Letter from CNO, SVP Mairead Hickey
Dear Colleagues:
The development and advancement of nursing practice is central to the mission of our Nursing Department. As your chief nurse, I am committed to ensuring a professional practice environment where the voices of nurses are heard and where opportunities for ongoing growth, learning and scholarship are supported.
This BWH Nurse includes some recent examples of this commitment. The Mary Fay Enrichment Awards, established nearly 10 years ago through the generosity of Yousuf and Estrellita Karsh, continue with funding from the Karsh family, Marshall Wolf, MD, and the Department of Nursing. This year, five teams of nurses received awards to explore and study some of the most complex patient care needs. Through these efforts, nurses will identify ways in which they improve care to patients and advance their practice. Each one of these recipients contributes to an environment that values learning and scholarship with the goal of excellent care to patients and families.
In addition to the Mary Fay Enrichment Awards, BWH Nurse presents recipients of the Gretchen Stone Cook Scholarships and the newly established Hispanic Heritage Award. These scholarships and awards recognize nurses, provide opportunities for professional growth and deepen our understanding of patient needs as these nurses share their learning for the advancement of the nursing community.
In this issue, we also take a closer look at the palliative care efforts and aspects of care unique to end-of-life situations that reach beyond Oncology inpatient units. Working with nurses, the interdisciplinary members of the Pain and Palliative Care team offer their expertise throughout the hospital and provide ongoing opportunities for learning at the point of care. A two-day End of Life Nursing Education Consortium (ELNEC) in October drew more than 60 nurses to learn more about this expanding field.
Over the past month, I have spent time with the Department of Nursing committees. As I listen to nurses describe the committee goals they established and their outcomes over this first year, I am impressed and grateful. Also, I am reminded of the powerful role clinical nurses play in shaping a practice environment that fosters excellence in care. The committees are Quality, Safety and Care Improvement; Standards, Policies and Procedures; Informatics and Clinical Innovations; and Patient and Family Education. In November we will be adding a Practice Committee. The next issue of BWH Nurse will highlight the committees and the work accomplished in their first year.
I remain committed to developing a professional practice environment at BWH that will allow every patient to receive excellent care from the best staff and in the safest environment. Thank you for your contributions to patient and family care every day.