Need to Know versus Nice to Know:

1. Need to KnowversusNice to Know: Your Guide to Surviving Teaching Years 1-3 Instructors Forum 2011 San Antonio, Texas Dana Grafft, CST, BOE Kevin Craycraft, CST

2. So You Got The Job�.NOW WHAT?

3. �Need to Know� Items�. Consist of content items that: Are required by the Core Curriculum Must be covered in greater detail Are NECESSARY FOR SURVIVAL (or in this case�EMPLOYMENT!) Establish fundamental knowledge

4. �Nice to Know� Items�. Consist of content items that: Still should be covered, but in less detail Knowledge that makes the student more �well-rounded.� �Someday, I�m going to have time to add that.� Are �nice to know� but are not essential for SURVIVAL.

5. Need to Know: Who to Call AST-membership/main resource Educational items/CEU�s Workshops/conference www.ast.org ARCSTSA-program accreditation Standards and guidelines Annual reports/Site Visits www.arcst.org NBSTSA-certification Certification/Credential Maintenance Graduate testing www.nbstsa.org

6. Nice to Know: Who to Call Find a mentor!!! Within your facility Within your state Within your national organization DON�T REINVENT THE WHEEL!! Network in your state and nationally �A lot of people have gone further than they thought they could because someone else thought they could.� ~ Unknown

7. Need to Know: Curriculum The Core Curriculum will provide you with an outline of content and objectives. If it is contained within the �core� it must be covered in your program. Should ensure the achievement of program goals and learning domains. Break the core into a curriculum list that contains: courses, syllabi and lesson plans with timeframes.

8. Nice to Know: Curriculum If it is in there, you have to cover it; but the Core Curriculum doesn�t prescribe how long you have to spend teaching each content item. While you might be new to curriculum layout, you are not new to the profession of Surgical Technology, therefore, YOU are very valuable and have a lot to offer these students.

9. Need to Know: Accreditation Notify the ARCSTSA about: Your appointment to Program Director within 30 days! Email correspondence Any change related to classroom, clinical sites, laboratory, offices, program administration or student facilities. Pretty much EVERYTHING. Annual Report SIG�s will SAVE YOU! Honestly, get on the phone and ask ?�s!

10. Nice to Know: Accreditation ARCSTSA is there to help you and they are not the Gestapo! Remind me I said that when I get my site visit ? Your FIRST priority is to your STUDENTS in the CLASSROOM. If you aren�t doing something right, you will get a chance to fix it�.they haven�t shut any of us down yet!

11. Need to Know: Annual Report Outcomes Based Assessment in 5 areas: Retention/Attrition Graduate Placement Employer Satisfaction Graduate Satisfaction CST Exam (formerly Program Assessment Exam) Established benchmarks Serves as your reporting tool annually to the ARCSTSA

12. Nice to Know: Annual Report Get creative. Survey results are survey results: Facebook graduates Call or text them Due once per year in the spring (like taxes, just do it and get it over with) If you are below benchmark, create an action plan for improvement, they will not come and get you.

13. Need to Know: Recruiting Admission Process Application to College and/or Program. Program Interview Course Advising Health Requirements Background Checks Legalities: Open Door Policy-Community Colleges Waiting Lists Prerequisites

14. Nice to Know: Recruiting An open door policy does not have to mean an �open program� policy. Set GPA requirements ACT or ASSET/COMPASS testing Establish program prerequisites Require background checks/drug testing Hoops to jump through are OK, only the determined will jump Partner with a hospital and require a job-shadowing experience.

15. Need to Know: Lab Equipment and Supplies Keep an inventory of supplies/equipment/instrumentation Place reference texts and materials in the library Partner with a hospital to take advantage of their purchasing volume Buy refurbished equipment Hospital donated equipment Keep a bin in all area hospitals for supply recycling

16. Nice to Know: Lab Equipment and Supplies Get creative and prioritize; you cannot afford to purchase all state-of-the-art equipment. Schedule field trips to the hospital and open trays, go in empty rooms, cath lab, etc. Have reps come and bring specialty instrumentation or equipment. Refold, refold, refold: gowns and drapes. Reuse, reuse, reuse: masks, gloves, etc. There is no such thing as a disposable supply at Iowa Lakes!

17. Need to Know: Advisory Committees Know who needs to be on them: Current student, program faculty, administrator, employer of graduates, physician, practicing CST, a public member (cannot be affiliated with healthcare , the institution or the program.) Must meet annually. Use this committee to assess program effectiveness and outcomes.

18. If You Want To Know� My Philosophies All of us have been sitting in your chair at one point. I feel your pain! (Email me) A wise woman once told me, �you can only do what you can do.� (Email me!) A wise man once told me, �if you can survive the first 3 years in teaching�� (Email me!) Do the best you can and be passionate about the profession EVERYDAY in the classroom and the rest will fall into place. (And lastly, EMAIL ME!) dgrafft@iowalakes.edu

19. Need to Know: Classroom Management You set the tone of the classroom Start out strict and you can always ease up if needed. Start out lenient and the class will be hard to reign in when needed. Overall, be yourself; its going show in the end. Set realistic expectations of behavior and don�t waver. Your students will respect you; consistency is key!!

20. Nice to Know: Classroom Management You are a �relatively� normal human being, you will make mistakes. So don�t be afraid to change some of your policies or try new ideas. Some of the ideas just may work! Don�t take yourself too seriously, it is ok to laugh and your students will enjoy learning. Good news is the next class, gives you another chance to try some more ideas.

