I’ve made a lot of graduation speeches in my time, but the one I made at the beginning of this month was really special. I wasn’t asked to talk to the LNAs graduating from the Indiana County Technical Center in Indiana, Pennsylvania, because of my job title or official role. I wasn’t asked by an official from the school. I was invited by the students.
The director of the program told me the students chose the person who had had the greatest impact on them during their year of schooling. It was such an honor to be asked.
On May 12 and 13, I had taught the students about coaching supervision with my PHI colleague Francine Fineman and long-term care consultant Joanne Rader. They were so enthusiastic about what we had to tell them. They understood that they would be overseeing other caregivers’ work in their role as LPNs, so they embraced it from that point of view. They also saw applications for their personal lives.
One student had been a supervisor in a convenience store. She said: “If I had only known this when I was doing that job, I would have done it very differently. I want to make sure I don’t make the same mistakes as I move forward in my LPN career.” Others talked about how they had gone home after the class and approached children they’d been having trouble communicating with differently, and how their children will now sit down and talk to them at length.
They experienced all the exercises from a deep experiential place. Things that were difficult for them, they wanted to go back and try again to get it right. It was very powerful for all three of us to see the excitement and enthusiasm that they put into the two days.
In my graduation speech, I talked to them about the need to celebrate their accomplishment and to think about the sacrifices they had made to get this place. I told them: “What you need to hold onto very tightly is that you did this, and if you can do this, you can overcome other hurdles in life. No matter what lies ahead of you, if you break it down into small pieces and don’t allow yourself to get overwhelmed, you can accomplish great things on your journey forward.”
I also reviewed the basic concepts behind coaching supervision: the importance of active listening in every interaction, the need to pull back and attend to the other person, to be aware and respectful of different people’s styles. And I talked about how, when it comes time to have a conversation with someone who hasn’t met your expectations, you have to be clear and objective and let the person know that you believe in them.
If you can do that, I told them, you will do very well in your journey.
Patricia Hillebrand, PHI Training and Organizational Development Specialist
phillebrand@phinational.org
I’m Australian, and I don’t know what LNAs and LPNs mean. We don’t have these terms.
sorry - I should have spelled out those terms on first use. LNAs are licensed nursing assistants — one of many terms for the direct-care workers who provide hands-on care in nursing homes and other settings in the U.S. It’s used only in a few states, as nursing assistants are more often certified than licensed.
LPNs are licensed practical nurses. The nurses who supervise nursing assistants are usually either RNs (registered nurses) or LPNs.