Your Impact – R.E.F.S. Makes Ongoing Staff Training Fast and Fun
Published Tuesday, May 19, 2026
Members of the Roaming Education for Staff (R.E.F.S.) team at Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre provide fast, interactive learning sessions that help staff stay current on best practices and patient care.
It's amazing how healthcare is always improving with new technology and new best practices. Those advancements mean that staff at the Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre need ongoing training to keep up. A dedicated team of Clinical Nurse Specialists (CNS), Professional Practice Leaders, and Interprofessional Educators called the Clinical Practice Collective Group provides that training.
However during the pandemic, “best practices” changed all the time. The Group needed to find innovative ways to help make learning fast and fun.
“We sat down as a group and tried to brainstorm how we could provide staff with the education they needed without overwhelming them during that stressful time,” said Kristina Moro, the Stroke CNS at the Hospital and one of the three leads of the new initiative. “We came up with the idea of Roaming Education for Staff or R.E.F.S. that met staff where they worked.”
That successful homegrown program lives on today – and you're helping support it through your donations to the Health Sciences Foundation, by attending Foundation events, and by purchasing Thunder Bay 50/50 tickets. Thanks to you, R.E.F.S. can purchase simulators and other innovative teaching tools to help with staff engagement.
However, R.E.F.S. wasn't an easy sell in the beginning, Moro said.
“The initiative took a few months to gain momentum – it wasn't an instant hit,” Moro said. “Now, they come running when they see us because they know the session will be short, interactive, and relevant.”
Training “huddles” are usually only 3-5 minutes long and concentrate on a specific topic. For example, it may be a quick review of protocols for patients with flu symptoms by playing a fast trivia game. Or, it might be a CPR skills practice session using a portable mannequin. R.E.F.S. provided education to over 5,100 staff in 2025.
“The idea is to hit them with quick, current information,” Moro said. “It's short and engaging enough to have impact.”
The team also hosts longer sessions called Lunch and Learns once per month. The team hosted one Lunch and Learn in the patient gym so staff could see where patients go for physical therapy and meet the allied health teams. In another session, R.E.F.S. team members demonstrated quick tips to other staff on how to properly choose the right oxygen mask for the individual patients.
“These professionals in their field can provide simple tips that make a huge impact on patient care,” Moro said. “But more than that, R.E.F.S. built this bridge to collaboration. It's such an impactful way to make a difference.”
That's in part because R.E.F.S. involves everyone at the Hospital.
“This is an all-staff education initiative,” Moro said. “We really wanted to open this up to clinical and non-clinical staff.”
The education itself may be different, even if the end goal is the same.
“Talking to a nurse, we might talk about Code Stroke in the organization. But if I'm talking to a non-clinical staff member, maybe we're talking about the signs of stroke. You can shift a topic and make the learning transferable to anybody.”
That change from learning by profession to group learning led to a surprising morale-boosting shift in culture at the Hospital as well.
“That culture shift is something the whole team is so very proud of,” Moro said. “R.E.F.S. underlines that it doesn't matter who you are in this organization, you contribute to patient care. You have value.”
Your support makes programs like this possible. Find out how your donations, participation in Foundation events, and Thunder Bay 50/50 tickets make a difference at our Hospital every day:
healthsciencesfoundation.ca/news
Article By: Graham Strong