Tip Sheet

Talking about Preference-Based Programs

The Value of Assessing Preferences

  • Understanding the preferences of the people I take care of will help me and my colleagues work more efficiently.
  • Assessing preferences supports the mission, vision, and values of our organization.
  • Assessing preferences helps us to meet regulatory requirements for providing person-centered care.
  • Knowing my clients’ preferences helps me to give them a better day and hopefully joy.
  • Knowing my clients’ preferences helps me to redirect, calm, and reassure them.
  • Assessing preferences helps me feel confident that the care I deliver matches my clients’ wishes.
  • Even if I think I know the preferences of my client, they may change — either temporarily or permanently — so it’s important to check in and ask.

The Value of Creating and Using PAL Cards

  • PAL Cards make it easy for us to start a conversation with a client about the things they enjoy, making them feel valued and known.
  • PAL Cards can help us orient new team members to our clients’ preferences.
  • PAL Cards will show families that we have taken the time to get to know their loved ones.
  • We can use the tool to ask family members about their loved one’s important preferences — this is especially helpful when residents/clients have difficulty telling us about their preferences on their own.
  • PAL Cards give us a way to show surveyors that we are aware of client preferences.
  • PAL Cards help me communicate with clients and provide care in the way they prefer.

The Value of the Emotion-Focused Communication Training

  • This evidence-based training will help me:
    • Recognize emotions in myself and others
    • Provide me with strategies to anticipate resident/client needs
    • Provide me with needed communication skills for working with people living
    • with dementia
    • Give me practical strategies that I can immediately put into practice
  • The training will help with culture change, allowing us to better communicate with one another, families, and residents/clients
  • This online training is:
    • Convenient, flexible, and available at no cost to me or the organization
    • Only takes 2.5 hours and I can complete it in a few 15-30 minute segments
    • I will receive a Certificate of Completion from Miami University for my HR records
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About the Series

This is one in a series of Tip Sheets on using the Preferences for Everyday Living Inventory (PELI) to improve person-centered care. Topics include: How to Get Started, Interview Tips, Working with Proxies, Helping Staff Engage, Integrating Preferences into Care Plans and more. View our full series of Tip Sheets.

Have questions or comments? Please e-mail us at PELI-Can@miamioh.edu or call our helpline at 513-529-3605.

This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution-NoDerivatives 4.0 International License. Based on a work at https://preferencebasedliving.com/. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-nd/4.0/.