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Free Web-Based OASIS Training Arrives

Published on Fri Oct 31, 2003 Print Friendly and PDF PDF

But you may want to time your viewing carefully.

If you're looking for a free and easy way to provide staff with basic OASIS instructions, the government is here to help you - sort of.

The Centers for Medicare & Medicaid Services' OASIS training Web site - announced in April at the OASIS Coordinator's Conference - is finally up and running.

The Web-based training course consists of four modules: Why OASIS; OASIS and the Comprehensive Assessment; Conducting a Comprehensive Assessment; and OASIS Items

The modules are divided into lessons, each with an objective and a statement about why the section is important. Many include short quizzes.

CMS notes that it partnered with the Wound Ostomy Continence Nurses Society "to provide specific pictures of the various stages and types of wounds," which may help in this troublesome assessment area (see story, "Wound Care").

Much of the material comes across as a public relations effort to counteract industry criticisms, such as insisting that the OASIS assessment doesn't add time to the start of care process. Other sections clearly explain the reasons behind OASIS and how it evolved.

Some of the information is very helpful, especially for nurses new to home care, says Chapel Hill, NC-based clinical consultant Judy Adams with the LarsonAllen Health Care Group. "The background information is very thorough," she notes.

The fourth module is the most complex. It contains detailed information about the M0 items. The material presented is often in addition to the instructions included with each M0 question in the OASIS Manual. But it doesn't contain many of the tips and hints agencies have received in non-government presentations - perhaps because those tips often point out the weaknesses of the OASIS tool, and this CMS material is strongly pro-OASIS.

The other downside is the sleep-inducing nature of the narration. A cool, well-lighted room and a before-lunch time slot should be priorities when using this material. But even that may not keep the audience awake.

Adams suggests:

  • Especially for new nurses, break the training down into short segments - no more than one module at a time.

  • For experienced nurses, select areas to review based on M0 questions they're having trouble with. Consider having an education coordinator or supervisor summarize some of the more basic material.

    Some buttons are not yet activated, but there are sections designed to contain questions and answers. Clicking on "references" and then on "additional links" will take you to a selection of 30 links to OASIS-related resources you might want to add to your list of favorites for easy access.

    The delay in loading information from the Web site, especially the 60 minutes of video clips, limits the tool's usefulness, Adams notes. But CMS plans to send a CD-ROM disk containing the training tool to each agency, and "perhaps this will be smoother and faster," she says.

    A revised CD-ROM will be available in the spring and will include more features, CMS' Mary Weakland reported in the Oct. 3 satellite broadcast on the Home Health Quality Initiative.

    Editor's Note: The training tool is at www.oasistraining.org. Additional information about using it, including computer requirements, is at www.cms.hhs.gov/oasis/wbt.pdf.

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