BWH’s Center for Excellence in Nursing Practice- BWH Bulletin - For and about the People of Brigham and Women's Hospital
BWH’s Center for Excellence in Nursing Practice- BWH Bulletin - For and about the People of Brigham and Women's Hospital
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May 16, 2000
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In This Issue:
Medical Errors
BWH’s Center for Excellence in Nursing Practice
Lily Kravitz Nursing Studies Award
FY 2000 2nd Quarter Results:
AIDSWalk 2000
ASK YOURSELF
“Volunteers Meet the Challenge”
People come to BWH for some of the best health care in the nation. But while they are being treated here, they often face difficulties that affect their recovery. Some patients from urban neighborhoods struggle with poverty, a lack of English skills, and no child care. Teen mothers must learn to breastfeed their infants, a frustrating process that few continue once discharged from the hospital. Women with recurrent breast cancer find they are emotionally affected by their caregivers’ level of compassion. Families must face difficult decisions about a loved one’s terminal illness or condition. However, nurses are working hard to remedy these and many other difficult scenarios, thanks to BWH’s new Center for Excellence in Nursing Practice. The center—conceived by Nursing Vice President Mary S. Fay, RN, MS—will enable nurses who have earned doctorates to conduct research and translate findings into improved patient care. Nurses will be granted the opportunity to pursue their own studies, and will share their findings with other nurses through grand rounds, professional publications, and educational programs. Although a variety of studies will be conducted at the center, studies that focus on patient and family comfort—particularly the physical, psychological/emotional, sociocultural, and spiritual sides of comfort—will be especially encouraged. While the center is still in the process of evolving, it will eventually be physically located at the Neville House. Fay, who will transition from her current position as vice president of Nursing to head the Center for Excellence in Nursing Practice, will lead the center, assisted by two nurse researchers—Lucy Feild, PhD, RN, CS, and Carolyn Hayes, PhD, RN. Fay supports the opportunities that the center will give to nurses and patients. “The nurses at BWH are practicing cutting-edge health care,” says Fay. “The center will give them the resources they need to answer challenging questions they encounter in their work, and to share what they’ve learned with their professional colleagues and the public.”