Train-The-Trainer Institute for Professional Training Postpartum Nurse Home Visitors
Purpose:
This 2-day Institute will support nurse trainers who are implementing a universal postpartum home visiting program. The Public Health Nurse's role as trainer and content expert is facilitated through the use of a comprehensive curriculum that addresses issues related to postpartum care of both the mother and infant, the family's transition, and other concerns that the family may have.
Audience:
The Institute is designed for Public Health Nurses to train those nurses implementing a postpartum home visiting program to all families.
Institute Features:
The Institute provides a rich and engaging learning environment that includes:
A comprehensive manual prepared by Canadian experts in public health nursing, early intervention, child development, and family support.
A customization process that allows local communities the opportunity to ensure the manual and training reflect local philosophies, programs, and systems supporting families with newborns.
8 ready to deliver modules with training plans, activities, and handouts already prepared on such topics as maternal and infant physical and emotional health; infant feeding; parenting, attachment and the newborn; and child abuse
References to additional information and resources.
Diverse learning formats including small and large group work, expert presentation, video analysis, and case studies.
Institute Goals:
To enhance and develop the knowledge and skills of those training professional nurse home visitors in postpartum care.
To build local capacity to train professional nurse home visitors on an ongoing basis.
To affirm the importance of training for postpartum home visiting
To raise the level of knowledge and skills of professionals that work with at-risk families with young children and their role in postpartum intervention.
To affirm the valuable role professional nurse home visitors have in the lives of new parents.
A CURRICULUM FOR TRAINING PUBLIC HEALTH NURSES
CONDUCTING POSTPARTUM HOME VISITS
An Introduction to Postpartum Home Visiting
Focus:
Vision, goals, guidelines and components of the Healthy Babies, Healthy Children Program
Importance of the postpartum home visit within the continuum of services for families with new babies
Parental perception about parenting and the implications for the postpartum home visit
Concept of "at risk" and identification of children who may be "at risk"
Appropriate action for children at risk
Conducting the Postpartum Home Visit
Focus:
The role of the Public Health Nurse and the requirements of the postpartum home visit
Scope of possible interventions
Importance of working within an interdisciplinary team to meet the needs of families
Awareness of issues related to cultural diversity and strategies to address the issue
Strategies for increased personal safety
Maternal Physical and Emotional Health
Focus:
Assessment of maternal physical and emotional health in the postpartum period
Distinction between normal and abnormal findings
Assessment of red flag findings
Appropriate teaching and nursing interventions
Assessment of postpartum depression
Nursing interventions for postpartum depression
Infant Physical Health and Safety
Focus:
Assessment of infant's physical health in the early postpartum period
Distinction between normal and abnormal findings
Assessment of red flag findings
Importance of health and safety issues for new parents
Infant Feeding
Focus:
Exploration of different approaches and beliefs toward breastfeeding
Benefits of breastfeeding for the mother and the newborn
Assessment of successful feeding
Identification and correction of common feeding problems
Linkage to breastfeeding support systems
Exploration of different approaches and beliefs toward breastfeeding
Benefits of breastfeeding for the mother and the newborn
Assessment of successful feeding
Identification and correction of common feeding problems
Linkage to breastfeeding support systems
Family Transitions and Baby
Focus:
Common challenges faced by families in adjusting to a newborn
Strategies for supporting the family's transition to a new baby
Responses to commonly expressed concerns by parents of newborns
Use of a postpartum home visit to alleviate parental anxieties and discuss the basics of baby care
Parenting, Attachment and the Newborn
Focus:
Importance of the parent-infant relationship during the first few days of life
Recognition of signs of a poor attachment
Supporting families to become familiar with the meaning of infant cues
Supporting families to promote a secure attachment with their baby
Characteristics and significance of infant temperament
Interventions to support bereaved families
Child Abuse and Family Violence
Focus:
Definition of and factors contributing to child abuse
Indicators that an infant may have been abused or is at risk for abuse
