Personal Qualities of a Health Care Worker: Professional Appearance & Characteristics

1. Personal Qualities of a Health Care Worker Unit 3

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

27. Makeup • Avoid excessive makeup • Should be natural, attractiveness

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

45. Teamwork

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

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

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

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

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