Author

“Stand up for what is right even if you stand alone.” -Anonymous

Being a patient advocate requires moral courage. Nurses often face complex ethical dilemmas

in the workplace; some confront the issues directly, while others turn away. The Nursing

Code of Ethics ( ANA 2001) states that nurses have an obligation to act in an ethical manner.

“Moral Courage is the individual’s capacity to overcome fear and stand up for his/her core

values” (Lachman 2007). Moral courage is considered the height of ethical behavior. It re-

quires a solid commitment to basic ethical principles despite potential risks such as threats to

reputation, shame, emotional anxiety, isolation from colleagues, retaliation, and loss of em-

ployment (Murray 2010) .

The nurse who lacks courage generally knows what to do or say, but doesn’t do so due to lack

of confidence, fear of embarrassment or punishment. Self-confidence comes from successful-

ly accomplishing professional milestones; each building on another. The nurse’s ability to act

with moral courage includes three components listed below.

Knowledge of the situation This includes recognizing patient and family needs and values, the ability to see the situation

from both sides, and self knowledge. Self knowledge refers to developing insight into your

recollection of an event and learning to identify your fear and anger reactions.

Emotional Control Moral courage requires willingness to take risks that leave you vulnerable to harm or loss. A

strategy to deal with this is to counter the potential negative consequences with positive

thoughts before the event (‘what if it happens and what would I do’). Learn some self -

soothing steps, planned ahead of time, to quiet yourself when facing a complicated situation

that activates anxiety or fear. These steps may include: stepping away or outside for a few

minutes, deep breathing exercises, touching something soft, journaling, or venting to a trusted

friend (my favorite).

Risk Management

Work out the “worst case scenario” ahead of time and decide if you can accept those conse-

quences before you act. If the consequences are too great, consider discussing the situation

with you manager or calling an ethics consult. The rewards of risk taking include pride in self

for speaking up, safer patients, and knowledge that even negative outcomes can be learning

opportunities.

Assertively address the moral problem. Strong communication skills encompassing assertive-ness and negotiation ability are crucial in dealing with defensiveness and/or hostility. Show

respect for the other person if not for their behavior. I think sometimes moral courage is just

standing up in rounds and expressing an opinion. Moral courage takes practice.

References on page 2

I N S I D E T H I S

I S S U E :

Moral Courage 1

CNE Corner 2

Kudos to

Nursing

3,4,5

Schwartz Rounds 5

Reflections of a

Nurse

6

Transfusion

Safety Corner

7

Ethical

Considerations

8

Certification

Corner

9

Spiritual

Corner

10

Shared

Governance

Updates

11,12

Educational

Offerings

13

Moral Courage

Nurse Link A U G U S T 2 0 1 5 V O L U M E 9 , I S S U E 4

Loyola University Health System

Nursing Professional Practice Model

Elaine Weitzel, RN

Julie Martynowycz, MSN, BSN, RN

It is hard to believe the summer is half over and children head back to school in the next few weeks.

This also is the time to reflect on the past fiscal year and our accomplishments and think ahead to our

priorities for this year.

First, LUHS has had a very successful budget year. Although we are currently closing the financial

statements for the year, we know we exceeded our budget in revenue. A large driver of our success

has been our ability to open as many beds as possible. I want to thank all of the nursing staff for rising

to the demand and providing excellent care to our patients and their families. We continue to expand

our clinical areas to meet patient demand.

Also, LUMC has had the highest Press Ganey score for our patients’ perception of hourly rounds. This evidenced-

based practice improves scores for patient satisfaction, patient safety and quality. It is a practice we have emphasized

for several years, and we will continue to use that tactic to improve patient care.

Several of the projects currently completed or under way are the renovation of 2 CV ICU, the expansion of the GI Lab

and the expansion of the Observation Unit to 30 beds. In 2 ICU, we have private rooms for most of our patients with

only one double room left. The next project is the expansion of the GI Lab. This will improve our patient experience

and access to GI procedures. Related to the GI Lab, we began the expansion of our Observation area from 15 to 30

beds. This will relocate from next to the Cath Lab to the area where the ED fast track and inpatient rehab services are

located. The new space will allow us to aggregate the psych patients from the ED awaiting transfer and free up space

in the ED to see more acute patients.

As you can see from our activity, patient throughput is a very high priority for us. We have a multi-disciplinary group

chaired by Pradipta Komanduri, vice president for Professional Services, and Chad Whelan, MD, chief medical officer,

who launched a project on 2 South in May called transforming the inpatient experience. The goals of the project are to

reduce the length of stay, improve the patient experience, enhance colleague engagement, reduce clinical variability,

reduce adverse events and improve the perception of the culture of safety for our patients.

