May 2011 Celebrating Nursing Excellence

Transcription

1 May 2011 Celebrating Nursing Excellence Introduction Happy Nurses Week and welcome to our first quarterly issue of enursingnow! Nurses Week, which is celebrated from May 6-12 each year, is the time when nurses across the nation celebrate our profession. Celebrating our Nursing Excellence Award Winners The first National Nurse Week was observed from October 11-16, This date marked the 100 th anniversary of Florence Nightingale s historic mission to the Crimea to care for wounded soldiers. However, it wasn t until February, 1974 that a week was officially designated by President Nixon as National Nurse Week. Further, it wasn t until 1993 that the American Nurses Association Board of Directors designated May 6-12 as the permanent dates to observe National Nurses Week annually. Our 2011 Northwestern Memorial Nurses Week theme is Celebrating Nursing Excellence. In keeping with that theme, this issue of enursingnow highlights this year s Nursing Excellence Award Winners, Nursing Spectrum Awards Finalists, and a few of the nurses who have had recent publications and work accepted for presentation at national conferences. As we celebrate the week together through both hospitalwide events and area-based celebrations may we be reminded again of the important work that we do every day in delivering exceptional care to our patients. Happy Nurses Week! In January of each year, the Office of Professional Practice and Development sends out a call for nominations for our nursing excellence awards. These awards are given annually to nurses who exemplify the seven attributes of the NMH nurse: Advocate, Autonomous, Collaborative, Compassionate, Dynamic, Knowledgeable and Professional. Each nursing unit and department has the opportunity to nominate a nurse for the award. Nominations are reviewed by the departmental shared leadership committees who choose their final winner. The winners are recognized at the Annual Nursing Excellence Awards Ceremony during Nurses Week. 1

2 This year s winners were chosen by their peers for exhibiting excellence in nursing practice, which is the essence of what it means to be a nurse at a Magnet organization. Collectively, these nurses have 246 years of nursing experience, 153 years in their current specialty areas, and 149 years of service to NMH. They have 20 degrees and 14 certifications among them. Our winners have published, presented, volunteered and participated in professional organizations and have served their departments and units as expert clinicians, leaders, mentors and patient advocates. Evelyn s professionalism, dedication, and attention to detail are to be commended. She is the ultimate team player, making sure all of her staff are prepared for all possible clinical scenarios. She takes on her leadership roles with conviction and does not stop until the task has been accomplished. She is supremely friendly and approachable; above all, she has the patients best interest at heart. Riad Salem, MD, Director, Interventional Oncology and Professor of Radiology, Medicine and Surgery Evelyn Barza, RN, BSN, MPH, CNOR Clinical Coordinator, Interventional Radiology Winner, Radiology Nurse Excellence Award Evelyn has worked in Interventional Radiology for 10 years. She has her Masters Degree in Public Health and is certified as a CNOR (Certified Nurse Operating Room). Evelyn is a hard worker and a great nurse. Her day consists of collaborating with doctors, nurses and technologists, being a patient liaison, and sorting out problems. Evelyn does whatever it takes to make the department great while at the same time seeing to it that the patients are getting exceptional care. Evelyn is always willing to help resolve issues for everyone in the department. Sherie Monzin, Resource Coordinator, Interventional Radiology Rheta Bredesen, RN, OCN Staff Nurse, Radiation Oncology Winner, Professional Services Nurse Excellence Award Rheta is an Oncology Certified Nurse (OCN) and is finishing her BSN degree. She is also a member of the Oncology Nursing Society. Currently, Rheta is participating in an evidencebased research project and plans to present the project at a conference when completed. Rheta s positive spirit is beyond measure. She is the person you know you can count on professionally and personally. She listens to the patients as well as the staff with her heart. She always gives you 100%. Sharlotte Jones, Customer Service, Prentice Radiation Oncology 2

