Recruiting, Selecting, and Retaining Direct Service Workers to Provide Self-Directed HCBS
Lesson Review
1. Listen
2. Read
In this lesson you learned what to include in a plan for you to use to orient new DSWs. You learned how to:
- Make a checklist of things your new DSW needs to know to do their job.
- Give new DSWs an opportunity to observe and practice new skills.
- Use different ways of teaching to address different learning styles.
3. Scenario
Roberta wants to have a positive start with Aisha. She wants to make sure she shares all of the information Aisha will need to get started. Roberta checked with her friend and on-call DSW, Georgia, about what she would want to know if she were just starting. Roberta also thought about all of the things that are important to her. Click below to see what Roberta put on her list. Do you think Roberta forgot anything? What would you have on an orientation checklist?
- Schedule and duties
Your schedule is located on the inside of the cabinet where I keep my medication. We will work out a schedule every two weeks. There is also a list of everything that needs to be done and how often. Your timesheet is also kept on this shelf.
- Location of bathroom and where you can store your coat and bag
The bathroom is in the hall to my bedroom. You can put your coat and bag in the front closet.
- House rules
Please don’t wear shoes in my house. You can keep indoor shoes or slippers in the front closet if you wish.
There is no smoking in my home. The building doesn’t allow smoking near any of the doors. If you want to smoke on your break, please step away from the building.
Feel free to make coffee if you want. Coffee and tea are in the cabinet above the coffee pot. You are welcome to put any meals you bring with you in the refrigerator. Any dishes you use should be rinsed off and put in the dishwasher.
I like my home to be tidy. Please help me keep it picked up and clean.
Please keep your time on the cell phone to a minimum. I need you to be focused on what we need to get done while you are here.
- Location of equipment and supplies
I keep my medication and any information you might need on a shelf in the hall closet.
I keep the bathroom cleaning supplies under the bathroom sink. The other cleaning supplies are under the kitchen sink. I have safety locks on these cabinets for my grandchildren. Remember to close them properly when you are done. The mop, broom, and vacuum cleaner are in the front closet.
I have exercise equipment that I use for the exercises that I need to do in a basket in the living room. There is a folder with the exercises I need to do and how to do them in the basket.
I have a walker that I use for long outings. I keep that in the corner of the guest bedroom.
- Contact information
Contact information for my daughter and son, my doctors, and my service coordinator is on a list in the hall closet where I keep my medications.
My friend Georgia works for me as an on-call DSW. Her number is on the list if you want to ask her to cover a shift for you.
Once a week, a home health nurse comes to set up my medications and to check my blood pressure. His number is on the list.
The number for the financial management services agency that will send your paychecks to you is on the list.
- Review policy handbook
The policy handbook has information about payroll and fiscal management services agency policies. The policy handbook also has the required HIPAA information and adult protection policies that you must read. This has to be done your first week. There is a form you need to sign and send back to the financial management services agency.