Requirements for this model were that 80 percent of the patients on the unit were managed by the service on the unit, a

physician and nurse leadership dyad was put in place, the unit initially selected will have a high impact on some of our

key metrics such as readmissions, a higher than expected length of stay and participation in clinical bundles. Baseline

data indicated that 2 South had an average length of stay of 4.25 days. The key guiding goals included having the pa-

tients’ care managed by the hospitalists, delivered by a dedicated nursing staff and supported by a dedicated case man-

ager. Key activities of the team included MD/RN rounds at the bedside daily, wind rounds focused on the discharge

plan with a the team touching base in the afternoon and the continued emphasis on purposeful hourly rounds. Clinical

pathways and discharge maps were developed for the pneumonia and GI bleed patients. These were shared with the

patient. After five weeks, we have seen the average length of stay drop to 3.19 days. This is a huge success. We are

still processing the data on the model’s impact on quality and patient satisfaction, but we do have the scores for nurse

communication at 91.7, which exceeds the target. The plan is to roll this model to all the inpatient units, which will

take about a year. This transformation of the patient experience will be invaluable to the performance of LUMC and

will move us to a top performing center.

As we look to the year ahead, we will focus on the patient experience and on developing an engaged workforce, strate-

gic growth and financial performance. If we provide the best care, we will achieve our targets in all these areas, and

this will be an exciting year!

Nursing Leadership

P A G E 2

N U R S E L I N K

Page 1 Moral Courage References:

ANA Code of Ethics for Nurses, 2001

Strategies Necessary for Moral Courage, Lachman, Vicki D. The Online Journal of Issues in Nursing Vol. 15, No.3

Manuscript 3

Moral Courage in Healthcare: Acting Ethically Even in the Presence of Risk Murray, John S. The Online Journal of Is-

sues in Nursing Vol. 15, No.3 Manuscript 2

Paula A. Hindle, RN, MSN, MBA

Vice President of Nursing Strategy and Professional Development

P A G E 3 V O L U M E 9 , I S S U E 4

Kudos to Nursing Clinical Ladder April 2015 New Level 3 Renewal Level 3

Clinical Ladder The deadlines for submitting your clinical ladder application are

April 30, July 31, October 31 and January 31.

Three copies of the application should be submitted with binder clips or rubber bands only, to the

Nursing Administration Office room 1328.

Please seek out a Clinical Ladder Liaison to review your application and

provide feedback before submitting it.

First Name Last Name Dept

Jayme Anderko Labor and Delivery

Catherine Becvar Homer Glen Specialty

Amy Bocian CC Day Hospital

Laura Brennan NICU

Benjamin Commons 7SW

Kelly Fahey OR

Meghan Fierke CV Recovery

Sarah Gee OR

Lynn Graham Oak Brook

Mireya Guzman L & D

Jacqueline Hayes ED

Ana Izaguirre 4 Peds

Kimberly Kieffer Peds

Christine Lewkowicz 4 Peds

Dawn Martinsen 5Tower

Mary Pat McCarthy NICU

Brittany Michalak 3NEWS

Camille Moses 2ICU

Jacqueline Pajkowski CV Recovery

Sharlen Rivera MRI

Loretta Scarver 7SW

Melissa Szala Labor and Delivery

Shannon Tadel 4ICU

Kristin Tate 6SW

Debbie Vogel BICU

Annie Walker 4ICU

Jennifer Williams ED

Joanne Zoeller PAR

First Name Last Name Dept

Suzan Hoard LaGrange Dermatology

Rebecca Blackley 3MICU

Megan Wojciechowski Apheresis

Ellen Milad CBCC Day Hospital

Melissa Macdonald ED

Kristine Nartey HTU

Jacqulyn Endemann 3SE

Anna Malec 3MICU

Stephanie Hamilton 3NW

Michelle Larsen 7SW

Ines Daniels 1 Tower

Diana Perkowski Burn Clinic

Claire Langell Lung Transplant

Elizabeth Henderickson 3SE

Linda Holmes L & D

Christine Copher Women's Health

Cheryl Tibbetts CBCC Day Hospital

Holly Wood Peds

Belinda Ruiz OB/GYN

P A G E 4 V O L U M E 9 , I S S U E 4

Kudos to Nursing Continued

New Level 4

Renewal Level 4

LaShelle Cassity, 5 Tower, became certified as a

Progressive Care Nurse, PCCN

Lynn Grogan, LOC-Women’s Health, recertified as

a Certified Breast Care Nurse, CBCN

Belinda Ruiz, Women’s Health, became a Certified

Electronic Fetal Monitoring Nurse, C-EFM

Margaret Seemayer, 2NE, became a Stroke Certi-

fied Nurse, SCRN

Kathy Theisse became an Adult Gerontology Pri-

mary Care Nurse Practitioner, AGPCNP-BC

The following nurses are now Certified Nephrology

Nurses:

