Session Descriptions

Cruisin' through Life™ at 35 mph: Strategies to Keep Your Internal Engine Running Smoothly
Brian Blasko
Life is a journey, so enjoy the ride! This exciting program offered by Brian Blasko invites you to discover and maximize your potential. Our lives and careers are like vehicles, and we are engines that keep them running smoothly. Come learn how to gain some fuel for your internal gas tank.

While traveling on this journey Brian will share a few strategies for successful leadership, teamwork, and personal growth. The strategies have all been test-driven and proven road-worthy. Do not let life's little roadblocks keep you stuck on the side of the road. Come have some fun and learn how to push your pedal to the metal! Cruisin'through Life at 35 mph is a delightful road trip.

NATCEP Update
Sheri Weidman, State Coordinator, Nurse Aide Training Program

Pearson VUE Question and Answer Session
Susanne Durante, Pearson VUE

Classroom and Clinical Assessment Techniques
Mary Ellen Driver, Professor of Nursing, CCAC
Today's classrooms are transitioning from a teacher-centered environment ("sage on the stage") to one that is more student-centered. Much of this transition is based on the theoretical concept of constructivism whose major theme is that learning should be an active process. Evaluation of learning is constant in a student-centered, active learning environment and allows the educator to make decisions about how a student is assimilating and interpreting information. This feedback helps the educator decide if she needs to refocus her teaching to make it more effective for learning. Classroom Assessment Techniques (CATs) are the seminal work of Thomas A. Angelo and K. Patricia Cross who studied how well students are learning. CATs are a quick and effective means to assess classroom learning but need to be planned and selected with care.

This workshop will present several different CATs that participants can select and adapt to assess the quality of teaching and learning in their own classrooms. Variations for the clinical area will also be demonstrated. Participants will also develop grading rubrics which are the cornerstone of objective assessment and feedback for students.

Engaging Students in Active Learning
Diann Hopely and Mary Flanagan, Health Occupations Instructors, Delaware County Technical School
Do you see your students' eyes glaze over as you deliver your well-prepared lesson? Do some of your students just not get it? Try incorporating teaching strategies that involve active learning. This presentation will teach you how to effectively use carousel learning, a creative and motivating way to help students master new information and activate prior knowledge. Participants will leave with a lesson plan ready to use in the classroom.

Ergonomic and Safety Review for the Experienced Health Care Provider
Tom Barnowski
The goal of this session is to supply information on ergonomics-associated body mechanics and safety precaution awareness as it pertains to the health care industry. While OSHA recommendations will be discussed, the session will meet the needs of the attendees as it pertains to their understanding of ergonomics and workplace musculoskeletal injuries and prevention.

Lifestyle Tips for the Caregiver
Kathy Pollard, Wellness and Nutrition Educator, Wellness Forum
The role of the caregiver is relentless and demanding, often taking a toll on his/her personal health. Challenging work schedules, lack of sleep, poor food choices, and no time for rejuvenation can add up over the years, manifesting in chronic conditions, pain, and fatigue. Learn some simple rules and tips to adopt to help you take control of your health, boost your energy, lose weight, and care for yourself, so that you can best care for others!

Preparing and Training Compassionate Healers to Serve an Increasingly Diverse Population
Barbara Farmer, Director of Multicultural Affairs, Penn State
Living in increasingly diverse communities, it is important that health care workers be prepared to give compassionate and quality care to persons who are "different" from them in very obvious ways — in terms of race, ethnicity, culture, etc. They must be prepared to extend a "healing touch" — through words, physical touch, and emotional and psychological influence — as frontline attenders in patient care by realizing that different is not deficient. They are to see themselves as ambassadors of hope and healing.