A few weeks ago, I was in Iowa visiting family and friends, as Iowa is my home state. Whenever I am “on vacation” somewhere, I call Mandt instructors from nearby organizations and ask if I can test a random sample of the people they have certified in The Mandt System®. Over the years, I have done this all over the US and once in Canada. It is my goal to do this in every US state and Canadian province, and in all the Australian states using The Mandt System® before I retire.
I want to share with you that I am absolutely thrilled, impressed – I don’t think there is an adjective that can adequately convey my feelings in the 7% of communication available to me in this short blog. I am impressed with the results on the tests of the Relational chapters of The Mandt System®. The averages run around 90%, which means that the instructors within the many different types of organizations using our program are doing a first rate, top notch job of teaching the material.
The retention rates on the physical skills is lower, about 75%. While I want to improve this, I know that this number does not tell the whole story. I was recently in Missoula, Montana teaching an RCT class, and as I was teaching the Medical Risks of Restraint chapter, I asked how many injuries had occurred to individuals served as a result of using a Mandt System® technique. The answer was “none!”. I then asked how many staff injuries occurred as a result of using a Mandt System® technique, and the answer was “none.” Upon further investigation, it should have been “one” as a consumer who was blind was on the floor and, kicked a staff person who, after assisting her to the floor, was moving away. It was not intentional, it was an accident and could not have been prevented.
Stories like this are told week after week in Mandt System® training classes. At 75% retention, staff are still able to provide a high degree of safety for the people they serve and themselves. In our 2014 manual we are going to make some small changes, based on this data, designed to improve the retention rate. We are also adding some new information, building in new research, and telling new stories to amplify the principles we teach in our program.
We will not lose our relational foundation. It is what makes us unique in the field of creating workplace safety. Many of the organizations we compete with for your business say they are “restraint training” or “aggression prevention” or “restraint reduction” programs. We are in the business of creating safe places in which people can live, learn, work and play. Thank you, each and every one of you, who uses The Mandt System® in some way, whether you are an instructor or a staff person, a family member or an individual served, thank you for taking what we teach and bringing it to life, and making dignity and respect more than just words, you have made them real in the lives of all the people you touch.
Bob Bowen – CEO & Faculty