3 Rheta s positivity is one of my favorite qualities. Her ready smile and infectious laugh are always the first and last things I notice about Rheta when I see her. I feel that this attribute and the way that she exhibits it impacts patient care as it helps to put patients at ease even in difficult situations. Rheta is easy to approach, and her sense of humor helps her relate to patients on a level beyond just medical. Kristin Huber, MSW, LCSW, Senior Social Worker, Case Management makes my day when I get to work with her as I know I have someone I can whole heartedly trust on my team. She is the whole package technically excellent, incredibly smart, pleasurable to work with, and very compassionate. If a family member of mine ever needs medical assistance, I hope we are lucky enough to get Cortney as our nurse. Sanjeev Malik, MD, Attending Physician, Emergency Medicine Cortney Book, RN, BSN, CEN, TNS Clinical Coordinator, Emergency Department Winner, Emergency Department Nurse Excellence Award Cortney has been at Northwestern Memorial Hospital for nine years. She is certified in emergency nursing and also as a Trauma Nurse Specialist. She is currently in graduate school pursuing her MSN. Cortney is truly someone that I admire and respect. She has had various roles in the ED and has excelled at each of them. She is an amazing charge nurse who keeps the department calm in the middle of chaos and epitomizes the Patients First philosophy. Last week, I watched her go to Baskin Robbins on her break to buy a terminally ill cancer patient some ice cream. Examples like this are more the rule for Cortney than the exception, and we are extremely lucky to have her here at NMH. It Rene Catalano, RN, MS Education Coordinator, CCU, Float Pool, RRT Winner, Medicine Nursing Nurse Excellence Award Rene has played a central role in clinical education here at Northwestern Memorial. For several years, she chaired the hospitalwide Nursing Education and Professional Development Committee. She currently serves as an education coordinator in the Department of Medicine Nursing. Rene s primary strength is the outstanding care that she delivers for our patients. Her knowledge of cardiovascular pathophysiology, treatments and devices is first rate. She has a reputation in the CCU as a problem solver. In addition to her technical expertise, Rene is always compassionate and is a staunch patient advocate. James D. Flaherty, MD, Assistant Professor of Medicine, Division of Cardiology, Medical Director, Coronary Care Unit 3

4 Rene brings much energy, creativity and heart into her work. She delivers results through leadership, persuasion, teaching, example and an amazing depth of technical knowledge. She is always willing to roll up her sleeves and collaborate with colleagues. She has definitely gained the respect of her peers, is a resource throughout NMH and most importantly is focused on fostering a culture of quality and excellence. Jodi Eisenberg, Manager, Clinical Accreditation and Policy management anyone that comes in contact with her is extremely lucky. - Lisa Kusumpa, LCSW, Social Worker Diana Doepp, RN, BSN, ACM Care Facilitator, Case Management Winner, Nursing Operations Nurse Excellence Award Diana recently completed her BSN and plans to pursue her MSN this fall. She presented a lecture titled Pursuing Excellence at the National ACMA conference in April Diana is currently the co-chair of the Case Management Professional Development Committee. I have gotten to work very closely with Diana on several committees over the past year and I find her to be amazing! She has a kindness about her that I have rarely encountered in anyone. She has a calming nature that immediately puts you at ease. She is extremely organized and responsible. I know that I can always count on Diana to follow through on anything she is assigned to and it will be incredible work. She is a joy to work with and 4 Kristine Green, RN, BSN Clinical Quality Leader, Clinical Quality Winner, Non-Direct Care Areas Nurse Excellence Award Kristine is the Quality Leader for the interdisciplinary Emergency Response Team Committee. She has been a part of the NMH community for 13 years and was awarded a Chapman Scholarship in Kristine has an excellent understanding of clinical research processes as well as the need for careful scientific construction of potential clinical investigations. She also has the rare attribute of being a stellar communicator. With minimal effort, she is able to clearly articulate our hypotheses, study designs, results and discussions in manuscripts that she prepares. Kristine exemplifies the role of a true quality management professional, and I am lucky to be part of her team. Michael L. Ault, MD, FCCP, FCCM, Medical Director, Blood Gas Services and Emergency Response Teams

5 Amanda Love, RNC, BSN Staff Nurse, PAC Clinic Winner, Women s Health Nurse Excellence Award Amanda is a member of AWHONN and Sigma Theta Tau. She served as a tour guide for the Magnet Commission s visit in November and is currently taking the prerequisite classes for graduate school. She holds the national certification in Inpatient Obstetric Nursing. What can I say about the most knowledgeable and efficient person I have ever worked with? Amanda is truly interested in the timely and thorough care of all of our patients. She thinks ahead and is an irreplaceable tool for the doctors in the PAC Clinic. She is sincerely empathetic and cheerful towards our patients and coworkers. - Hilda Garcia, Unit Secretary Our clinic and patients are so lucky to have Amanda! She is always unfailingly cheerful, empathetic and helpful. Her clinical instincts are superb and she is always willing to go above and beyond to help out anyone (residents and patients) in the clinic. Courtney Lim, MD, Resident Physician, Ob/Gyn Marilyn Lukitsch, RN-BC, MS Clinical Coordinator, Psychiatry Emergency Department Winner, Stone Institute of Psychiatry Nurse Excellence Award Marilyn has a master s degree in Psychiatric Nursing and is also certified in her specialty area. She serves on the Psychiatry Risk Assessment Task Force and is a member of the Illinois Hospital Association Task Force on evaluating and improving transfers from emergency rooms to state hospitals. I have rarely seen the level of tireless dedication and professionalism from a nurse as Marilyn embodies. She is able to skillfully weave the demands of her profession with the needs of her patients, no matter how difficult the circumstances. She combines these traits with a good sense of humor, which only serves to improve the care of her patients and makes working with her a pleasure. Vadim Sprikut, Licensed Clinical Social Worker, Housing Program 5

