In addition to in person supervision, HELP educators are given a personal activity account that allows them to record, track, and review their sessions. They see how long each session takes and how many questions were covered as well as what worked and didn’t during the activity so they can better understand how to best use their time. They can record their questions or concerns and receive timely written feedback, thus increasing the quality of their experience and level of engagement in the program. Direct supervision can be set up as needed.
Supervision
Staff supervision is critical to ensure that parents and volunteers alike have overall positive experiences with the program, as well as to assure the quality of information being presented to parents.
Because volunteers engage parents in conversations that have safety and health implications, they need to know they have a place to bring any concerns and questions that arise. Project staff members serve as mentors for volunteers throughout their HELP experience. They connect volunteers to the overall vision of the program while ensuring a sense of continuity. Staff supervision also provides the program a direct means of monitoring successes and challenges.
2 How to make referrals to other staff members
When parents find a friendly and listening ear at the clinic, they may have questions that go beyond the scope of the volunteers’ knowledge and role. As these issues arise, staff help volunteers learn how to respond to questions that are inappropriate for them to answer.
Staff provide volunteers with information about other available resources. Volunteers can then inform families of the many services provided in the clinic and facilitate referrals through the family’s pediatrician.
3 Interacting with the larger clinic system
Volunteers need help understanding their role within the larger clinic system. They need to learn the broader “patient flow” requirements to know when and where it is appropriate to approach a parent. This will vary from clinic to clinic.
Volunteers also need training to know how to respond to requests from other clinic staff. HELP volunteers may be confused for volunteers who perform other tasks. For example, at Bellevue we generally do not find it appropriate for pediatricians to request that HELP volunteers serve as interpreters given that numerous resources are available to provide patients with trained interpreters.
4 What was learned from the individual parent
Supervision also provides volunteers and staff an opportunity to think about what can be learned from an individual parent. At times, their struggles or triumphs are particularly poignant or informative and may offer insights about new approaches that can be used.
Strategies for Working with Diverse Families
Working in clinic waiting rooms, HELP educators encounter a wide variety of individuals with diverse cultural backgrounds, personalities, experiences, and concerns. Once HELP volunteers have become familiar with the basic activity, ongoing supervision allows staff to help them learn strategies to adapt their approach to each individual. This includes working with quiet parents, couples, parents who have trouble reading, and doing HELP as a family literacy activity.
1 Quiet parents
Quiet parents can be challenging to work with. Some parents are naturally shy; others are cautious with new people before warming up to them. They may also be struggling with a language barrier causing difficulty understanding or embarrassment speaking in their non-native language. Finally, some parents may be distracted because they are worried or stressed about their child’s condition or not feeling well themselves. In each of these cases some extra effort is necessary to try to make the parent more comfortable.
2 Couples and pairs
Working with couples and pairs of family members or friends rather than individual parents can pose unique challenges. Often one person will take a more active role in the activity due to their gender, age, language proficiency or status. In other cases people assume that you are only interested in talking to the primary caregiver. Generally it is more interesting for all involved to do the activity together than to have one person excluded.
3 Non-native English speakers
Non-native English speakers are often thrilled to find a friendly person who speaks their language. They may have many questions both within and beyond the scope of the HELP activity. It is therefore important for HELP Educators who speak additional languages to have a clear understanding of what is within their role.
4 Parents who have trouble reading
Parents who have trouble reading may be concerned about the stigma attached to illiteracy. They may be fearful of disclosing their reading problems to others. If this happens during a HELP activity, it is important to respond sensitively. Depending on the parent’s ability, it may be difficult to proceed through the activity normally. However, you can still have an important discussion about the information.
5 When children are present
Children are often sitting with their parents during HELP activities. As part of the pediatric clinic team, it is of utmost importance to show parents that children of all ages are the clinic’s first priority. Some parents may feel that a child’s needs are secondary to "adult" business or conversation.
In most cases, the child’s needs and interests should be acknowledged alongside those of the parent. If this is not possible, it may be best to stop the activity until a better time. In many cases children, especially school aged children, may be interested in participating along with their parents. For these families, the HELP activity can be easily adapted to provide a vibrant family literacy and learning experience.