
At Nga Kete we have allowed and embraced consumers to shape our service delivery from the beginning.
Former and current clients of the original stop smoking service were asked to attend staff orientation, which was held at the Ascot Park Hotel in August.
The clients assisted in providing real life one-on-one encounters and best practice approaches to then be used out in the field.
This form of induction was chosen because we know the consumer is key to help shape our delivery in terms of how we engage with clients, and achieve the outcome of "not a single puff."
It provided a learning environment where mistakes could be made and feedback was honest and real, and demonstrated several types of situations coaches may face. It also taught them how to respond to people in the moment because every client will be different.
Former Stop Smoking coach Barbara Metzger, who has been involved in smoking cessation for 10 years, said the whanau are the experts of their own lives, so the stop smoking coaches are there to support them and show them how to use NRT. “It’s a partnership.”
It enabled the new coaches to ask open questions and gather the information required through motivational interviewing, which was followed up with honest and real time feedback, Barbara says.
North Otago coach Liz Cadogan and South Otago coach Anita Clouston said they hadn’t experienced real-life training and both found it very beneficial.
Anita said: “It was a very hands-on approach which is wonderful. After all ‘tell me and I forget, teach me and I may remember, involve me and I learn’.”
“Everyone in the room had a different background and different knowledge to share and add to our knowledge kete. It was a great opportunity for everyone to come together in a welcoming environment to share this information.”
Liz said: “I realised from the training I wanted to take on a more gentle, soft approach and as a result I have had success at getting people on board who initially had no intention of joining up.”
Client Desiree Neho said she wasn’t sure what to expect when she was asked to attend the training but says she had her questions answered, and was pleased her input assisted the new coaches.
She had started smoking again two weeks prior to orientation but attending and sharing her story had helped her to remain smoke free since, she says.