May Angel, Inpatient Dialysis Unit, CNN

Margarito Suarez, Dialysis Unit, CNN

Clinical Ladder April 2015 Certifications: cont’d

First Name Last Name Dept

Elaine Urgel 1 Tower Observation

Michelle Lech 5 NEWS

Keely Murphy 4ICU

Sarah Elizabeth Sandonato 3MICU

First Name Last Name Dept

Margaret Bauschard NRFP

Lucy Bensfield 4ICU

Maria Brunner 6BMTU

Myounghee Byrd 3MICU

Lindsey Cavoto 6BMTU

Lyudmyla Ilyash BMTU

Julie Liberio BICU

Serena Ofenloch ED

Josephine Pudwill PICU

Miljana Ruiz 4 Tower

Barbara Rumick 3MICU

Monika Strama 3MICU

Stephanie Wolski OR

Certifications:

The following nurses are Certified Critical Care Nurses:

Colleen Hammill, BICU, CCRN

Victoria Kaczkos, 4ICU, CCRN*

Lisa Knutson, BICU, CCRN

Linda McCrorey, BMTU, CCRN

Meghan Slade-Smith, CCU/Central Tele, CCRN*

The following nurses are Certified Perioperative Nurses:

Alona Gomez Ricana, OR, CNOR*

Kelly Nelson, Russo, OR, CNOR

The following nurses are Certified in Neonatal Intensive

Care

Nancy Burmeister, NICU, RNC-NIC*

Helen Madaus, NICU, RNC-NIC

Linda Soukup, NICU, RNC-NIC

The following nurses are Certified in Medical Surgical

Nursing:

Liz Claravall, 4 Tower, CMSRN

Kelsey Haupt, 7SW, RN-BC

Taryn Klebusek, 4 Tower, CMSRN

Meliza Lee, Utilization Management, CMSRN*

* Recertification

Poster Presentations:

Erin Mahoney, ANP-BC, Program Administrator Lung

Transplant, presented a poster presentation at the UNOS

Transplant Management Forum in San Diego, California

on April 24, 2015. Erin presented, “A Single Center U.S.

Experience with the use of Eurotransplant Donor Scoring

on Donor Lung Utilization”.

Awards: Susan M. Finn, BSN, MSN, received the Marcella Niehoff

School of Nursing Damen Award at the recent 2015

Founders’ Dinner. Susan is a pediatric nurse practitioner

and program director for the Pediatric Mobile Health Unit

of the Ronald McDonald Children's Hospital. She was

recognized because she embodies the Ignatian value of

being a person for others. Please congratulate Susan on this

honor for her years of service to underprivileged children

across Chicago.

Continued on page 5

P A G E 5

N U R S E L I N K

Schwartz Rounds Schwartz Rounds® is a multidisciplinary forum for clinical caregivers to discuss emotional,

social and spiritual issues inherent to patient care.

The focus is on the human dimension of medicine. Caregivers have an opportunity to share

their experiences, thoughts and feelings on thought-provoking topics drawn from actual patient

cases. The premise is that caregivers are better able to make personal connections with patients

and colleagues when they have greater insight into their own responses and feelings.

Panelists from diverse disciplines participate in the Rounds, including physicians, nurses, social

workers, psychologists, allied health professionals and pastoral care. After listening to a pan-

el’s brief presentation on an identified topic, caregivers in the audience are invited to share their

own perspectives on the topic and broader related issues.

Schwartz Rounds® will be taking place on the second Monday of each month: September-

November 2015 and January-May 2016. Please note the location is subject to change each

month. A CME and CEU credit will be offered for each session. For more general information

on Schwartz Rounds®: visit theschwartzcenter.org Schwartz Rounds® is sponsored by the

Departments of Mission Integration and Pastoral Care & Education.

The next Schwartz Rounds is September 14, 2015 at 12:00noon, “Finding God in all things:

Reflections on the Jesuit motto as it is experienced in health care”, SSOM Room 390.

For questions please call Pastoral Care at ext. 69056.