6 Janet Palamone, RN, MSN, APN, CNRN, CCRN Education Coordinator, Neuro-Spine ICU Winner, Ortho/Neuro Nursing Nurse Excellence Award Janet is an active member in the American Association of Critical-Care Nurses and American Association of Neuroscience Nurses and maintains certifications in both specialties. Janet serves on the Nursing Peer Review Committee. She will be presenting her research study on DVT prevention titled, Tap and Twist, at the University of Iowa Evidence- Based Practice Conference, as well as at the American Association of Critical Care Nurses National Training Institute. Janet is the very definition of collaborative! Despite that Janet is amazingly intelligent, skilled and experienced; she never hesitates to collaborate with the rest of the multidisciplinary team when caring for her patients. Whether it be collaborating with the ICU PharmD on a new medication or medication process, or collaborating with a colleague from another unit on a research project, Janet is always utilizing her resources to further nursing practice, educate her staff and care for her patients. - Kimberly Levasseur, PharmD, BCPS, Pharmacist Neuro/Spine ICU Pharmacy Department Kaitlyn Peterson, RN, BSN, OCN Staff Nurse, 15 Prentice Winner, Oncology Nursing Nurse Excellence Award Kaitlyn serves as a preceptor to new oncology nurses and has taught the Oncology Fundamentals class which is completed by new staff members. She is an Oncology Certified Nurse and has worked at NMH for three years. Kaitlyn is organized, attentive and compassionate. She is an obvious leader for the other nurses. She helps to set the tone of the unit. She is honest and open, as well as being even-tempered. Andrea Leitz, Social Worker Kaitlyn had cared for a patient for several days, but had come in to take on a different assignment. The original patient needed to be educated on flushing her central line, and requested that Kaitlyn be the one to teach her. Even though Kaitlyn was not assigned to this patient, she agreed enthusiastically to complete the teaching that was needed. Kim Smith, Care Facilitator 6

7 Krista Puckett, RN, CMSRN Staff Nurse, 12 East Feinberg Winner, Inpatient Surgical Nursing Nurse Excellence Award Krista recently became a Certified Medical Surgical Registered Nurse and is a member of Sigma Theta Tau. She has been at Northwestern Memorial for three years. Even though Krista only has been on our floor for 3 years, she has really demonstrated how nursing should be practiced. She is truly a patient advocate. Discharge call backs and weekly surveys consistently demonstrate how much patients appreciate having Krista take care of them. Krista gave me the best care; She was so attentive, nice, courteous, and just wonderful. She continues to receive patient letters and kudos thanking her for exceptional care. For example, there was a hospice patient on our floor whom Krista cared for 2 days in a row. We usually do not have hospice patients; however this did not deter Krista from giving appropriate end of life care. She made the patient and family comfortable and respected their wishes. The patient passed away at the end of her shift and she stayed late to make sure everything for the family and patient was taken care of. - Rachel Johnson, Staff Nurse, 12 East Feinberg Kelly Rupp, RNC, BSN, C-EFM Staff Nurse, Labor and Delivery Winner, Surgical Services Nurse Excellence Award Kelly has worked in Labor and Delivery for over 5 years. She has obtained her AWHONN Intermediate Fetal Monitoring certification, as well as her Inpatient Obstetric Certification (RNC). Kelly is a member of the hospitalwide Nursing Best People and Professional Excellence Committee as well as the Prentice Departmental Shared Leadership Committee. Kelly is one of our most valuable nurses on labor and delivery. She provides superior patient care consistently and is always a patient advocate during interdisciplinary team discussions. Kelly always works as a dynamic member of the labor and delivery OB team, consistently working cooperatively with midwifes, residents and attending physicians. Kelly is always professional in her approach to communication with OB team members. Mary Clare Vanecko, APN, CNM Kelly exemplifies excellence in nursing. She is intelligent, thorough, organized, compassionate and a tremendous team player. I have personally witnessed Kelly under pressure and she remains calm and professional while appropriately managing the situation. Kelly has the respect of her colleagues and supervisors, as well as the obstetric and anesthesia staff. Nicole Higgins, MD, Medical Director, Obstetric Anesthesiology 7

