Nor is the challenge a lack of personnel. Most nursing facilities in Wisconsin require a nurse to be in charge of training and infection control issues. Nurses and other health care workers at local hospitals, clinics and schools of nursing are often willing to assist facilities by providing speakers and programming ideas. The challenge that remains for many facilities is how to offer learning that is exciting and new. It is clear that incorporating innovative approaches using a participatory type of training method can increase the retention of vital information and help to make nursing facilities safer places in which to work.
Empowerment allows individuals to share knowledge, experience and ideas.
Games and role playing can be two ways of empowering adults to participate in a learning activity. Should a trainer choose a game that is too easily played or won by a certain group of the membership, the group as a whole will become bored and quit. This boredom will then decrease the outcome of the learning exercise. On the other hand, should the exercise be too complex or there is a little guidance, then the participants will become angry, frustrated and have a sense of defeat, even before the game is over. This will also decrease the amount of learning that takes place.