In this issue

 

Dear Colleagues,

When I drive into work each day and walk through the doors of the Children’s Hospital of Michigan, it is clear that I am not in Indiana anymore!

But, after only weeks on the job, Michigan is beginning to feel more and more like home. The credit for that goes to all of you as you welcome me unit-by-unit and department-by-department. I am enjoying getting to know you and hearing about your goals and aspirations, both personal and professional. In this first of many I&E conversations, I want to begin a conversation by talking about a few of the goals that I see us achieving together.

First among those relates to Magnet redesignation. It is imperative that we preserve the wonderful legacy of nursing excellence that has been accomplished here. We will need to update our documents and reflect the work that has continued after the initial designation. My desire is that we walk in excellence in every area of nursing and patient care services. We provide wonderful care to our patients and families, yet our patient satisfaction scores are not where they must be. We have an opportunity to enhance the structures and processes that support the work you do with families every day, including enhancing our staffing and care delivery models. We will utilize an evidence-based approach to this work by benchmarking with other CHCA and NACHRI hospitals across the country.

Another thing I would like to do is work with you to get the tools and equipment you need to do your work. Health care in the 21st century is being defined by new technologies. We see more children that any other hospital in the state, and being able to serve them means that you need "stuff" to care for them. One big "win" stems from the most requested item I have heard about from staff during rounding – more syringe pumps. You will be thrilled to know that in March, 300 more pumps will be hitting the units! This could not have been accomplished if you had not spoken up on behalf of patient safety to get this need met.

Finally, the "voice" of the direct care nurse is essential to our hospital's success. That voice can be heard when you share your thoughts with your PNC representative, with your nurse manager, or with me during rounding. Your voice can also be heard through surveys that you will have the opportunity to participate in later this year. I commit to share those results with you and engage you in working with me to address any concerns that we learn about from this tool.

I am honored to have this opportunity to serve as your vice president of patient care services, and I look forward to our partnership in continuing the legacy of nursing excellence that supports our children and their families.

Sincerely,

Damita J. Williams RN, MSN, MA, CPN, NE-BC

Vice President Patient Care Services

Children’s Hospital of Michigan

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Excitement Building for Re-Designation in 2012.

Examples of exemplary professional practice that have occurred during the past 24 months at Children’s Hospital are vast and varied. The evidence is in the number of stories received by the Magnet re-designation team. Some of the stories will be included with the documents being submitted for re-designation this year.

"We thank all of you who responded by sending us such great stories," says Madelyn Torakis, MSN, RN, clinical nurse specialist and Magnet program coordinator. "As we review all of them and decide which ones to include, we may be contacting you for more specific details."

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Personal cell phones, text messaging, iPods, and MP3 players, social networking such as Facebook and Twitter - all have become part of our lives. Their use in hospital patient care areas, however, can have serious ramifications.

In response, the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Professional Nurse Council (PNC) has developed a position statement to guide registered nurses in their use of electronic devices and social networking sites.

"This position statement is reflective of the professional behavior of registered nurses," says Clinical Nurse Specialist and Magnet Program Coordinator Madelyn Torakis. "It does not have authority over the existing DMC Tier 2 and Tier 3 policies already in existence. Although not enforceable as a 'policy,' it makes an important statement regarding personal and professional responsibility."

Here are three sample statements out of eight from the Children’s Hospital of Michigan Professional Nurse Council Position Statement for the Use of Cell Phones, IPods/MP3 Players, Internet, and Social Networking Sites in the Workplace.  The "PNC supports that the pediatric nurse team member:

• recognizes that nurses at Children’s Hospital of Michigan have a professional image and reputation to uphold. If associating with Children’s Hospital of Michigan on a personal social networking site, postings should be in support of the mission, vision, and values of the hospital

• recognizes that all employees are prohibited from unauthorized use of networking and social media sites while on work time

• understands that taking and posting of patient photographs as well as patient information on social networking sites is a major breech of patient privacy and confidentiality and a HIPAA violation"

It's not news that any patient information learned by the nurse during the course of treatment must be safeguarded by that nurse and that such information may only be disclosed to other members of the health care team for health care purposes. The patient needs to be confident that their most personal information and their basic dignity will be protected. Any breach of this trust, even inadvertent, damages the particular nurse-patient relationship, not to mention the patient-hospital relationship, and the general trustworthiness of the profession of nursing.

Online comments by a nurse regarding co-workers, even if posted from home during non-work hours, may constitute as lateral violence or "cyber bullying." Online contact with patients or former patients blurs the distinction between a professional and personal relationship. The fact that a patient may initiate contact with the nurse does not permit the nurse to engage in a personal relationship with the patient. It is not acceptable to discuss or refer to patients in text messages or social networking sites by a nickname, room number, diagnosis, or condition. This too is a breach of confidentiality and patient privacy.

Anything that exists on a server even for a brief time is there forever and could be resurrected later, even after deletion.

It is recommended that employees remove references to employment at Children’s Hospital of Michigan from their Facebook pages. Public identifiers such as this make it impossible to separate personal and professional accounts on postings.

Here is a suggested reply for responding to a "Facebook friend request" from a patient or family member: "Thank you for the friend request. Although I am flattered to have received it, as your nurse I have to decline. I value our relationship as well as the need to protect your privacy. Thank you for understanding and I look forward to continuing to be a part of your care."

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Anything that exists on a server even for a brief time is there forever and could be resurrected later, even after deletion.

Four pillars of excellence

Madelyn Torakis

Clinical Nurse Specialist

Magnet Program Coordinator