8 Celebrating Our APN Peer Recognition Award Winner Each year one Northwestern Memorial Advanced Practice Nurse (APN) is chosen as our APN Peer Recognition Award Winner. APNs can be nominated by either RNs or their fellow APNs. The winner is then selected from among the nominees by a committee of APNs. Emily Warren, RN, BSN Transplant Nurse Coordinator, Transplant Winner, Kovler Organ Transplantation Center Nurse Excellence Award Emily has worked at Northwestern Memorial for 13 years. She is a member of the International Transplant Nurses Society, and along with her colleagues, was recently accepted to present at the American Transplant Congress. She also represented the transplant department as one of the escorts during the Magnet site visit. I am continually impressed with the high level of Emily s involvement and care for her patients. As part of her excellent care for her patients, Emily familiarizes herself with each patient s health situation but also is thoroughly familiar with their overall personal state and support systems. Many of these patients have immunological impediments to transplantation and Emily will fight for every potential chance of helping these patients to get a compatible transplant. Our team spends many hours trying to come up with potential creative solutions for these very sick patients, but it is Emily who dreams up potential solutions and brings them to our group to assess whether these can actually come true. Emily s dedication and enthusiastic approach is contagious, driving all of us to a higher level of patient care. Emily is an outstanding nurse, a guardian angel to her patients, and a symbol for NMH mission and values of excellence in practice. Anat Tambur, DMD, PhD, Director, Transplant Immunology Laboratory 8 Maribeth Beahan, RN, MSN, APN, CNP Medicine Nursing Winner, APN Peer Recognition Award Maribeth has worked at Northwestern Memorial for 23 years, the last ten as an advanced practice nurse. She is a certified nurse practitioner and member of the American Heart Association. She serves on the Heart Failure Length of Stay DMAIC and is the project owner for the Optimizing Telemetry Utilization Project which won the Excellence Award at NMH s 2010 Improvement Day. Maribeth is also the site coordinator for the Improving Heart Failure Outcomes research study, a national, multisite study that is being conducted in Magnet hospitals. Maribeth is an advocate for all patients and exemplifies the Patients First attitude. She works with the physicians and nurses to provide optimal care for the cardiac patients. She follows patients through the continuum of care by seeing each of them in the clinics after

9 discharge. Maribeth works with medical students and cardiology fellows on the cardiology consult service as they diagnose and treat each patient s cardiac condition. She participates in Interdisciplinary Rounds on 15E daily and collaborates with the nursing staff to facilitate each patient s plan of care. Maribeth is an instructor for new telemetry orientees and new nurses in CCU regarding care for heart failure patients, and provides education to nurses about rhythm evaluation. Maribeth ensures that all cardiac patient care is in accordance with the AHA Guidelines. She is a valuable resource for all nurses and is always available to answer questions or assist in patient care. She is a first responder to emergency situations and works with all disciplines to provide optimal patient care. Bethany Collins, RN, BSN, Manager, 15East Feinberg Celebrating Our Nursing Spectrum Award Finalists The Nursing Spectrum has created a national program to recognize the extraordinary contributions nurses make to their patients, each other, and the profession. Each year, they seek nominations for their Nursing Excellence Awards in six categories: Karen Cabansag, RN, BSN, CURN, NE-BC Manager, 12 East Feinberg Nominated in the Management Category Karen has demonstrated leadership both on her unit and across the organization more broadly. At the unit level, she is a leader among leaders. Her voluntary turnover has been under 3% for the past two years. In addition, her employee engagement scores have ranked among the top of our organization for the past two survey cycles. In our most recent survey, she was the top performer among 50 plus units/departments with nurses and outperformed both our organizational mean and our survey vendors Magnet benchmark. She is widely looked to for advice about fostering employee engagement and has participated in leadership panel discussions about best practices for advancing engagement at the organization-wide level. Advancing & Leading the Profession Clinical Care Community Service Management Mentoring Teaching Nominations are solicited by region from healthcare organizations, schools of nursing, individuals and the community. From the nominations received, five Chicago area finalists are chosen in each of the six categories. This year, Northwestern Memorial has finalists in three of the six categories: management, teaching and mentoring. 9

