Staff meetings are a great utilization of time to keep your nursing staff up to date with hospital policies and procedures. But how do we present that information in a way that keeps our staff engaged? The pitfalls of staff meetings is leading an unorganized meeting that’s dense in information and runs over the scheduled time. Give your staff a chance to move their bodies and engage their minds with meaningful activities. Here are some ideas to help you revitalize nurse staff meetings that will make them memorable for all of the right reasons.
Environmental Factors Can Change Everything
The community room may be the default setting for a meeting, but consider holding each meeting in different areas to give your staff a change of scenery. After spending a long work shift confined by four walls, moving to another closed off room can negatively impact your staff’s psychology. Choose locations that are open, have lots of natural light, and are big enough to make sure everyone is visible. During mild weather, hold your meeting outside to enjoy some fresh air and sunshine.
If an outdoor meeting is not possible, come up with themes and decorate the community room to liven it up. This doesn’t have to be labor-intensive – it’s as simple as providing snacks or adding GIFs and short clips to your presentation. Soliciting help from a creative staff member to come up with ideas and decor would be beneficial as well.
Build Teamwork Through Games
It is inevitable that your nurses have their own group that they socialize and communicate the most with at work. They may form an effective team on the job, but teamwork should be fostered across all members of the organization. Give your nurses a chance to interact with other members through team-building exercises. Allow a brief period for self-introductions, but the focus shouldn’t be on icebreakers. Team-building games are a great opportunity to foster collaboration, learn new information, and apply knowledge to real-life situations. Jeopardy is a great way to incorporate all three aspects.
Be sure to dedicate a block of time for the game and stick to the meeting agenda. It is easy to let these games go on, but it won’t do you any good to sacrifice other topics of the meeting for the sake of time. If you see your staff not actively participating, you can provide small rewards and incentives for the winning team.
Feedback to Improve Future Meetings
Oftentimes, meetings can feel one-sided because the facilitator is the only one with the speaking role. Feedback is important because it is gaining insight from the affected group which will provide you more clarity when revamping staff meetings. It’s important to ask open-ended questions that encourage members to participate and share their perspective on topics. Additionally, allow a five minute feedback session at the end of the meeting to ask what topics they would like to cover for the next staff meeting. Giving your staff the power to dictate the meeting agenda and include things that interest them makes a big difference in engagement levels.
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Originally posted on 1/4/2020