Diane Stace, RN, MSN, APN, CCRN, CCNS

Amy Perrin Ross, APN, MSN, CNRN, MSCN, has received the June

Halper International MS Nursing Award from the International Organiza-

tion of Multiple Sclerosis Nurses (IOMSN). This award is given each year

to a MS nurse who demonstrates excellence in MS nursing and a commit-

ment to MS patient care, education, creative interventions, research, advo-

cacy and leadership. Perrin Ross received the award earlier this year at the

Consortium of Multiple Sclerosis Centers meeting.

“It was a tremendous honor to be recognized by my peers for years of

working on behalf of people with MS and their families,” Perrin Ross said.

“None of this would have been possible without the support of the Loyola

community.”

Kudos to Nursing Continued

Reflections of a Loyola Nurse

P A G E 6

N U R S E L I N K

Growing up, I never wanted to be a nurse. It never occurred to me; it

was the furthest thing from my mind. Nursing was for those girls who

read “Cherry Ames” books and had dreams of taking care of people.

The only personal exposure I had to nursing was my aunt who served in

the army. She was smart, organized, efficient, and take charge. Nothing

that I ever saw myself being. Then in my second year of college, I was

backed into a corner to make a decision on what I would do with the rest

of my life. I casually thought, “I’ll need a job, so I’ll be a nurse” as if it

would be the easiest thing in the world. I very soon learned differently.

But the decision was made, and I persevered toward what became one

of the best decisions of my life.

I worked a year on a Labor & Delivery unit, which I really enjoyed, but realized I needed more

general medical-surgical experience before specializing. I made the move to

Loyola in 1976 where I worked on 2 South with general-trauma-renal transplant-endocrine-

colorectal surgery patients. I’m understating when I say it was very hard work. I worked with

outstanding nurses who demanded a very high standard of nursing from their coworkers. We

forged lasting friendships in much the same way as soldiers in combat learn to depend on and

nurture one another. We eventually merged with 2 North and added gynecology and pediatric

patients. I was regularly pulled to the 5th floor where we took care of orthopedics-urology-ENT

patients. It was on all these units where I learned anything that really mattered in nursing and

what nursing is all about.

I worked in Urology, coordinating the Erectile Dysfunction and Male Infertility Clinic, but also

worked with general and Urology cancer patients for several years. Then I transferred to the

Cancer Center working with surgical oncology. I feel that everything I’ve done to this point,

personally and professionally, have lead me to this job. Taking care of patients who have been

diagnosed with life altering and devastating disease demands every facet of my experiences.

And again, I find myself working with nurses who consistently elevate the standards of nursing,

not because of what we are told to do, but it’s who we are, and what nurses do.

Fanchon Knight was one of those nurses. I had heard of her as the manager on 5 North, but

finally met and worked with her in Clinic A. She was and is an inspiration as she loved nursing

like few others I’ve known. Her energy, intelligence, enthusiasm seemed endless, and were a

driving force to me to always do better. I think of her every day.

Receiving the Fanchon Knight Nurse of the Year Award is an honor that I will never be able to

express in words. I picture Fanchon and so many exceptional nurses, and think that this award

is really meant for them. But to me the award is even more than the honor…. It’s the

confirmation that I’m exactly where I’m supposed to be.

Marilyn Parker, BSN, RN

Transfusion Safety Corner

P A G E 7

N U R S E L I N K

Patient Blood Management – The Trinity Health System Initiative

For the past year Trinity Health has been working on implementing a system-wide

Patient Blood Management project with the goal of implementing evidence-based

practices for RBC transfusions to reduce risks from blood transfusion, improve pa-

tient outcomes and eliminate unnecessary blood utilization (thereby reducing ex-

pense). Across the system we have been working to standardize ordersets and imple-

ment evidence-based transfusion guidelines as well as encourage a “single unit” ordering standard for

non-bleeding patients whereby a second unit would only be ordered after clinical reassessment of the

patient following the first unit transfused.

We know a lot about blood transfusion – there hasn’t been such an explosion of knowledge about trans-

fusions since the discovery of blood groups in 1900 – 1901 (by the way, in 1930 Karl Landsteiner finally

won a Nobel Prize for the discovery of blood groups).

We know that transfusions can be life-saving but that they carry significant risks including transfusion

related immunomodulation (TRIM), antibody reactions, and increased risk of hospital acquired infections

including pneumonia, wound infection and sepsis. Transfusions may contribute to increased length of

stay and increased health care costs – especially when evidence-based practice is not followed.

Loyola was already well down the Patient Blood Management path when the Trinity initiative started.

Nonetheless we have seen some changes in ordering practice in the past year. One year ago about 32%

of all transfusion orders were for a single unit. In May, 2015 our rate of single unit transfusion orders

was up to 70%.

