A good work instruction for a care team is short, describes the steps in the order they happen in practice and has been tested together with staff. A long document that nobody opens changes nothing about the care.
Many teams have plenty of protocols, yet people still work in different ways. Often that is because the description is too long, too general or hard to find. A work instruction translates policy into action: what you do, in what order, and what to watch out for. Below you can read how to create one that staff will actually use.
A protocol often describes the why and the framework. A work instruction is about the how, for a single task or situation. Think of dressing a particular wound, recording a fall incident or preparing a handover. The narrower the subject, the more useful the instruction. Do not try to capture everything in one document.
I always write a work instruction from what a staff member needs at that moment. That means:
A colleague who is filling in or new to the team should be able to follow the instruction without first having to call someone. For me, that is the best test.
A work instruction devised behind a desk often clashes with practice. That is why I walk through the steps together with care staff during the shift. Where they stumble, we adjust the text. That takes a little more time up front, but support for it is much greater afterwards. Work instructions are part of consistent working agreements and fit well with recording team agreements. For wound care there is a separate in-depth page on agreeing a wound care protocol.
I help with this through quality improvement and consistent working agreements. Want to know what that means for your organisation? Schedule an introduction.
Do not just file the work instruction in a folder. Make sure it is where the task takes place or can be found in one click.
As short as possible. If it fits on one page with numbered steps, it gets used most often. Background information can go in a separate document.
Your organisation decides that itself, often a team leader or quality officer. I deliver a substantive proposal that has been tested with the team; the final approval lies with you.
When you approve it, agree when it will be reviewed again and who will do that. If practice changes sooner, adjust it straight away.
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