Research Medical Center Nursing Newsletter: March 2023 by RMCKC

March2023

Monthly Newsletter for RMC NursingandPCTs

Hello! From the CNO

As spring approaches, Ilook forward to warmer weather, spring cleaning, and new beginnings. Iam pleased to share that we have welcomed Leslie Baker to our leadership team as Interim Director of Critical Care as well as Martha Stratton as Interim Director of Surgical Services. Iam grateful to have their extensive experience on-board to lead these teams while we continue the search for a permanent leader. This month, we will also celebrate our certified nurses with a breakfast on March 27th from 7:00am-8:30am in the 1 North Conference Room. Additionally, we are actively planning our Hospital Week and Nurses Week activities, so ifyou have ideas, please share them with your one-up. Lastly, recruitment, retention, and engagement continues to be my top priority as your CNO. This month, we will welcome our new RN Recruitment Liaison, Michala Stoker, to our team. Her focus will be on filling vacancies and connecting with recent new hires to assist with retention efforts. Please make sure to introduce yourselfand welcome her to our organization.

Julie Filbeck ChiefNursing Officer, RMC

Stroll With Your Nursing 'O': Kloei Hachmeister, PCT, Cardiac Care Unit

In honor ofFebruary's Heart Month, join ChiefNursing Officer Julie Filbeck as she strolls with Kloei Hachmeister, Patient Care Tech (PCT) from our Cardiac Care Unit. Kloei joined us in September 2022 and has already made strong bonds within her unit and patients. Learn more about Kloei!

View video by clicking here!

StaffingUpdates

We are working hard as a leadership team to hit the ground running with recruitment these first few months ofyear and excited to have 6 new graduate nurses starting with us in February, 4 in April and a whopping 26 coming on board in June and July. We are still actively recruiting and working the list ofstudents that have not accepted positions yet to continue to add to our bench for this summer cohort. The success of new graduate nurses really is everyone’s responsibility and we are excited to welcome and help them grow into the nurses we all want to work alongside. We know this can put extra tasks on the nursing team, but is so worth the outcome ofhaving a strong team by your side.

We have 7 nurse externs starting with us at the end ofFebruary and March. We are excited to welcome them and hope you all encourage them to participate in the monthly nurse extern meeting where we give resources and education to assist in their growth and development. Finally, because we know we need nurses immediately, we have signed 19 additional traveling nurses to start with us in March alone. Please welcome them to the team as we are grateful to them for the additional support they provide to us as we continue to recruit the best talent in KC!

PCTHighlights

The PCTCouncil has started sharing Mission Moments. This month Juliet Walker shared her mission moment/Why Story ofher mom who worked here, had a medical emergency and was brought here as a patient. Although, she did eventually pass away, there was a connection with RMC, bringing Juliet to work here.

We also had a presentation from Paul Holdshoe, FNS Manager, who reviewed the new RMC Dietary Process to allow food to keep its integrity and be delivered to our patients in a timely manner. This new process has brought tray building time down from 60 seconds to 30 seconds, and delivery time from 45 minutes to 20-25 minutes!Food and Nutrition Services is focusing on a team approach that recognizes skills and learning opportunities. Nursing can help in this process through communication and patience with the process. There will be strong timelines so that delivery schedules can be set for the units to coordinate patient medications and care. They are also working on passing trays to ED and working on improving the dinner process. Please call Paul anytime if there are issues as all communication is beneficial.

Nursing/PCT Updates

SharedGovernanceUpdate

Thank you for those who have signed up for one ofthe following councils. Latest updates and meeting scheduled outlined below.

Nursing Informatics: Last Meeting: Thursday, Feb 16th

Topics discussed: Alarm fatigue survey going on right now.

PK - Clinical users access

GE tracker process

Surgical Symphony Board

Next Meeting: Thursday March 16th at 8:00am in 2N Administration Conference Room.

Quality and Safety: Last Meeting: Monday, Feb. 6th.

Our committee met and went over the education surrounding new foley process, new male Purewicks, CSIP measures for telemetry, falls, and wounds. Discussion regarding what expectations ofskin care champions are. Discussion regarding new Quality & Safety shared governance project. Several ideas added to look into. Will vote on project at next shared governance meeting. Date set for quarterly Posey. Posey audit conducted on 2/15/23 to check for rooms that had the provided metal locking bracket mounted on the wall and the AC adapter cord to keep Posey alarms charged. Will have the results ofaudit to leaders in the next week.

Next meeting: Monday, March 6th at 7:30am in the Clinical Excellence Classroom

Recognition and Advancement: Last Meeting: Tuesday, Feb 14

Certified Nurses breakfast will be Monday, March 27th at 0700 for all Certified nurses. Flyer and Invites will be coming out soon to those certified nurses. We are excited to be planning this event. We are also in the early planning stages ofNurses week 2023!Super excited for some fun events this year.

Plan to attend our next meeting and join in on the planning. We need more people to help us with the fun and recognition for 2023!!

Next Meeting: Tuesday, March 14 at 7:30am in 4W Conference Room.