Nursing can support Patient Blood Management in a number of ways. Be aware of the evidence-based

transfusion indications, know why your patient is being transfused and support the single-unit order con-

cept among the physicians by reporting the patient’s general condition along with lab results. In non-

bleeding patients transfusions are indicated for symptomatic anemia with a hemoglobin level less than 7

gm/dL. If your patient is hemodynamically stable encourage physicians to defer transfusion whenever

possible. It just might get your patient out of the hospital sooner and with fewer complications – and

that’s good news for everyone!

Catherine A. Shipp, RN, BSN, HP(ASCP)

Transfusion Safety Officer

Interested in completing your BSN degree and want to learn more?

Request more information: http://luc.edu/nursing/rfi/index.shtml

Register for an upcoming info session: http://luc.edu/nursing/rnbsn/

informationsessions/index.shtml

Start your application today. https://gpem.luc.edu/apply/

Contact Lori Salinas with any questions at lsalinas1@luc.edu or 773-508-8328.

Ethical Considerations: New approaches to training and evaluating ethics consultation at Loyola

P A G E 8 V O L U M E 9 , I S S U E 4

At the Neiswanger Institute for Bioethics and Health

Policy, we have developed a cutting edge educational

tool for training and evaluating clinical ethics consult-

ants. As background, the field of clinical ethics consul-

tation has been in the process of developing national

competencies and how to assess them for the past few

years. Recently, the American Society for Bioethics and

Humanities (ASBH) articulated and piloted a Quality

Attestation process for evaluating the work of clinical

ethics consultants. To date, this involves written portfo-

lios of past cases, evidence of education and training,

and letters of support. What has not been made clear is a

means of assessing the interpersonal skills of ethics con-

sultants, which are crucial to conducting a consultation.

Our team of clinical ethics experts at the Neiswanger

Institute has developed a new evaluation tool to assess to

meet this aim. The Assessing Clinical Ethics Skills

(ACES) tool draws from the core competencies for eth-

ics consultation articulated by the ASBH and the Veter-

ans Affairs Ethics Proficiency Tool. The ACES tool

specifies a range of skills the ethics consultant needs to

demonstrate to be competent including process skills,

interpersonal skills and analytic skills. These include

demonstrating how to facilitate the meeting, educating

participants on the ethical issues, distinguishing the ethi-

cal from other dimensions (legal, medical), summarizing

moral views and values, and facilitating a consensus or

ways forward.

The ACES tool is unique in our field as it uses

trained expert raters to evaluate the ethics consultant in

real time rather than being a retrospective, self-

evaluation tool. We have developed a series of training

cases using physicians, nurses, and standardized patients

to create a simulated ethics consultation. The ethics con-

sultant (or student) enters the room and facilitates the

consult, while a trained rater uses the ACES tool to score

his/her performance by watching the video-taped consult

“live”. The tool has the benefit of setting clear standards

and outlining specific behaviors the ethics consultant

should demonstrate and it provides a clear framework

for constructive feedback.

In the pilot phase of the ACES tool, our bioethics

graduate students, many of whom are practicing nurses,

physicians, and chaplains, commented on the applicabil-

ity of the ACES tool to their own settings. Nurses are on the

frontline of caring for patients, and can often sense when an

ethical dilemma is brewing. Ethical issues raise questions of

value and meaning, and the ACES tool aims to draw out the

values—medical and moral— guiding the patient’s and

health care team’s thinking and judgements in a particular

case. Clinically it is necessary to ensure that the medical

facts of the case are understood by all parties, which is part

of the ACES tool. Beyond that, however, we need to under-

stand the patient or surrogate decision maker’s wishes and

what values inform his or her decisions. Values can range

from independence, to specific relationships, to faith and

beyond. Nurses are often in a position to know first-hand

what values are operative when decisions are being made in

the healthcare setting and can anticipate when an ethics con-

sultation might be helpful.

The ACES tool highlights the importance of ethical de-

cision making and assessing the competence of ethics con-

sultants who are charged with facilitating such conversa-

tions and decisions, often when other attempts have not

worked. Having articulated standards for our relatively new

field of ethics consultation, and developing robust measures

for evaluation is vital. We look forward to continuing to

partner with our nursing colleagues in this endeavor as we

train people to deal with ethical dilemmas in clinical prac-

tice.

1. Wasson K, Parsi K, McCarthy M, Siddall VJ,

Kuczewski M. Developing an evaluation tool for as-

sessing clinical ethics consultation skills in simulation

based education: The ACES project. HEC Forum. Pub-

lished online first http://link.springer.com/

article/10.1007/s10730-015-9276-6.

