Nursing Committee Updates
Patient Family Education Committee
The Patient and Family Education Committee met with Maureen Fagan RN, executive director of Patient and Family Relations, for consultation around inviting a patient or family member to join the committee. Expanding the committee to include a patient and/or family member is a goal that will continue to be explored.
The committee welcomed new members, including former co-chair Cindy Loring, RN, who remains as a committee member.
In September, the committee will share its work with Chief Nursing Officer Jackie Somerville, PhD, RN, when she attends a committee meeting.
With questions, contact co-chairs Deb Moody, RN, or Katie Fillipon, RN.
Quality Safety and Care Improvement Committee Update
A hand hygiene day in July was supported by committee members who gave out hand sanitizer along with education materials emphasizing the importance of hand hygiene to colleagues, patients and families. In addition, members of the committee will join the Skin Prevalence survey on Sept. 22.
Also in July, committee members reached out to colleagues for their ideas, questions and recommendations for improvement. Please contact any committee member or co-chair to share your ideas.
We continue to learn more about systems and best practices from patient mortality data. The Center for Clinical Excellence (CCE) has developed and implemented a mortality tool for physician feedback to be completed following a patient death. A similar tool for nursing was recently trialed in the MICU. The committee has been asked to review the tool and offer input regarding the questions. The goal is to implement the nursing tool in six months.
The QSCI committee meets the second Tuesday of every month. Please direct questions to co-chairs Martha Doherty, RN, and Stephanie Capello, RN.
Informatics and Clinical Innovations Committee
The Informatics and Clinical Innovations Committee continues to advocate for clinical systems projects to support the work of the nurse at the bedside and promote patient and staff safety. In June, the committee welcomed Chief Nursing Officer Jackie Somerville, PhD, RN, to a meeting. Achievements and goals of the group were highlighted followed by a Q&A session.
Patch removal eMAR icon:
The committee gave feedback and suggestions on a new patch removal icon in the eMAR display. Currently, eMAR alerts the nurse when to remove a Lidoderm patch only. The new system will allow the nurse to set the time for any patch removal, which can vary from patient to patient. The new function will also allow the nurse to document where the patch was placed.
Quick icon for Advanced Care Planning:
The committee gave feedback and suggestions on a new icon on the pod monitor that would draw information from BICS regarding code status and discussions related to Advanced Care Planning. This application will provide a single location for all Advanced Care Planning information.
Epidural pump changes:
The committee gave feedback on proposed changes to the CADD pump which would allow patient controlled nerve blocks. Anesthesia is exploring this option with expected approval this fall.
Please contact co-chairs Heidi Smith Doucette, CNRN, or Gary Zina, RN, with questions.
Practice Committee
Practice Committee co-chair Mary Beth Mondello, RN, announced that she is transitioning from her staff nurse role at BWH to an NP role at MGH. September will be her last meeting. She took the opportunity to express her appreciation to all of the members for their colleagueship and support.
Committee goals for the upcoming year include supporting narrative practice and expanding knowledge about skill acquisition from novice to expert. A strategy to support narrative practice is to prepare committee members to elicit narratives and discuss the learning that is embedded in them. In June, Patricia Kyriakidis, PhD, RN, co-author of “Clinical Wisdom in Acute and Critical Care Nursing,” led members in a practice session. She offered coaching tips and described types of questions that allow for a more complete story. Members heard narratives and identified possible questions that would lead to greater understanding of the story. It was acknowledged that eliciting and facilitating narratives is an acquired skill and, like any skill, develops with practice. Committee members will continue to develop this skill with further coaching and by sharing their stories from practice with each other.
Committee members discussed skill acquisition, why knowing about how practice develops is important and how they use it in their own practice. Discussion included how this knowledge has helped members reflect on their own practice, how it has been valuable in improving practice and how this knowledge may help to reevaluate their own practice. The committee has been asked to make recommendations about the most effective way of getting this information to BWH nurses.
If you have questions, contact Alice O’Brien, MS, RN.
Standards, Policies and Procedures
Standards, Policies and Procedures strives to use the best evidence to support the very best care to patients and families. The committee is made up of members from both inpatient and outpatient settings and across specialty lines. This unique vantage point allows for rich discussions and ensures consistency in practice across settings. The committee reviewed two policies below noting the following highlights:
Med-07 contains the information for safe withdrawal of medications from glass ampules. This requires the use of filter straws to remove any glass particulate matter from the medication after the neck is snapped off the ampule. The Peoplesoft number for the straws is 40463. Pre-made trays that physicians use may not always contain filter straws, and you may need to obtain them. Please let your Ops Supervisor know if you are having trouble locating the straws.
Med-37 contains information related to nebulized medications. Please continue to rinse the neb cups and mouthpieces with sterile water after the treatment. The equipment should then be placed in a perforated bag to allow it to air dry. These are CDC recommendations. The Peoplesoft number for the bags is 348980. To protect patients from oral infections, patients should be encouraged to rinse after each treatment and be vigilant in mouth care.
The committee is making an effort to avoid using specific product names in policies, as vendors do change. For example, when identified in a policy, the “Clave” needleless device will now simply be called “needleless connector caps.”
If you have questions, comments or concerns, please email co-chairs Cindy Jodoin, RN, and Sharon Swan, RN.