Dear colleagues:
This is one of my favorite times of the year because we publicly celebrate your numerous and varied accomplishments! The talent of our nursing staff is one reason why BWH is consistently recognized as one of the country's top hospitals.
At our annual Nursing Dinner on May 10, you heard from Margaret Costello, the recipient of this year's Mary S. Fay Essence of Nursing Award, and about finalists Jim Roche, Joan Dorr, Mary Lou Powers and Karen Green. I am proud to work with each of these nurses who are role models throughout our community. I encourage you to take this opportunity to read more about them in this issue of BWH Nurse. Their stories are inspiring.
While Margaret, Jim, Joan, Mary Lou and Karen are each unique, they share common traits that make them excellent nurses. One commonality is that each is a preceptor. I cannot stress how important it is to have nurses like them teaching our newest nurses how to care for patients and families. In this way, the skilled knowledge and engagement of our expert nurses, which is not easily captured in policies or protocols, are passed from one generation of nurses to the next.
While we call attention to these five nurses, I want to honor all of you who do your best every day for the good of patients and families at BWH. You have accomplished some extraordinary things in the past year. Many of you are earning higher degrees and certifications. Some of you are teaching others by presenting at conferences, becoming faculty members at colleges and publishing journal articles. These activities add much to the body of nursing knowledge at BWH and to that of the broader nursing discipline. It's with great pride that we capture some of these achievements each month in the Very Best Staff section of BWH Nurse.
But often, the most important things we do are not easily captured. The connection we make with individual patients and families during their time at BWH, the small comforts we provide them in the course of giving care and the kind and supportive words we say to them in the most painful moments all build trust and diminish fear. We do not always receive recognition for these actions, but they affect our patients and families in a significant way.
One patient offered his gratitude in a recent letter to Jim Roche with words that eloquently capture the impact one nurse can have on a human being: "I feel as if my life is all the more valuable now because of the skill and compassion with which you treated me."
Sentiments like these are received by nurses throughout BWH. We honor each of you for making a difference to patients and families.
Sincerely,
Mairead Hickey, PhD, RN
Chief Nursing Officer and
Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services