Nursing At Children's

Children’s Celebrates Nurses Week 2006

During Nurses’ Week May 8-12, 2006, Children’s recognized excellence in nursing practice and leadership with several awards.

Four dimensions of nursing practice are recognized in the Nurses Make a Difference Awards: Partner, Leader, Knowledge Seeker, and Innovator.

Partners: Cynthia Walsh RN, assistant nurse manager, 8^th Floor, for helping coworkers understand the significance of professional boundaries in caring for families and patients, to ensure that all interactions are in the best interest of the patient and family. Nancy Ferche RN, staff nurse, Float Team, for her Safety Action Team work on the “Buckle Up” campaign to make sure every patient has an ID band on and that a health care provider checks it before any encounter.

Leaders: Paula McDonald RN, clinical educator, 4200, for her contribution to the Magnet application process, documenting how Children’s nursing staff fulfills the 14 Forces of Magnet. Jacky Baas RN, patient care manager, Special Care Nursery, for her role modeling of professional nursing practice, advocacy for patients, and creativity and innovation in supporting a unique program encouraging parents to read to their infants even in NICU and Level II nurseries. Mary Fogarty RN, Day Surgery manager, Children’s West, for collaboration, advocacy for staff, and commitment to patient safety and quality care.

Knowledge Seekers: Lani Hollenbeck RN, staff nurse, Special Diagnostics, for her involvement in developing and implementing the nitrous oxide sedation program. Tammy Lyons RN and Nancy Watkins RN, NICU, for their work on caregiver-to-caregiver communication during transport.

Innovators: Lee Diedrick RN, clinical educator, NICU, for designing a tool for matching nurses’ clinical experience and training needs to the appropriate patient assignments. Marilyn Quamme RN, Surgical Services Coordinator, for serving as a resource to coworkers on the computerized clinical documentation system.

Each year Children’s Medical Education Department recognizes the critical role nurses play in the education of medical students and residents with the Medical Education Nursing Award. Nancy Jaworski RN, staff nurse, 4200, and Cari Trousdale RN, staff nurse, 7^th Floor, were this year’s honorees, identified by the residents as being especially committed to and skilled in communicating and interacting with residents and students, facilitating and contributing to their education as physicians.

This year a new award, the Bean Family Award for Excellence in Nursing Practice and Professional Development, was given to two Float Team clinical educators who developed a Graduate RN Residency program, an in-depth orientation to help new graduates transition from student to professional. Erica Cooper RN and Lindsay Schipper RN developed a curriculum, taught classes, and coordinated clinical experiences for seven graduate nurses.