Nursing

Nursing at Children's

At Boston Children's Hospital, we take pride in providing care to our patients and their families, and in doing so with integrity, compassion and expertise. We accomplish this by embracing a culture of support, from our patients to their families to the other nurses and professionals on our team.

The delivery of our nursing care program emphasizes collaboration, continuity, planning and education. As part of our professional practice environment care, we assign a primary nurse or primary nurse team to each patient to coordinate his or her care throughout the entire stay at Children's. Every nurse works as part of a multi-disciplinary team to make sure each and every patient gets effective, compassionate, family-centered care.
 

American Nurses Association President Karen Daley Visits Boston Children's and Dana-Farber

Oncology Nursing Month may be coming to an end but the focus on nursing as part of health care reform is a year-round effort, Karen Daley, PhD, RN, president of the American Nurses Association (ANA), reminded staff during her visit to Dana-Farber and Boston Children’s Hospital at the end of May.

Daley met with staff, toured both facilities, and gave a lecture on “Nursing’s Agenda for Healthcare Reform: A Progress Report,” that was attended by more than 75 staff and students from both organizations, including Chief Nursing Officers Patricia Reid Ponte, RN, DNSc, from DFCI and Eileen Sporing, MSN, RN, from Boston Children’s.

 Daley, speaking at the Yawkey Center, called this moment in health care history a “perfect storm” created by unsustainable health care costs, baby boomers reaching retirement age, and insurance reform, among other issues that pose major implications for the future of nursing. However, she said these challenges offer an opportunity for nurses – the largest segment of the nation’s health care workforce – and all health care professionals to make a difference.

“A door has opened and there is an opportunity for us to walk through it together as a profession,” said Daley, who was elected president of the ANA in 2010 and was a nurse at Brigham and Women’s Hospital for 26 years prior to that. “I have confidence that we will make great contributions to the quality of patient care in this country.”

Daley noted the importance of working together to advance the key goals set by the Institute of Medicine in its report: The Future of Nursing: Leading Change, Advancing Health.

 Published in 2010, the report was the culmination of a two year, multidisciplinary, evidence-based review of nursing, which produced recommendations to ensure that nurses are prepared to overcome barriers and lead change in health care.  Daley noted that many states and organizations are using the report as a blueprint for action to carry out the four recommendations, which she said are crucial to improving care for patients and transforming nursing. The recommendations are:

• Nurses should practice to the full extent of their education and training
• Nurses should achieve higher levels of education and training through an improved education system that promotes seamless academic progression
• Nurses should be full partners with physicians and other health care professionals in redesigning health care in the United States
• Effective workforce planning and policymaking require better data collection and information infrastructures  

The United States will face a nursing shortage in the next decade when approximately half a million experienced nurses leave the workforce, Daley said. She also noted that care needs for an aging generation will increase, and more nurses will be needed if health care reform moves toward a more preventive model.

The ANA is the nation’s largest nursing organization, representing the interests of 3.1 million registered nurses. It advances the nursing profession by fostering high standards of nursing practice, promoting the rights of nurses in the workplace, projecting a positive and realistic view of nursing, and by lobbying the Congress and regulatory agencies on health care issues affecting nurses and the public.

-Kara Lacey
kara_lacey@dfci.harvard.edu

Photo Caption: (L to R) Eileen Sporing, Karen Daley, and Pat Reid Ponte
Photo by Sam Ogden