Professional Practice: Last Meeting: Thursday, Feb 16th

"Purpose: To utilize evidence-based practice through the development ofunit based councils with anticipation ofelevating patient care and staffsatisfaction. This council will provide partnership, mentorship, and guidance to Research Medical Center’s Unit Based Councils to promote facility advancement, unity, and excellence in nursing.”

Members; Chair-Jana Braklow, Co-Chair-Kayla Thornberry, Nellie Cross, Cheryl Couch, Jane Luton, Angela Yates.

Next Meeting: Thursday, Mar 16th at 9:30am in 2N Administration Conference Room

Steering Committee: Last Meeting: Thursday, February 2nd. This month we focused on the responses from those ofyou who participated in our survey and provided feedback about the areas offocus you would like to see from Shared Governance for 2023.

The following

Nursing Grand Rounds - will provide educational opportunities on a monthly basis. Onboarding and preceptorship class - changes will be made to ensure we have what we need for onboarding success.

Launch ofMentor Program - a great opportunity for Nurse Mentors to help lead and guide. Please contact Lindsey Schultz ifinterested in this opportunity.

Next Meeting: Thursday, Mar 2nd at 7:30am in 2N Administration Conference Room

PatientExperienceUpdate

SAFETY ROUNDING Reminders

Safety Huddle is a proactive approach to providing care to our patients. Our goal is to shift from having patients needing to use their call light to meeting their needs while staffare in the room. Performing SAFETY Rounding helps to give our caregivers time back in their day by decreasing the number ofcall lights. It also improves quality metrics such as falls and pressure ulcers and helps to decrease anxiety for our patients. Please remember to address the four Ps each time you are in the room….

Pain/Other symptoms- Review the medication plan, discuss alternatives, set up the expectation for when the next dose will be offered/administered- update the communication board

Position- Proactively turn patients at a minimum ofevery two hours, offer other comfort measures- fill water pitchers, close shades, warm blanket, etc.

Potty/Bathroom Needs- proactively toilet patients; ifit’s been a few hours- assist them to the bathroom while in the room, empty hats/urinals, check incontinent patients, assess Foley/Purewick as applicable

Patient Education/Plan- Tell the patient what is coming next. Ask- Do you have any questions about your plan ofcare?

Meet Your Leader

AmandaJones,ManagerofCardiovascularServices

Iam a local native to Kansas City and grew up in the Northland with three brothers. Iwatched a lot ofprofessional wrestling growing up, and played a lot ofwiffleball (which is probably why Ilove sports!). Iam a huge Chiefs (Super Bowl 57 Champs!) and Royals fan, and have been a season ticket holder for both teams in the past. I was able to attend the Super Bowl parade last week, where Igave Travis Kelce a high five, so my year cannot get any better!Iplayed volleyball most ofmy childhood and Iwas on the team for Park Hill. Iattended Northwest Missouri State University after high school, before transferring to UMKC for Nursing.

Outside ofwork, Ihave a daughter who turns 10 next month. Ienjoy planning trips and living life with her. This past year we went to Hawaii and just returned from Disney World to celebrate her birthday. She is in competitive soccer and also participates in CrossFit and a ninja class which is similar to American Ninja Warrior type exercises. Iam also a CrossFitter, and even participated in my first competition last fall for Halloween. During the summer Iplay on a Sand Volleyball league with some friends from my gym. Otherwise, Ienjoy going to coffee shops and discovering new restaurants and places around the city with friends and family. Iam currently working on my Master’s in Healthcare Administration and plan to finish this summer.

Ireally wish Ihad an inspiring story on why Ibecame a nurse but Ireally just sort offell into nursing. When Igraduated high school, Iwas not sure what Iwanted to do for a career. At the start of college, Iselected accounting and finance as my major, but after a year Icould not see this being my career path. Iresearched some positions within healthcare, and ultimately decided that nursing would give me the most opportunity and job security. That following year Itransferred to UMKC, and finished by BSN in May of2007.

Ibegan my career working as a medical-surgical nurse on nights; Ifelt this would provide me a strong foundation and help develop my critical thinking. Within a year, Iaccepted a job on a shortstay telemetry unit, where my interest in cardiology began. Our unit would prepare and recover all of the cardiac catherization lab patients, admit chest pain patients from the ER, prep patients for stress tests, and perform moderate sedation for various procedures. As my knowledge base grew, so did my ambition to learn more. Imoved on to take care ofpost-CABG patients and even spent some time learning cardiac rehabilitation before leaving to travel.

Through traveling Iended up in Washington D.C., Ireally enjoyed the area and was looking for a fulltime position. One ofthe clinical nurse coordinators on my assigned unit discussed an open CNC position on the post-CABG unit, and encouraged me to apply. This was my first leadership position as an RN. My responsibilities included unit audits, staffeducation/in-services, meetings, evaluations, and assisted the manager and director. Unfortunately, in 2013, the hospital laid-offabout 600 employees and did away with these CNC positions. Itook some time offto reassess my options and look for open positions. Iaccepted a position at a health system in Northern Virginia, as an internal travel nurse across their facilities in their Cardiovascular Float Pool. Icontinued to look for leadership positions, but Iwanted to move back to Kansas City, so Idecided to wait. In 2017, Ireturned to Kansas City and accepted the stress nurse position here, at Research. Within my first year, the Cardiovascular Services manager job was created, and Iwas offered the position in the fall of2018.

