Long-Term Care Survey Alert

MDS CORNER:

Make ADL Training Real With These Hands-On Teaching Techniques

A little role-playing can create happier endings for MDS accuracy.

Having trouble getting CNAs or nurses to nail down the differences between different levels of self-performance for coding activities of daily living (ADLs)?

Consider hosting an "'ADL focus of the week,' where you spend the whole week on one ADL, such as eating or transfers," suggests Marty Pachciarz, RN, RACCT, a consultant with the Polaris Group in. Tampa, Fla. Have the administrator pretend to be a resident whom the staff moves as part of bed mobility or transfers. Then discuss whether the staff provided limited or extensive assistance -- "in other words, have some fun with it," advises Pachciarz.

Also conduct 10-minute ADL coding inservices on the unit, she suggests. These can work well when you focus on how to code one resident's ADLs, Pachciarz notes.

Tip: Let the residents know you're doing training and get them involved, suggests Sheryl Rosenfield, RN, BC, a consultant with Zimmet Healthcare Services Group in Morganville, N.J.