FYI
Over the last few years, CNO Mairead Hickey, PhD, RN, has been meeting with focus groups comprised of clinical staff nurses to hear about their practice and gain their valuable insight to inform Department of Nursing decisions. In November, the group discussed BWH Nurse and suggested this new “FYI” column to provide staff with some details about the work of their colleagues through a series of short items, such as a new pilot program or effort on a particular unit, an update on a topic we’ve covered in the past or a short preview of something we could cover down the road.
Tell us—and your colleagues—what you’re doing at bwhnurse@partners.org with FYI in the subject line. And one other thing, we need a catchy and fun name for this column. Send us your ideas.
Cancer Survivors Re-enter Primary Care
With funding from the Lance Armstrong Foundation, primary care physician Barbara Gottlieb, MD, MPH, and family nurse practitioner Linda Foxworthy, MSN, RNC, NP, are launching a program at Brookside Community Health Center to help cancer survivors re-enter primary care once they completed their chemotherapy and/or radiation therapy. Foxworthy is learning all the appropriate protocols while connecting with her colleagues at the Dana-Farber Cancer Institute and patients in a cancer survivor group at another community health center. This is a bit of a departure from the usual model in which survivor care is delivered by the cancer treatment center. However, as there are greater numbers of people surviving cancer, there is greater need to integrate their special needs as cancer survivors back into primary care. Initially, they plan to enroll breast cancer survivors, which is one of the more common cancers among Brookside patients.
BWH Goes Green
The Department of Nursing is well represented on the Product Utilization Review Committee, meeting weekly with colleagues from Patient Care Services, Finance and Materials Management to review products and practices in search of potential waste-reducing, environmentally friendly and cost-effective alternatives. For example, Tower 4C, 11BD and 15CD, CWN-7 and Shapiro 9W implemented a thermal blanket practice change, where patients’ bed spreads will be changed as required or requested by patients. Sheets always will be changed daily and as needed or requested by patients. The plan is to continue the roll out house wide. The committee aims to reduce by 10 percent the poundage of linen laundered at BWH. The committee also is working to adjust supply cart par levels and replace disposable positioning devices with reusable gel ones, among other changes. For more information, e-mail Leo Buckley at lbuckley@partners.org
Orientation Programs Updated
The Center for Nursing Excellence (CNE) has updated and streamlined orientation programs for medical assistants (MA), patient care assistants (PCA) and nurses. The PCA/MA orientation now includes breakout sessions for MAs for two full days with LMR computer training added as a new feature. PCAs continue for a third and final day. Orientation for nurses has been modified to include a Core Program allowing all nurses from the BWH community to “on-board” together in one orientation. Nurse leaders, specialty nurse groups and APRNs are now part of a two-day core orientation program applicable to ambulatory and inpatient settings. LPNs now have a separate breakout for area specific training and attend three full days of orientation. In addition, the CNE and the Center for Clinical Investigation have formed a partnership to develop the clinical skills training module for research coordinators and assistants.