Many educators face the challenge of reaching a large number of staff in a short period of time with limited resources. This month, I would like to thank Karen Ray, MSN, RN, for sharing an innovative approach to that challenge. Karen is a Supervisor of Clinical Instruction at St. Luke's Regional Medical Center in Boise, ID. She describes the following idea to reach staff with a new teaching tool she designed and employed. She calls it "a series of eye-catching posters on wheels called the Rolling Inservice."

Many nursing educators find it difficult to reach staff on a variety of shifts with content that is too complex for e-mail but is less demanding than would be appropriate for a class or seminar. One method that we have used to teach less complex, yet vital, information is the "rolling inservice." The rolling inservice is best employed when the material does not exceed four or five important points and lends itself to short explanations and/or graphics. An example best illustrates the technique.

When the organization began a new initiative on pressure ulcer prevention, the professional staff needed a reminder of the related care standards. The four main points became four posters, and the posters were made mobile using an intravenous stand.

Once completed, the rolling inservice is ready for delivery. We push the mobile inservice program down the halls and bring it directly to the staff by presenting it to the nurses as they become available. While discussing the information, we request that each staff member take the inservice program to several colleagues. To encourage this, the rolling inservice is left in a readily available area.

Response to this strategy has been excellent. When compared with stationary posters, follow-up review indicates that this strategy is a more effective method of disseminating information of moderate difficulty. By bringing education to the point of care, the rolling inservice promotes self-learning and involves nurses in the teaching process. Using this technique, we can reach up to 80% of the staff with vital information in a format that is new, interesting, and memorable.

Thank you, Karen, for sharing your innovation and time-saving teaching tool. I wish you and those who benefit from it all the best!