10 Nicole Gooding, RN, BN, MSHS, CHPN Education Consultant Nominated in the Mentoring Category Nicole s expertise and experience in the delivery of adult education and learner engagement have enabled her to mentor, guide and influence new graduate nurses and colleagues alike. She places the highest value on ensuring that orientees not only receive necessary information from the program they are in, but also that they consider ways in which they can grow in their careers including how they can get involved with nursing opportunities at NMH. Paul Langlois, APN, PhD, CCRN, CCNS, CNRN Manager, Cardiac Transplant ICU Nominated in theteaching Category Paul has been a leader in advancing certification and evidence-based practice changes at NMH. He has taught a twice yearly critical care review course since 2009, which has resulted in over 200 newly certified critical care nurses. He has also championed evidence-based practice projects in the CTICU. These projects, two which were completed by CTICU nurses who received Chapman Scholarships, resulted in the development of a nurse-guided intubation protocol and new interventions to decrease delirium in postcardiac surgery patients. Both projects have resulted in improved patient outcomes. 10

11 Celebrating Publications and Presentations Northwestern Memorial nurses are presenting at regional and national conferences and sharing the results of their research and evidence-based practice projects in peerreviewed publications. Recent examples are shown below. Publications Richard Ray, RN, MS, PMH-BC; "The Evolution of Practice Changes in the Use of Special Observations"; Archives of Psychiatric Nursing (April 2011) Ashley Currier, RN, BSN, CMSRN; Bedside Change-of-Shift Reporting: A Strategy to Increase Patient Safety ; Focus on Patient Safety: A newsletter from the National Patient Safety Foundation (Vol. 14: Issue 1, 2011) Evelyn Perkins, RN, MS, PMH-BC, NE-BC; "The Hunt for H1NO1" - Children's Book; Dog Ear Publishing (December 2010) Patricia Lazzara, RN, MS, Anjana Santos, RN, MBA, Linda F. Hellstedt, APN, MSN, Rita Walter, RN, MS, NE-BC; "The Evolution of a Centralized Telemetry Program"; Nursing Management (November 2010) Judith Paice, RN, PhD, FAAN, B.R. Ferrell, R. Virani, N. Coyle, P. Coyne; "Evaluation of Palliative Care Nursing Education Seminars"; European Journal of Oncology Nursing (September 2010) Posters / Presentations Accepted for presentation at the National Magnet Conference in October, 2011: Jill Rogers, PhD, RN, NEA-BC, Michelle Janney, RN, PhD, NEA-BC, Kris Goetz, MA; "Broad Engagement Beyond Nursing as a Measure of Success: An Innovative Magnet Redesignation Strategy"; Presentation at National Magnet Conference, October 2011, Baltimore, MD Abby Jones, BSN, CNRN, Sarah Buenaventura, RN, BSN, CMSRN, Maureen Slade, MS, RN, PMHCNS-BC, NE-BC; "Recruitment and Retention: Achieving Exceptional Outcomes Through Direct Care Nurse Leadership"; Presentation at National Magnet Conference, October 2011, Baltimore, MD Kristopher Goetz, MA, Michelle Janney, RN, PhD, NEA-BC; "Nursing's Role in the Value Equation: Improving Quality of Care While Reducing Costs ; Poster at National Magnet Conference, October 2011, Baltimore, MD Patricia O'Sullivan, RN, MSN, ACNS-BC, Clelia Dompe, Maureen Slade, MS, RN, PMHCNS- BC, NE-BC; "No Longer Your Traditional Educator: From Staff Educator to Organizational Leader ; Poster at National Magnet Conference, October 2011, Baltimore, MD Kelly Marks, RN, BSN, Kristin Ramsey, RN, MSN, MPPM, NE-BC, Kristopher Goetz, MA; "Facilitating Exemplary Professional Practice through the Work of a Nursing Finance Committee"; Virtual Poster at National Magnet Conference, October 2011, Baltimore, MD Fiscal Year 2011 Presentations (January April): Janet Palamone, APN, MSN, CNRN, CCRN; "Tap and Twist: Preventing deep Vein Thrombus in the Neuroscience Patient through Foot and Ankle Range of Motion Exercises"; 18th National Evidence-Based Practice Conference: Connecting with Consumers for Evidence-Based Health Care; April 2011; Iowa City, IA 11

12 Lisa Kwasigroch, RN; "Preventing Perioperative Acquired Pressure Ulcers"; 58th Annual Congress of the Association of PeriOperative Registered Nurses; March 2011; Philadelphia, PA Tara Campanella, RN, MSN; "Magnetic Resonance Imaging in Patients with Implanted Cardiac Pacemakers"; Association for Radiologic & Imaging Nursing (ARIN) Convention; March 2011; Chicago, IL Tenille Echard, RN; "Measures to Decrease Incidence of Delirium"; Poster at Society of Critical Care Medicine Annual Meeting; January 2011; San Diego, CA We want to know! Please Kristin Robinson at if you have recently been published or accepted to present, etc. 12