Update from the UHN/KCCC Toronto-Kuwait Nursing Leadership Team

It has been a busy start to 2012 in Kuwait with anticipation of future advances in quality and patient centered care.  January brought nurses with content expertise in prevention and management of pressure ulcers, prevention of injuries related to falls, and outpatient clinic and chemotherapy processes.

A year into the partnership has resulted in 75 nurses completing the chemotherapy and biotherapy course; 53 nurses completing the pain and symptom management workshop; 53 nurses attending the Palliative Care Workshop and 24 Nurses participating in a Psychosocial Oncology Care workshop.  In March the newly formed KCCC Nursing Practice Council has started the review of nursing policies and procedures has begun.   Over 30 one hour education sessions related to Specialized Oncology Nursing practice standards have been presented to nurses. The nursing Education team at KCCC have increased from two to five!  A new Nursing staff development classroom  was established in 2011 with ten computer stations that will soon be used to access e-learning courses offered by deSouza Institute.  Some nurses will have completed the first steps toward a deSouza designation.

Many new councils and working groups that include nursing representation have been established and preparations are well underway for the first hospital accreditation in early 2013.

Dr. Kathryn Nichol new Director of Nursing, New Knowledge and Innovation

Agnese Bianchi, RN, BScN, MN, Project Manager

UHN Nursing is pleased to welcome Dr. Kathryn Nichol to the UHN Nursing team in the role of Director of Nursing, New Knowledge and Innovation.

Kathryn graduated from the University of Toronto with a Bachelor of Science in Nursing in 1989 and a Master of Health Science – Occupational Hygiene in 1996. She completed her PhD studies in 2010 from the Institute of Medical Science at the University of Toronto. Her dissertation explored the determinants of nurses’ adherence to recommended use of facial protective equipment to prevent occupational transmission of communicable respiratory illness in acute care hospitals.

The Inaugural Patient-Centred Care Symposium

Jane Hollett, RN, PCC  Project Manager & Donna Sherman, RN, PCC Coach

In March 2004, UHN launched our three-year Patient-Centered Care plan (PCC). The aim of the plan was to introduce new ways of delivering PCC, while looking at measurable goals to improve the patient’s experience.  In the years that have followed, PCC has been embedded in our organizational philosophy and strategic objectives.

From four hour workshops, to lunch and learns, from the 3-Day Comprehensive course, to customized PCC initiatives, PCC has evolved from a seemingly simple notion, to a way of being in relationship with our patients and families as well as our colleagues. PCC is about reflective practice and lifelong learning, where it underpins all that we do. Safety is not achieved without considering the patient’s perspective.  Cultural Competence and Health Equity are guided by the PCC core values of Respect, Human Dignity, and Person as Leader.  Finally, Patient Engagement and Patient as Partners cannot occur without the PCC standards at the core of every interaction we have.

UHN Care Delivery Review

Ross Riggs, RN MN, Manager, Nursing Information Systems

Several years ago on inpatient units and a number of ambulatory areas at UHN nurses and clinical leaders participated in a Care Delivery Review. The review gave us a better understanding of our patient and family care requirements thus, ensuring that we have the right staffing and supports in place to best deliver this care. The questionnaire used during the Review is called the Patient Care Needs Assessment (PCNA). The first time the PCNA was used at UHN we were transforming the General Internal Medicine (GIM) program. At that time, the PCNA provided us with valuable information about the GIM patient care needs.

Welcome to UHN Kuwait Nursing

 Rita Graves RN, BSc, BScN, MN, CHPCN (C)

Hello/Marhaba/ مرحبا

Welcome to UHN Kuwait Nursing.  My name is Rita Graves and I am the UHN Associate Director of Nursing at the Kuwait office.  My responsibilities include Nursing and Allied Health.

Some of you reading this may already be aware of the UHN partnership with the Kuwait Cancer Control Center (KCCC), for other readers, you may not have heard about us.  We are a small UHN team that is working towards improving the patient experience through quality initiatives. 

A New Paradigm of Nursing Education

Baiba Zarins, Project Manager, Global Practice

University Health Network is proud to collaborate with our academic partner, Nipissing University, located in North Bay, Ontario to facilitate an innovative second degree BScN nursing program. This program is completely embedded within point of care practice settings amongst six Toronto based academic health care teaching facilities. This new paradigm of nursing education allows for students to engage in focused learner driven, narrative inquiry based curriculum of discovery model. Students act as inquirers and creators of knowledge to direct their educational experiences. Both student and faculty participate as partners to engage in learning objective collaborations, enhance scholarly practice, and promote leadership and research with an active voice in health care.  Students will be immersed within point of care settings to experience the health care continuum and integral network between patient, families, health care interprofessional team and community influencers of health. 

The inaugural launch is scheduled for September 6^th, 2011, with the program divided into six semesters over two years. UHN expects to facilitate learning experiences for 8 to 10 students annually within our extensive array of programs and services in collaboration with a full-time UHN based SPP faculty advisor. The aim of this program is to graduate nurses who are practice ready scholar practitioners; capable of nursing within our current evolving and complex health care landscape. For program and application information please visit Nipissing University: Scholar Practitioner Program online.

Digital Signage Update: Transforming Communication for UHN Nurses

Cathy Johnson, Project Manager Nursing Innovations and Agnese Bianchi, Project Manager, Nursing Practice & Informatics

Nursing at University Health Network (UHN) is pleased to announce the implementation of an additional eighteen digital signage monitors as a part of the Nursing Digital Signage project. A total of fifty-two monitors have been launched, with 4 scheduled for launch in the coming week. This will bring the total number of digital signage monitors to fifty-six, fifty-three in clinical areas and an additional 3 in public/corporate areas.