Caps - Catalyst Learning Company

CAPS (Accelerated Performance Series) is your employee skill development solution. Need to supplement existing curriculum? Or, need to implement a performance improvement initiative quickly and effectively? This curriculum is designed to provide essential skills for a range of roles - from entry level frontline employees to mid-level administrative professionals to team leads and first time supervisors.

About CAPS

CAPS courses provide a "quick start" ability to address targeted skill needs with high-quality, healthcare specific courses. Courses can be packaged to meet a specific need (see Applications), used independently when departments need a skill-building session, or integrated into open enrollment programs available to all employees.

CAPS courses help your front-line staff understand their role in and accountability for the patient experience. The patient, family and work team experiences are also improved by improving associate communication skills such as active listening and teamwork. Foundational skills such as grammar and writing expand the upward mobility potential of your mid-level employees. Critical thinking and problem solving to promote leadership development. See the "Curriculum" tab for information on CAPS content.

The CAPS courses are ten different 2.5 hour classroom seminars that quickly address challenges that surface due to performance issues. On-line reinforcement exercises are also available.

Many hospitals have programs for their clinical staff, nurses, and managers. Don't forget your entry and mid-level associates. Developing their skills to expand your future hospital leadership pipeline to include all employees!

    Benefits:

  • Implements Rapidly

  • Closes Skills Gaps Entry and Mid-level Associates

  • Target a Single Unit or the Entire Enterprise

  • Enhances: Leadership Skills - Critical Thinking, Problem Solving & Professionalism - Communications, Grammar, Patient Safety & Satisfaction

  • Reduces or Eliminates the Need to Develop Internal Curriculum

    Attributes:

  • Implements Rapidly

  • Instructor-led, Classroom Seminars

  • Healthcare-Specific Curriculum

  • Flexibility: Supplement existing curriculum or choose from this series

  • Blended Learning Model: Interactive DVDs, Workbooks, On-line Modules

Preview the Curriculum

Mastering Communication in the Workplace

  • Distinguish between verbal and nonverbal communication

  • Understand the steps in the communication process

  • Recognize and identify different communication styles

  • Exercise effective communication skills that meet patient safety and satisfaction standards

  • Realize the importance of being a team player

  • Learn about basic tools for managing conflict situations

Principles of Patient Satisfaction and Safety

  • Recognize the importance of the HCAHPS survey

  • Cite reasons why patient satisfaction scores are important to you, and ways you can take ownership in making a positive impact

  • Define a safe healthcare environment

  • Understand the importance of “first, do no harm”

  • Recognize the different influences upon patient safety

  • At the Individual level—(including patients, caregivers, visitors, and you)

  • At the Organizational level—(meaning, your hospital)

Effective Problem Solving

  • Understand the steps in the problem solving process

  • Learn how to clarify a problem and determine the root causes of problems

  • Utilize creative thinking techniques to develop solutions

  • Apply the problem solving process to proactively implement solutions

Critical Thinking Skills

  • Use critical thinking skills to improve decision making

  • Learn the four essential traits that critical thinkers possess

  • Practice three key skills: analyzing, evaluating and reasoning

  • Apply critical thinking strategies in healthcare situations

Life Management Skills

  • Work with a variety of goal-setting techniques to obtain targeted work and personal results

  • Put time management techniques into action to realize more control over your work and personal life

  • Learn to identify causes of stress and explore stress management strategies

Writing in the Workplace

  • Apply the four steps of the writing process to different workplace topics

  • Write paragraphs using topic sentences and supporting details

  • Implement techniques for improved writing skills including writing legibly, writing often, and applying the 3 Cs of writing: clear, concise, and concrete

  • Integrate customer-focused writing techniques into business writing

  • Apply proven note-taking techniques

  • Recognize key building blocks for developing effective resumes

Grammar in the Workplace

  • Identify key parts of speech (nouns, pronouns, and verbs) and how they function in sentences

  • Use punctuation marks correctly to make sentences and paragraphs clear

  • Avoid some of the most commonly made and distracting grammar errors

  • Avoid confusion among words that look alike or are similar in spelling or sound but have different meanings

Reading in the Workplace

  • Find main ideas and identify important supporting details

  • Define the correct meaning of a word, whether stated explicitly or implicitly in the text

  • Classify documents according to their purpose

  • Apply techniques for reading comprehension

  • Learn to summarize or draw conclusions from reading material

Medical Terminology (2 module set)
    Part I

  • Define common prefixes, suffixes, and root words in medical terminology

  • Combine prefixes, suffixes, and root words in medical terminology to form new medical terms

  • Use medical terminology book to find the meaning of medical words

  • Translate medical terms and abbreviation

    • Part II

  • Use the medical terminology reference book to find the meaning of medical words

  • Recall the medical terms used to describe body positions

  • Identify and recall the parts of a cell including the nucleus, cytoplasm, and chromosomes

Sample Applications

The most common applications of CAPS seminars include:

  • Associate Communications Skills – Entry and mid-level associates touch patients and their families many times each day. Be sure their self-awareness and communications skills are top notch!

  • Team Lead, Emerging Leader, and Supervisor Training – Advances critical thinking, problem solving, and communication

  • Patient Satisfaction Series – Improves employee awareness and accountability for appropriate HCAHPS domains

  • Patient Registration or Administrative Assistant Series – • Improves communication and customer service focused writing

Blended Learning Model

The CAPS seminars embody successful adult learning principles and provide a dynamic and engaging learning experience. Each 2 ½ hour seminar is delivered to a cohort by a hospital Education or HR professional using interactive DVDs, group activities and individual workbooks.

CAPS applies accelerated learning design principles to maximize knowledge retention. All curriculum is set in healthcare context within the acute care hospital setting. A combination of strategically placed activities engage multiple senses and create an active learning environment. Online modules incorporate accelerated learning principles to maximize knowledge mastery.