15 June 2016 – The caregiver skill training workshop was hosted at International Medical University (IMU), Bukit Jalil. It is a project developed under the IMU Cares and is focused on training the caregivers in performing appropriate activities of daily living (ADLs) for the elderly. 
This elderly care workshop highlighted the importance of quality care for elderly people. The workshop started with an opening remark by Prof Ong Kok Hai, the Project Chairperson with a motivating speech about care of the elderly and reflective experience. The programme involved a talk entitled “Caregiving: A Beautiful Journey” by Tang Wai Mun; a video show on ADLs skill procedures include effective hand washing techniques, passive and active exercises, mouth care, positioning and lifting heavy object, and perineal care for male and female; followed by a skill demonstration and hands-on practice sessions. The talk presented by Ms Tang provides a clear definition and purpose of caregiving. It creates an awareness on the meaningful journey for caring of the older people among participants. In another effort, facilitators and students were able to significantly provide guidance during the skill training sessions. Overall, the entire session was interactive and conducted in an organised manner.
Our committee is particularly proud of the efforts to reach out to the elderly care community. There were a total of 24 participants from IMU Cares homes, IMU faculty and family, non-IMU Cares homes and the public. All of them were delighted and showed appreciation for the skill teaching and values provided at the end of the workshop.
The respond rate for training evaluation was 83% (n=20). Majority (90-100%) of the respondents rated ‘excellent’ and ‘good’, and 5-10% of them rated ‘average’ generally for all six skill stations based on four criteria on content, organisation, delivery and usefulness. Feedback from the participants were encouraging. It was a successful event with excellent teamwork and effort contributed by Train the Trainer Committee. Our sincere thanks to the team which includes Project Chairperson, Prof Ong; Project Advisor, Prof Lim Pek Hong; Head of Department, A/Prof Ho Swee Eng; Project Leader, Chang Woan Ching; Project Members, Leong Chan Fong and Chitra Rathina Pandi; as well as facilitators from Nursing Division and Clinical Skills & Simulation Centre, speaker, nursing students and members from External Affairs Department. A special thanks to students from cohort NU1/12, formal project leader, Leela Verutharajah., and the multimedia team for their valuable contributions in the production of the video on care of the elderly. Lastly, our gratitude goes to the participants for their great support and valuable feedback. It will be our greatest value in life to be able to care for the vulnerable adults, the elderly population. Let’s work towards the goal to provide quality services to the community in needs. This article is written by project leader, Chang Woan Ching.
Jon Jon Tay
Would like to attend your caregiver workshop if you hold it again