Transmission of vocational skills between experienced and new hospital workers
Jeanne Thébault1, Corinne Gaudart, Esther Cloutier
1CREAPT/CEE, Le Descartes I, Noisy-le-Grand Cedex, France. jeanne.thebault@cee-recherche.fr
Objectives:
This article presents the results of a study currently underway looking at the transmission of vocational skills between health care workers in a French hospital. The aim was to show that health care workers, in addition to their work with patients, also have to incorporate the transmission of vocational skills into their daily activities.
Methods:
Thirteen transmission situations were observed and analyzed by means of an activity-focused ergonomic work analysis, with the aim of reporting on this "invisible work".
Participants:
The population studied was composed of nurses and the nursing assistants from three different units in one hospital.
Results:
The results show that the work required to integrate and supervise new staff members is left to the discretion of health care workers. This means they are constantly required to arbitrate on both an individual and collective basis between providing health care for patients and supporting new members of staff. The content of the transmission goes beyond the prescribed tasks and technical knowledge, as staff members also pass on their professional strategies (individual and collective), rules of practice and ethical considerations. Supervising students also offers experienced workers the opportunity to share their professional practices.
Conclusions:
This study highlights the issues arising from this transmission activity for the experienced workers, new workers, patients and the hospital.
Related Concept Videos
Transmission-based Precautions II: Airborne and Protective Environment
Airborne precautions:
Use airborne precautions when treating patients known or suspected to have diseases that spread through the air—for example, tuberculosis or measles. These organisms are present in smaller droplets expelled by an infected person and...
Types of Reports I: Hand-off Report
Following are the key components and categories of hand-off reports:
Purpose and Process:
Communication
Within...
SBAR I: Understanding the Concept
Standardized methods of communication have been developed to ensure that information is...
Transmission-based Precautions I: Contact, Enteric, and Droplets
Contact Precautions:
Contact precautions are the measures taken to prevent the transmission of infectious agents, especially epidemiologically important microorganisms such as MRSA or influenza, primarily transmitted through direct or indirect contact with an...
Levels of Communication I: Intrapersonal, Interpersonal, and Small Group
We can participate in these relationships through verbal, nonverbal, and mediated communication. We engage in verbal communication when we use words during our interaction to convey specific meanings. On the other hand, nonverbal communication refers to various factors that can impact how we understand each other—for example, facial expressions.
We interact with others using mediated technologies like the...


