So the idea of establishing learning programs and processes
at the pace of the learner is very important.
So this change in behavior can evolve, can be comfortable for the person.
Some of the situations that make it possible for this slowly evolving change
in behavior include free and open communication between the learner and
the facilitator or trainer.
And among the learners themselves in a training situation.
Sometimes confrontation, pointing out people's deficiencies, pointing
out the implications of health workers behaviors.
For example, we have set up role plays where people
play the health worker and some people play the client.
And all at once, people see what it's like
when, when the nurse yells at the mother for missing
an appointment with her child.
And then, this confrontation makes them realize, well, it doesn't feel very good.
I'd better, you know think about the implications of my behavior.
Acceptance is an important aspect.
The learner has to feel accepted and welcome allowed to make mistakes.
the learner is valued as a person.
Which leads into the notion of respect and, again,
people are accepted, are respected whether they make mistakes or not.
Training needs to set up a safe environment where people can
practice new skills and have an opportunity to learn from their mistakes.
Again self-revelation, people need to have opportunities where
they can feel safe to talk about their learning.
To talk about what's difficult, to
interact with other trainees and, and learn
from them to gain reassurance from them by sharing
their concerns, their fears about the new skills or not.
As we mentioned, collaboration is important.
One of the things that's important to recognize, also,
about learning and new situations is the concept of ambiguity.
As we mentioned, change is difficult.
Change may be frightening, adopting new skills.
We were trying to work with district health staff to,
implement the program for what they called community directed treatment.
With the drug Ivermectin to help control onchocerciasis.
And this was supposed to be
a community directed or community involvement approach.
And, this was a new role for health workers.
They had usually been used to going into the
community, into the village, telling people what to do.
So this
new role of working together as partners to
try to facilitate community meetings for everyone to contribute.
This was something they were not used to.
They didn't know what would happen.
And so, learning new skills often puts people in an ambiguous situation and it's
important for the, the trainer to let people know that they will be with them.
That, give them a sense of feeling of
safety so they can try these new skills and
overcome the ambiguouty.
Sharing evaluation is important, giving feedback both from the
trainer to the trainee, and among the trainees themselves.
Opportunities to practice giving feedback through return demonstrations.
Training needs to be an active process, where people are involved in the learning.
Where they share their ideas, where they
discuss, where they question, again as mentioned before,
training needs to be carried out in a safe environment.
People need to feel that they're free from any sort of threatening situation.
That their supervisors or bosses will not see them make a mistake.
And ultimately the trainee must learn to trust his
or her own judgement, trust his or her own skills.
So we need to establish this, and this takes
time, this is why training is an evolutionary process.
