Dear Colleagues:
The vision of the Department of Nursing at BWH is built on the premise that nurses who provide direct care to patients and families are doing the essential work of our profession and significantly contribute to the most important work of the hospital.
During our informal conversations when I am rounding on your units, I learn from you about the times and circumstances when things go well for you and your patients and families. I also learn about the challenges you face in providing the kind of care you want to give. I hear about the organizational supports which are useful to you and about the obstacles that are in your path. I am always reminded of how important it is to have a practice environment where ongoing learning is valued and where you are able to develop the skilled knowledge you need to practice in a highly competent and safe way. This information helps me and the nursing directors and managers address one of our most important responsibilities: to create a clinical practice environment for nursing practice at BWH that allows you to provide excellent care to patients and families.
So I am pleased about increasing the opportunities to hear your voice around important issues of clinical practice and patient care that reframing our current nursing committee structure will provide. Many of you have been participating in improvement initiatives, task forces and committees for a number of years. We are expanding these opportunities for more of you to participate in such work.
The committees, some new, some already existing, include: Safety, Quality and Care Improvement; Patient and Family Education; Informatics and Clinical Innovations; and Standards, Policies and Procedures. Each committee has co-chairs who will set the committee’s agenda, guide its work and assure that the specific charge of the committee is met. The committees will also have advisors to assure that the specific committee’s work is integrated with the work of the Nursing Department and BWH. I have appointed nurses to these positions, and there will be more opportunities for those of you interested in being involved.
As professional nurses, each of us has the right and the responsibility to shape our practice and the setting in which we do our work. I believe that this committee structure will allow us to work together more closely to advance our vision of providing excellent care with the best staff in the safest environment.