Subject-matter experts assist those who develop training materials by ensuring that the
content is current, accurate, and consistent with Army medical doctrine. The
correspondence course you are studying right now was developed with just such help
from a 91P instructor assigned to the Academy of Health Sciences.
h. Supervision. Supervision covers a broad spectrum of duties.
(1)
Preventive maintenance of equipment.
(2) Toxic environment procedures. X-ray technologists working under your
supervision have a right to expect a safe working environment. This includes proper
ventilation, enclosed areas, proper equipment for handling film chemistry and chemical
treatment equipment for reacting immediately to on-the-job injuries or mishaps.
(3) Unit equipment and shelters. You will be responsible for supervising
equipment and shelters and establishing procedures for unpacking, loading, unloading,
setting up, and repacking them.
i. Evaluating Personnel Performance. Personnel evaluation is an area in
which ethics and objective assessment, not personalities, should be the guiding
principle. Admittedly, it is always difficult to pass judgment on colleagues, especially
when ratings affect career progression. However, you must do what is right, and what
is right is to objectively compare the job done to the job required, and rate accordingly.
You should be aware that there is a natural tendency to rate people we like higher than
others. You must consciously strive to put personal feelings, positive or negative, aside
when wearing your evaluation hat. It is also unethical to look the other way when an
employee is clearly not performing up to standard.
j. Counseling Employees. It is your responsibility, as supervisor, to counsel
your employees. Be specific when describing a problem behavior, citing actual
instances of the undesirable behavior, and outlining a course of corrective action to be
accomplished within a specified time period. This is not an easy thing to do, since no
one accepts criticism gracefully. In a training environment, the nature of the counseling
required will be different than that provided in a patient care setting. Students will need
career counseling in addition to progress reports. When counseling the employee, you
must first confirm the individual's inherent worth as a person. You must take care to
speak calmly, unemotionally, and respectfully. You should also make note of the things
the employee has been doing correctly, before proceeding to the problem area.
Determine what the obstacles to successful performance are (legitimate external
factors, lack of training, low motivation, personal problems, etc.). Then, collaborate with
the employee to develop a plan of corrective action with firm target dates. Document all
interactions, keep track of progress or lack thereof, and finally take necessary action to
have the employee relieved of duty, if no progress is made within the predetermined
trial period.
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