21. Need to Know: Syllabi, Handbooks and Agreements These are the contracts between you and the student. These items set up your expectations and the consequences for falling short of the program expectations. Policies should be simple, informative, descriptive, fair and signed by every student. These documents will help support you in the case of a student grievance. Must include: �This syllabus is subject to change at the discretion of the instructor�.� (Let�s just call this the cover your a** clause. ? )

22. Need to Know: Syllabi, Handbooks and Agreements Topics that should be included: the grading scale, attendance policy, late work/make up policy, student work policy and overall course/clinical requirements. When developing syllabus policies its all about attention to details. If you want to be ready for everything, you need to think of everything and address everything.

23. Nice to Know: Syllabi, Handbooks and Agreements Students will give you more policy ideas each year. Just when you have thought of everything, think again. When you think you have explained everything perfectly, simplify it. Students must understand in order to apply. Good news is the next class, gives you another chance to try some more ideas.

24. Need to Know: Lesson Plans and PowerPoints Developing lesson plans and PowerPoints will help guide the lectures and clinical activities like an �instructional GPS� The more detailed your lesson plan/PPt, the more your students will get the details. Include supplies needed and support material such as notes, quizzes, etc.. Helps with time management also

25. Need to Know: Lesson Plans and PowerPoints As a new instructor you must be prepared, in order to deal with the questions that may or may not arise. Your experience will help steer classroom discussions. Your lesson plans/PPt will help you get back on track and minimize time loss Developing lesson plans or PPt can take a great deal of time; however once developed they can be invaluable to student success and instructor sanity.

26. Nice to Know: Lesson Plans and PowerPoints Other instructors have developed lesson plans and PowerPoints; hopefully you know some of them. If they share, you will have to tweak them in order to make the plans work for you. PowerPoint lectures are flexible and easy to change. They are a living, breathing document, that changes from year to year (and edition by edition).

27. Need to Know: Course Sequencing and Content Timing Align your lecture content with your lab and didactic activities. This takes some planning and creativity. This is key in the case management concepts. If you are going to discuss criteria regarding gowning and gloving, be ready to demo gowning and gloving, and have the student apply the concepts as they gown and glove.

28. Need to Know: Course Sequencing and Content Timing In order to maximize your supply budgets you must plan ahead and combine lab skills. Don�t waste your supplies If the students are gowning and gloving then you may want to continue into setting up the back table. Or you may want the student to wear the surgical attire and remain sterile for given period of time so they can get used to the garb and breathing with a mask on.

29. Nice to Know: Course Sequencing and Content Timing Students are excited about the lab skills, so implement lab activities early in the course when possible. Student are a clean slate. Do not leave out the little details that have become second nature for you as a tech. If you are in your first year, you are just realizing those details you left out. Good news is the next class, gives you another chance to try some more ideas.

30. Need to Know: Evaluating Student Performance When developing your grading scale be sure you emphasize the important concepts. Decide how to weigh your assignments and exams. Don�t assign busy work and book work that doesn�t support your main learning objectives. If you feel the student should pass your exams in order to pass the course make sure the points available in the course reflect that concept.

31. Need to Know: Evaluating Student Performance Be consistent. Be fair. Be challenging. This will help avoid favoritism Clinical evaluation can be difficult. If multiple instructors are involved with the evaluation be sure everyone is on one page before the evaluation begins. Rubrics (detailed performance/answer keys) will help with consistency You will need to develop a variety of evaluation forms. Lab/Mock surgery evaluations (keep it real) Clinical Evaluations: Daily, weekly, intra-operative and rotational

32. Need to Know: Evaluating Student Performance Other instructors have developed evaluation tools, hopefully you know some of them. If they share, you will have to tweak them in order to make the tool work for you. Coming Soon-EPSC Standardized Forms No matter how consistent and fair you are students will always see it differently. Be consistent and you will be respected or at least you will feel good about yourself.

33. Need to Know: Case Counting You will need to understand the accreditation criteria for case counting (You may want to check the AST 6th Core Curriculum for the latest criteria). Educate your students and clinical sites. How to track these cases and numbers As of right now every program has a different approach to case counting. Fill in the blank forms, excel spreadsheets, online databases, tally marks on a cave wall etc� Student entered or instructor entered data

34. Nice to Know: Case Counting The perfect form and method is out there somewhere And every program coordinator/instructor thinks �they� have it. Maybe �they� will share it. Planning well in advance will help you avoid needing therapy in the future. Good news is the next class, gives you another chance to try some more ideas.

35. Need to Know: Clinical Contracts and Affiliation Agreements Your school policies and procedures for clinical contracts. Who�s responsible for getting the contract completed? Standard or special contract Liability issues and coverage. Renewal timeline or continuous contract Content of the contract

36. Need to Know: Clinical Contracts and Affiliation Agreements Clinical Requirements Vaccinations, drug screens, background checks, faculty requirement, etc.. Build a solid clinical relationship Do not burn bridges with clinical site or personnel Plan in advance, contracts can take some time to navigate thru the college and clinical site.

37. Nice to Know: Clinical Contracts and Affiliation Agreements If you are in over-your-head ask for help! Most schools have a legal department to deal with the legalese of contracts In general when it comes to clinical contracts�. Everything is Need to Know.

38. If You Want To Know: Craycraft�s Major Themes Five P�s: Prior Preparation Prevents Poor Performance Plan your delivery and deliver your plan The next class, gives you another chance to try some more ideas. Keep the good, rethink the others. Always remember to compromise with your co-workers. After all that is why this presentation has so much PINK in it. ?

39. The Gift of an Eraser

40. QUESTONS: We Are Here To Help! Dana Grafft, CST, BOE Program Director/ Instructor Iowa Lakes Community College dgrafft@iowalakes.edu 712-580-8624 Kevin Craycraft, CST Program Director/Instructor Bluegrass Community and Technical College Kevinr.craycraft@ktcts.edu 859-246-6615