Practice Standards

CVMC now has the American Nurses Association practice standards listed below available for reference. Nurses can access these standards through the nursing link on the Intranet.

The Code of Ethics for Nurses
Principles of Delegation
Principles of Documentation
Principles of Nurse Staffing
Scope and Standards of Practice
Nursing’s Social Policy Statement

Shared Governance Council Reports

Nurse Executive Council
Objectives:

  • Ensure we are focusing on the “right things” at the “right time.” 
  • Ensure that the work of nursing leadership and related councils is coordinated and non-redundant.
  • Know whether we are getting better and making progress or just treading water.
  • Stay on track to achieve our strategic goals.

Membership:

  • The Nurse Executive Council is comprised of the chairs of the following councils:
  • Nurse Administrator Council
  • Nurse Manager Council
  • Nurse Practice Council
  • EBP & Research Council
  • Patient Care Coordinator Council
  • Clinical Development Coordinator Council
  • Patient Care Standards, Policies, & Practice / PEP Council

2008 Accomplishments:

  • Started revision of Nursing Link on CVMC intranet
  • Reviewed and approved Nursing Policies
    • Nursing Professional Dress
    • Peer Evaluation-Registered Nurse
    • Professional Enrichment Program (PEP)
    • Nursing Professional Certification Recertification Reimbursement
    • Nursing Professional Organization Membership
    • The Future Nurse Leader Program: Test Drive


Nurse Practice Council - Nadin Knippschild RN - Chair
Objectives:

  • Identify and focus on issues relating to nursing practice at CVMC.
  • Improve patient care, safety, quality of care, patient satisfaction, and nurse satisfaction.
  • Utilize evidence to drive practice changes that are made.
  • Enculturation and exemplify the principles of professionalism in nursing.

Accomplishments

  1. Created Dress Code Policy to “put in writing” the dress code for nursing.
  2. Quality and Safety of IV Access: started with the idea of a possible IV team, but after evaluation of needs, decided to focus on improving IV skills of bedside nurse and implement use of lidocaine for IV sticks. Reviewed literature; worked with anesthesia for education plan; plan to educate core group and implement on trial unit to see if improvement noted
  3. Patient Satisfaction with Nursing Care: reviewed HCAPS scores and decided to focus on improving nurse-patient communication; currently in process of literature review
  4. Worked on unit council bylaws
  5. Mwandi fundraiser
  • Highlight unit based shared governance accomplishments
     
Area Accomplishments
Oncology
Chris Jarrett		 1. Worked on improving pain education to improve patient satisfaction scores.  Includes re-education of pain scale to patients on every shift and information for patients to take home on pain control.
  • Added communication boards.
  • Chemo Bundle (end of 2007)
Day Surgery
Kelly Ward
  1. Worked on creation of “virtual tour” of Surgical Suite for patients (still in progress)
  2. Worked on updating patient information notebooks to include more information on general information, general surgical care and more specific info on common procedures.
PACU
Laura DeBoer
  1. Created “On-call” guidelines
  2. Submitted abstract for research project on the use of music in PACU for pain relief
  3. Mwandi fundraiser
 Medical
 Leah Long
  1. Worked on creating a “quiet zone” in the Pyxis room (almost complete)
  2. Working on increasing pain satisfaction scores related to pain.
  3. Mwandi fundraiser
Surgical / Ortho-Neuro
Casey Mueller
  1. Admission nurse position created
  2. Created Nursing Communication Board at nurses station; has all room numbers and info re: each patient, so each staff member knows something about the patient and what to be aware of, for example, falls, etc.
  3. Prevention of Pressure Ulcers:
  • Started with re-education on beds and what the beds are capable of doing
  • Education of different skin care products
  • Education to check for pressure with different equipment, ie, SCDs, foot pumps, TED hose, etc
Critical Care Center
Lou Turnipseed
  1. Planned to look at noise level on telemetry as it was perceived as a problem, but upon investigation, it was not identified as a problem on patient satisfaction surveys.
  2. Created a orientation for Nursing Assistants that float to unit.
Emergency Department
Danielle Thurman
  1. Based on patient satisfaction survey results, decided to implement a modified rounding for the ED.  
  2. Implemented Communication Huddles at change of shift.
 Psychiatry
 Rose Poole
  1. Safety Education---worked w/ ED to have patients changed into scrubs and patient belongings removed prior to admission.
  2. Hepatitis C education for patients created.
  3. Mwandi fundraiser
Birthing Center
Teresa Elmore
  1. Focused on improved patient satisfaction scores related to pain management.
  2. Mwandi fundraiser—design of t-shirt; raised $1600
  3. “Nursery Huddles”—since nursery has assumed care of baby and BC caring for mom, have a huddle w/ nursery each shift for mom/baby update
  4. Shared Governance re-structure with creation of different committees, including, the nursing assistant extern program, discharge process and antepartum care.
 Pediatrics
 Sharon Hick
  1. Community service project for Child Advocacy Center. Partnered with the Birthing Center to remodel the waiting area to make more developmentally appropriate  (Misty Cline has pictures of work day)
In Patient Rehab
Annette Turner
  1. Created “Floating Helpful Hints” for float staff
  2. Created and now present “Graduation” certificates to patients upon discharge
  3. Created daily nursing checklist and did selected education on documentation to improve staff communication/involvement.
Infusion Center
Kim Weaver
  1. Moved into new location!!
  2. Worked in conjunction with Frye, oncology office and radiation oncologists on an universal teaching booklet for general care, what to expect for oncology patients
  3. Evaluated new safety products
 OR
 Holly Connor
  1. Created communication board for committees.
  2. Created job description for 2nd shift coordinator.
  3. Re-structured shared governance. Created a central council and various committees that report back to central council.
 Secure Care
 Jerry Ammons
  1. Implemented education teaching to inmates and officers on MRSA.
  2. Plan is to now take this education to the officers in the correctional institutions.


Several units sponsored food drives:
ED, CCU, Surgical, Oncology, Infusion Center