2. American Society for Bioethics and Humanities, Core

Competencies for Health Care Ethics Consultants, 2nd

Edition, Glenview, IL: ASBH, 2011. ASBH http://

www.asbh.org/about/archives/a-guide-to-the-archives-

of-the-society-for-bioethics-consultation.html, Accessed

9/15/14.

3. U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs, National Center

for Ethics in Health Care. Ethics Consultant Proficiency

Assessment Tool. Accessed September 16, 2014. http://

www.ethics.va.gov/integratedethics/evaluation.asp

Katherine Wasson, PhD, MPH

Certification Corner– Break the Barriers -Part Two

P A G E 9

N U R S E L I N K

Exemplary

Professional

Practice

Renee Thompson on Thu, Sep 26, 2013, taken from nursetogether.com

If certification is so important, why aren’t more nurses certified?

There are 2 major barriers to certification:

1. Fear. True confession. Several years ago, I had an opportunity to teach medical surgical certification

preparation courses but there was one catch – I needed to be certified first. No big deal, right?

Just take the exam. When it was the time to actually schedule the exam, I just happened to be “too

busy.” True. I was busy, although a part of me was also afraid that I would fail. If I failed, what would

everyone think of me? Although I spoke nationally on medical surgical topics, failing would mean that

everyone would know I was an imposter – a fraud. I would be so embarrassed. This went on for 2 years

until I finally came to my senses and stopped succumbing to fear. I realized I was missing out on an

opportunity to do something I loved to do which is to teach nurses how to demonstrate the value they

bring to health care through their knowledge and competence. Getting certified was on the path.

So, I faced my fear, scheduled the exam, took it and passed! Now I teach nurses across the country not

only what they need to know to pass the exam, but also I teach them how to face their fears.

Ways to decrease your fears: Realize that even the most confident, competent person has fears. It’s

part of being human. The difference between successful people who take advantage of opportunities and

those who don’t is the ability to face and push through the fear. Even if you don’t succeed the first time,

keep trying. The skills you learn will carry you through other hurdles in your life.

Tip: Don’t tell anyone you are taking the exam until you’ve passed! That way, if you don’t pass the

first time, nobody will know except you.

2. Money. Certification costs money. There’s the cost of the preparation course, study materials such as

books and practice exams and of course, the actual cost of the exam. While some organizations

reimburse nurses if they pass, others don’t. I’ve listened to nurses who say that if their organization

won’t pay for it, they won’t get certified. No matter what happens in your nursing career, once you’re

certified, you take it with you.

Ways to decrease your costs: Preparation course. The actual preparation course is really where you get your biggest bang for

your buck. However, it can be expensive. You can justify the cost by knowing that you are taking

advantage of the most effective preparation tool available.

Tip: Ask your nursing education department to sponsor a course at your organization.

Preparation materials. Ask your library if they are willing to purchase a set of preparation

materials to keep at your organization. Get together with a group of other nurses wanting to get

certified and share the cost of the materials. Check online sources for preparation materials.

Visit the nursing certification’s website to see if there are free articles with practice questions.

Noodle around on the Internet and gather free resources. In the end, certification is just the right

thing to do for your colleagues, your patients, the public, but most of all – for you!

You won’t regret it!

Loyola Nursing Education offers multiple certification classes-check their website.

P A G E 1 0

Spiritual Corner:

N U R S E L I N K

Being a new chaplain here at Loyola University Hospital (I only came in September!) I have to say that

I’m in awe of you, the nurses I’ve met here; I still don’t know how you all do what you do.

And so when it came to Nurses Week and the blessing of hands, I wanted to find something special.

I don’t know where I came up with this, but this is what we used at the blessings, saying it together.

Being a NURSE means…..

You will never be bored.

You will always be frustrated.

You will be surrounded by challenges.

So much to do and so little time.

You will carry immense responsibilities and very little authority.

You will step into people’s lives and make a difference.

Some will bless you. Some will curse you.

You will see people at their worst – and at their best.

You will never ceased to be amazed at people’s capacity for love, courage, and endurance.

You will see life begin – and end.

You will experience resounding triumphs and devastating failures.

You will cry a lot.

You will laugh a lot.

You will know what it is to be human and to be humane.

And then I added this little prayer which we all said:

Dear Lord, help me once again to embrace this life that You have given me, that I have chosen. Bless our

work, our families, our patients, our very selves. Bless our tireless work for patients, this hospital and one

another. Bless these hands that are instruments of your love. Be with us, walk with us, keep us in the palm

of Your hand. Amen.

