Dave Woods
Website: www.pepcourse.co.za
Email: [email protected]
Phone/fax: +27 (0)21 786 5369
Exams
[email protected]
EXAMS
40
8
Templates
In this section you will find templates for:
•
•
•
•
•
•
group contact details
goal-setting
a session-plan template
an external experts contact-details sheet
multiple-choice answer sheets
pre- and post-test record cards.
These templates are meant to make it easier to run a Bettercare group. You
can photocopy these pages for use in your group sessions, planning and
record-keeping in your facilitator’s file. However, you do not have to use
these templates to complete a Bettercare course.
These templates make it easier for you to facilitate a
Bettercare course, but you do not have to use them.
41
TEMPLATES
Group contact details
Course name:
Meeting time:
Name
Phone number
Email address
GROUP CONTACT DETAILS
42
Goal-setting
Goal 1
How will I achieve it?
I will know it is achieved
when…
Goal 2
How will I achieve it?
I will know it is achieved
when…
Goal 3
How will I achieve it?
I will know it is achieved
when…
43
TEMPLATES
Session plan
See chapter 4 for an example.
Chapter title
Date
Introduction
This session is important because…
Learning objectives
Resources
Advance preparation
Schedule (with times)
Total time
SESSION PLAN
44
Guest speakers
Name
Institution and
department
Job title
Phone number
Email address
Reason for contacting
Name
Institution and
department
Job title
Phone number
Email address
Reason for contacting
Name
Institution and
department
Job title
Phone number
Email address
Reason for contacting
45
TEMPLATES
Multiple-choice answer sheet
Each participant needs two answer sheets per chapter: one for the pre-test
and one for the post-test.
Name
Date
Course title
Chapter
Pre-test or post-test?
Circle the most correct answer to each question. You may only circle one
answer for each question.
1. a b
c d
11. a b
c
d
2. a b
c d
12. a b
c
d
3. a b
c d
13. a b
c
d
4. a b
c d
14. a b
c
d
5. a b
c d
15. a b
c
d
6. a b
c d
16. a b
c
d
7. a b
c d
17. a b
c
d
8. a b
c d
18. a b
c
d
9. a b
c d
19. a b
c
d
20. a b
c
d
10. a
b c
d
MULTIPLE-CHOICE ANSWER SHEET
46
Pre- and post-test scores
Fill in pre- and post-test scores for each chapter. You may need two or three,
depending on how many chapters are in your course.
Test scores
Name:
Course:
Chapter:
Pre-test score:
Post-test score:
Chapter:
Pre-test score:
Post-test score:
Chapter:
Pre-test score:
Post-test score:
Chapter:
Pre-test score:
Post-test score:
Chapter:
Pre-test score:
Post-test score:
Chapter:
Pre-test score:
Post-test score:
Chapter:
Pre-test score:
47
TEMPLATES
Post-test score:
