Annual Mandatory Volunteer Inservice

Posted by Julie Cranz on May 10, 2010 at 9:08am

I will be hosting my first annual 2-hour mandatory volunteer inservice. I plan to make it an ice cream social (ice cream bar with all the add-ons). Other than the usual Confidentiality/HIPPA regulations, and good handwashing, I am not really sure what else to inservice my volunteers on.

Also, should ALL volunteers be required to attend or just my patient care and clerical office volunteers? My gown sewing and quilters sew off-site and do not access to patient information or one-on-one contact with patients.

If any of you wouldn't mind sharing, what is the policy at your hospice (versus what is required by NHPCO) and what are some of your inservice topics? 

Thank you!

Julie

   

You need to be a member of Hospice Community Forum to add comments!

Join Hospice Community Forum

Email me when people reply –
Follow

Replies

  • Julie Cranz May 11, 2010 at 11:44am
    Thank you! I agree. But wanted to be fair to all volunteers and especially those who do "show up."
  • Jennifer Thompson May 11, 2010 at 11:32am
    I have sent info to the volunteer for review, because while we say mandatory, they are still volunteers. We have had this conversation here in tulsa with a hospice volunteer group that we hold from time to time and none of us have been dinged by Medicare or the state as long as we showed the effort to hold in-services. I just try and make sure everyone gets in as much as they can.

    Jennifer Thompson,CVA
    Rivercross Hospice - Tulsa
  • Frances Shani Parker May 10, 2010 at 7:38pm
    Don't forget annually to assess volunteers on what they want to do. Many times inservices are held based on what people assume are other people's needs. In addition to stating their needs, volunteers may also know of local consultants, including themselves, who can be invited to speak on topics of interest to them. This staff input brings the level of inservice enthusiasm and ownership up a few notches.


    Frances Shani Parker, Author
    "Becoming Dead Right: A Hospice Volunteer in Urban Nursing Homes”
    “Hospice and Nursing Homes Blog”
    • Julie Cranz > Frances Shani Parker May 11, 2010 at 11:07am
      AS always, thanks for the great ideas! Another thing, if there are volunteers who do NOT or can NOT attend the mandatory sessions, do you mail them a packet to review to "sign-off" for credit, or do they simply go in the inactive file due to noncompliance?
      Thanks!
  • Georgia Place May 10, 2010 at 12:02pm
    I am having one on Bereavement and Anticipatory Grief - presented by our Hospice Chaplain.
  • Jennifer Thompson May 10, 2010 at 11:45am
    Over the years I can do in-services on just about everything. I usually only require administrative volunteers to attend in-service such as HIPPA that related to what they do. generally, in-services are more aimed at patient care volunteers. Some ideas might be: More details on advance directives/DNR, validation therapy, working with difficult clients, alzheimers/dementia, grieve/loss. Look back at your training and hold sessions that reaffirm those topics.

    Jennifer Thompson, CVA
    Rivercross Hospice - Tulsa
This reply was deleted.
 

Blog Posts

CAREGIVERS STORE

Recently Published!!
by Maryclaire Torinus

Surviving Hospice: A Chaplain's Journey into the Big Business of Dying Plus: How To Find a Trustworthy Hospice 

This narrative is an insider’s look into the hijacking of hospice by private equity and professional investors and the subsequent harm to patients, their families, and to the interdisciplinary clinical teams. It was released by a NYC publisher on October 31, 2023. For sale on Amazon.

The author, a hospice chaplain, tells end-of-life stories of her patients who were harmed by financially-motivated policies. This is a book for anyone who is embarking on making a choice about a hospice for their loved one, working chaplains, those in training, and those interested in what dying is like with a hospice who places patients as their primary stakeholders.

Maryclaire's experience working for an owner who sold to a private equity firm helped her to realize that the reputation and viability of hospice is in jeopardy. Her goal is to alert all who love hospice to rid it of professional investors.

— Stacy Juba, author, editor, and award-winning health journalist

"Powerful, beautifully written, and eye-opening, this book spotlights the inner workings of a multi-billion-dollar industry and the effect on patients, families, and hospice staff. The author shares poignant accounts of hospice at its best and worst and the hard-hitting truths she learned on her journey. A must-read for family members exploring hospice care."

— Laura Kukowski, CEO, editor, For-Profit Badger Hospice, LLC

"Maryclaire Torinus speaks with authority, providing this essential handbook for choosing a hospice care team and why that selection really matters."

— Greg Schneider President, HVA, co-author of The Changing Face of Hospice Volunteering in Hospice and Palliative Care 

"When I first found out that Maryclaire Torinus was writing this book, I immediately contacted her because in my 25+ years supporting hospice volunteers, I have seen a gradual decline in the quality of care volunteers are permitted to provide the dying and their families. There are a variety of reasons for this that I describe in the Foreward of this book. Maryclaire provides invaluable insights that everyone should know, along with solutions to help others make the right choice in choosing a hospice."

Buy Now