Part of the spirituality of St. Ignatius Loyola, founder of the Jesuits and namesake of our hospital, is

“finding God in all things.” So let’s do this. Let me ask you, which two lines above really made an impres-

sion, brought out some emotion. Now, what events do those lines bring back to you, do you remember?

For example, “You will see life begin – and end.” This brings back to me a memorable death in MICU,

with an amazing faith-filled family, surrounding a man who was conscious, knowing that after withdrawal

of treatment he would pass, and was at peace, talking, as best he could, with his family. I took me at least

ten minutes afterwards to pull myself together and continue my rounds. God was there.

But don’t use that as THE model. God is too big to be contained: God comes in small ways, funny ways,

tired ways, sorrowful ways, in feelings in the car driving home, in conversations, in tedium…enough!

Again, go back to the two lines that hit you, recall incidents, and ‘savor the moment’, use your ‘sixth

sense’ to ‘find God there’. Then just be with God and thank God for that experience…and that you’re a

nurse whose life is filled with God’s visitations – if only we develop the habit of ‘seeing God in all things.”

Small suggestion: maybe you could do this every day, driving home in the car.

Mark Henninger is a Jesuit priest, a chaplain in the

Pastoral Care Department of Loyola University Hospital

(mark.henninger001@luhs.org)

P A G E 1 1

N U R S E L I N K

APN Council

Co-Chairs:

Ann Briggs MS, CRNA

Eevin Judkins CCRN, ACNP-BC

Subcommittee on the APN/PA resource list discussed progress towards

completion of comprehensive list of APN/PA roles, skill-sets, area of spe-

cialization.

Guest speakers Sheri Winsper, Exec. Director of Quality and Patient Safety

and Patricia Cavalieri, RN Clinical Abstractor spoke on documentation, pa-

tient safety issues and the importance of accuracy with regards to reimburse-

ment.

Administrative updates, including OPPE and FPPE reminders

Education and Professional

Development EPD Co-Chairs:

Diane Stace RN, MSN, APN, CCRN,

CCNS

Josey Pudwill RN, BSN, CPN

NurseLink will be transitioning to an electronic format

Discussed Education Stipend guidelines for reimbursement of required

courses offered at Loyola

Clinical Ladder discussed clinical logs are used to document only clinical

activity and not to use mandatory education for in-services and continuing

education

Ambulatory updates discussed barriers to certification; working to standard-

ize prior authorization workflow in the clinic

Certification discussed “loan program” for review course materials

Nursing Professional

Practice Council

NPPC Co-Chairs:

Jeanette Cronin RNC, BSN

Renee Niznik BSN, RN

Kathy Thiesse MSN, RN, CWOCN

Hourly Rounding Sustainment committee reported on standardizing practice

of hourly rounding on all units

Infection Prevention gave updates on EBOLI, C-Diff, CLABSI, CAUTI and

VAP rates.

Approved new Foley catheter kits and nursing education roll out

Approved introduction of CHG use on medical-surgical patient central lines

Updated on teach back for anticoagulation therapy compliance

Reviewed the following nursing practice and approved changes as needed:

Changes to medication administration from 0800 to 0900 and discontinua-

tion of stacking medications.

-Radiation/Oncology patients policy changes

-Irrigating Foley catheter protocol

-IV tubing policy change

-Nursing using chain of command

-Animal assisted therapy

-Medical cannabis

-Epoprostenol infusion

-Bladder scanner use

Blood Safety Committee reported on needle stick/splash exposures and trial

of a new butterfly needles/safety googles

CPR Committee discussed introduction of IO access on crash carts

Fall Committee updated fall prevention measures: floor mats, e-learning

module and Soma bed re-education

Nursing Quality and

Safety Council

Co-Chairs:

Karen Thomas MS RN PCCN

Nancy Forcier BSN

Lynne Hughes, RN

Stephanie Wolski RN CNOR, NQSC

Judy McHugh, Advisor

Members shared Good Catch and Magis Stories

CAUTI prevention strategies were discussed and results of inpatient training

initiative were shared.

Regulatory Site visit discussed and restraint policy reiterated.

CCE Staff shared core measure data.

Trinity Practice, Education, and Research Council update given.

CLABSI Prevention proposal introduced and accepted by NQSC for

implementation.

Infection Control Updates shared.

Patient safety issues discussed.

