Author Profile

Rebecca Smallwood

Healthcare Learning and Development Specialist, Relias

As a registered nurse for more than 27 years, Rebecca has experience across a wide spectrum of settings, including: rural and urban hospitals in medical/surgical, and ED clinical roles; school nursing; public health epidemiology; ambulatory surgery center; infection control; quality management; organizational development; and education in hospital, academic, and commercial organizations. She has authored a myriad of live and web-based courses on over 50 regulatory topics, patient safety, patient experience, and others. Her passion for education developed over the course of her career while helping patients, professionals, and organizations leverage learning to achieve their goals. Improving patient care by helping others gain new knowledge, skills, and attitudes is her mission and the driving force behind her work.

Posts by Rebecca Smallwood

15 Behavioral Interview Questions for Nurses

7 min read | Posted February 6, 2024

Learn 15 behavioral interview questions for nurses to identify candidates with the right characteristics and skills for success and retention.

Hiring the Right Nurses: 5 Characteristics to Look For

1 min read | Posted January 29, 2021

These skills and characteristics are essential to success and managers should seek to identify them in nursing candidates when filling a seat on the bus.

Getting the Most Out of Annual Mandatory Training

4 min read | Posted January 26, 2021

Here are four ways leaders can get the most out of annual training and make the process more meaningful for staff.

11 Actions Leaders Can Take to Develop a Safety Culture

4 min read | Posted March 12, 2020

Strong leadership is needed for a patient safety program to be successful. Leaders must make patient safety a priority and consistently communicate that message through words and actions. Here are 11 ways leaders can improve their safety culture.

February is All About the Heart

3 min read | Posted February 14, 2020

As part of American Heart Month we take a look at the growing number of tools that healthcare professionals can use to help make a difference in awareness, management, and treatment of heart health.

5 Ways to Reduce Horizontal Violence in Healthcare

5 min read | Posted November 8, 2018

Did you know that while about 10% of all professions report disruptive behaviors in the workplace, reports for healthcare professions are 3x higher?

Heroin Alert: A 3-Part Response

4 min read | Posted October 8, 2018

People addicted to prescription pain medications often switch to heroin because it offers a similar high, doesn’t require a prescription, and is cheaper to buy.

3 Steps to Assess and Respond to Suicide Ideation in Acute Care Settings

5 min read | Posted August 31, 2018

All clinical staff, regardless of setting, needs to be comfortable with identifying risk factors and screening all patients for suicide ideation.

Why is Preparing Preceptors Related to Improving Patient Care?

4 min read | Posted April 27, 2018

Preceptorship bridges the gap between the classroom and independent practice. They also prepare nurses for demanding practice environments.

High Costs of Poor Cultural Competency in Healthcare

4 min read | Posted April 25, 2018

Did you know that 18% of the U.S. population speaks a language other than English at home? By the year 2042 there will be no single ethnic or racial majority in the United States.

Hospital Readmissions. They’re Kind of a Big Deal

3 min read | Posted October 30, 2017

Potentially 27% of all readmissions are potentially preventable, and up to 50% of those are linked to interventions that could have been provided during initial hospitalization.

Strategies for Effective Patient Communication

7 min read | Posted March 6, 2017

Did you know adverse events are a high risk for patients after a care transition from inpatient hospital care to home? Many of these events are preventable through good communication and education before discharge.

Care Transitions: A Bridge over Troubled Water

4 min read | Posted March 3, 2017

Care transitions have been described as a bridge connecting patients from one healthcare provider or group of providers to another. , ….