Ienjoy so many aspects ofmy job; it is hard to pick just one. Cardiac Services has seen substantial growth over my tenure, and it has been fun to watch it evolve over time. We have added physicians, services, complex procedures and new staffmembers over the years. Ihave relished being involved in our construction projects; to include building out the new EP lab and the OPPR expansion. Most importantly, Ienjoy working with my staffevery day. We have a great group ofstaffmembers across cardiology who work very well together, and we even have some fun too. The thing Iwish others knew more about RMC, would be the great work the staffdoes, and their dedication to caring for our complex cardiac patients.

Team Recognitions

EmployeeoftheMonth:LaurenJewell,RN,4N Telemetry

Congratulations to Lauren Jewell, RN for 4N Telemetry, for earning Employee ofthe Month. According to her nominators: "Recently, Lauren really stepped up to help fill charge coverage not only on her own unit but on another unit as well and supported them. I reached out to Lauren asking ifshe would be comfortable charging a different unit with a higher level ofcare, when their charge nurse needed to leave. Lauren was more than willing to help support them and was recognized by stafffor her support during those shifts. Lauren goes above and beyond every day to take care ofnot only their own patients, but everyone else's patients as well."

DAISY AwardWinner:NestorAbreu,RN,3N Med/Surg

Congratulations to Nestor Abreu for being the January DAISY Award winner. His patient nominator said: "This is a top-rated nurse. Ihad an operation to removed my prostate gland, so Ihad to stay overnight. He was very attentive to this difficult process and quite knowledgeable as things ended up positively. I appreciated his kind and caring nature; always checking to be sure things went as planned. The positive attitude and persistent attentiveness was reassuring to me as Iwas scared. He also showed care for our comfort as he knew the things that might bother us and took steps to keep me comfortable. Ihave no problem recommending this nurse for an outstanding job award. He is surely at the top ofthe list ofthe best nurse Ihave ever had."

SeniorTeamWalk-a-Miles

Sophia Solomon, ACNO, Conducted a Walk-A-Mile with Ashley Russo from3N/3C

"Thank you, Ashley Russo, for the opportunity to walk-a-mile with you and the 3 North/3 Central team. Ashley also had a nursing student from RCON. She demonstrated the proper way to change a central line dressing and perfectly explained ways to prevent a CLABSI. Ashley made personal connections with her patients and worked with the care team to help patients fulfill personal care goals. Iwas truly impressed by the way she mentored and cared for her patients."

Lindsay Goldammer, ACNO, Conducted a Walk-A-Mile with the 7ETeam

"Why walk with one team member when you can walk with the whole 7E crew?!It was evident when Iarrived that they all chip in and help each other so their day goes smoother. It was clear that ifevery team member was not sitting and charting - no team members were sitting to chart. They worked seamlessly to ensure every patient was cared for in a timely manner. Iwas so impressed with their call light etiquette - why use the phone when you can walk straight into the room and talk with your patient? They are such an impressive team and Ireally enjoyed my time with them!"

"Ihad the pleasure ofdoing a walk-a-mile with RN Alex Walker on 4 Central. Alex had the team ofTAVR patients and did an amazing job ofproviding compassionate care with a great sense ofhumor!Alex shared that she joined the 4 Central team because she really liked the vibe ofall ofthe staffshe works with. Thank you Alex for the way you show up to care for our patients and your colleagues each day. You are appreciated."

"Ihad a great time during my walk-a-mile with the Cardiac Rehab Team. After Iwent on rounds with RN Brian Reiger, it wasn't long until RNs Lisa Abbick and Amy Berg took me under their wing to show me how they care for our patients. It was great to see how this team shows up for our patients as we went from the ICU department to touring on the floor to meeting a lovely couple who wants to give a patient testimonial. This team was also a great sport for Heart Month so check out their Instagram Reel ifyou haven't seen it yet. Thank you, Brian, Amy and Lisa, for allowing me to shadow you and being such great advocates for our patients!"

Calendar

CNC Monthly Meeting: Wed, Mar 1 from 7:30-9:00am: 1 North Conference Room

Nurse Extern Meeting: Wed, Mar 8 from 12:00-1:00pm: RCON Jernigan 1 Classroom

PCTMonthly Meeting: Wed, Mar 15 from 7:15-8:15am: Auditorium, B Level

Follow RMC on Social Media

Join the Nursing internal Facebook Group! Click here to join. Please answer the requested questions in order to be granted access.

Check out the RMC Nursing YouTube Playlist for the full list of Stroll with your Nursing 'O' video and more! Click here to view

Morgan Saxena, Directorof Marketing, Conducted a Walk-A-Mile with the Cardiac Rehab Team Michaela Logan, VP Patient Experience, Conducted a Walk-A-Mile with Alex Walker from 4 Central