Shared Governance Updates

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N U R S E L I N K

Shared Governance Updates

Magnet Ambassador Council MAC Co-Chairs:

Theresa Pavone, DNP, RN

Mary Lang, MSN, RN

Shared Magnet Hero Stories

Reviewed Nurses Week and the Nurse Excellence award recipients

Nursing Image: Several ideas were shared for involvement and participation

in the : Magnet team for the Hope and Heroes 5k race in June, and participa-

tion in other community events, i.e., a North Riverside Community Day,

which packages food for the Northern Illinois food pantries and is called Feed

6. This event will be on October 17th, each shift is 1-1/2 hours, and there is a

$10.00 donation.

Nurse Strategic Plan and Retention was introduced, with more coming next

meeting.

Ask Me About focused on Fall Prevention this month.

Also, new initiative with the evolving prevention Initiative with the

Affordable Health Care ACT-subgroup meeting.

Nursing Research and Evidence

Based Practice Council

Co-Chairs:

Pam Clementi PhD, RN-BC

Grace Hooker, BSN, RN, CCRN

July – Sept e-Journal

Lessons Learned from 10 Years of Research on Post-Baccalaureate Nurse Resi-

dency Programs

If you have any questions please feel free to contact Pam Clementi

(pcleme1@lumc.edu or 69515). Original email sent July 8, 2015

To begin:

Print the attached critique of the current e-journal article and the evaluation

form.

Select the link below to access the e-journal article (Lessons learned from 10

years of research on post-baccalaureate nurse residency program). You can ei-

ther read the article on-line or print the article and read it. After selecting the

link, a new screen opens for Single Sign-On (SSO replaces the old Archer ID/

password). Enter your Loyola UVID & password that is the same ID & pass-

word used to access email or login to a PC. If you have problems with access,

call the LUHS Help Desk and have your password reset.

http://ovidsp.ovid.com/ovidweb.cgi?

T=JS&CSC=Y&NEWS=N&PAGE=fulltext&D=ovft&AN=00005110-

201302000-00006&PDF=y

After reading the article and critique, select the link below to access the e-

journal survey questions allowing you to share your individual thoughts and

opinions about the article. A comment for each question is required to get con-

tact hours.

https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/LHHYCF5

Complete the evaluation form including how long it took you to complete all

requirements and return the completed evaluation form to me electronically, via

fax 64759 or send it to my attention, room 0701, Mulcahy.

Clinical Ladder points are awarded for participation in the e-journal club

– see clinical ladder guidelines for more information.

Executive Editor: Rose Lach

Managing Editors: Teri Boland

Joyce Despe

Linda Flemm

Josey Pudwill

Nurse Link Staff

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N U R S E L I N K

Continuing Education Programs

New and Revised Patient Care Policy and Procedures

IC-007 Infection Control- Standard Precautions IC-008 Infection Control-Bloodborne Pathogens Exposure Control Plan NUT-005 Fluid Restrictions NUT-008 (NEW) Medical Nutrition Therapy (MNT) order writing privileges for the Registered and Licensed Dietitian/Nutritionist (RD/LDN) ONC -015 Intrathecal Medication Administration RES-012 (REVISED) Stroke Code Team Response EQP-017 Intravascular Devices (IVD) (REVISED to meet Current Standards) Educational flyer coming soon EQP-017A Intravascular Device (IVD) Grid MED-046 (NEW) Fecal Microbiota Transplantation (FMT) Educational flyer coming soon MED-009 Epidural (Peri-Spinal) Analgesia REVISED TST-001 Reporting of Critical Diagnostic Test Results (combined with TST 002) TST-001 A Appendix Reporting of Critical Diagnostic Test Results SAF-017 (NEW) Vocera Badges

Please review the Patient Care Policy and Procedures that have been updated. The link to the Patient Care Policy and Procedure Page has been attached for your convenience. http://www.luhs.org/internal/policy/policymanual.cfm

Save the Date for Continuing Education Programs Sponsored by the Department of Nursing Education

2015

Check your Loyola e-mail approximately four weeks prior to each program date for complete program details, including agenda, speakers, logistics and on how to register.

Certification Review Classes: These classes are designed to help candidates better prepare for exam success by reaffirming clinical knowledge and boosting test-taking confidence.

Progressive Care Nurse Certification Review September 11, 18, October 2, 9

Fetal Monitoring Certification Review November date TBD

Other Program Topics Date

Ambulatory Nursing September 19

Organ Transplant September 26

Nursing Grand Rounds and Schwartz Center Rounds are offered once a month, typically 60 minutes in length. Check your email for date, time, location and topic of these rounds.

LOYOLA PERINATAL CENTER

Call 7-9050 for further information Troubleshooting Breastfeeding Challenges September 15 Loyola AWHONN Intermediate Fetal Monitoring November 9 & 10 Alexian Brothers S.T.A.B.L.E October 19 Morris