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Patient Care Services Education and Research
Patient Care Services
FY2022 brought exciting advancements in the world of Patient Care Services, which collaborates closely with a number of other departments to meet system goals. Various highlights are shared below:
Dr. Connie Clemmons-Brown
DNP, RN, MBA, CENP, System SVP, Patient Care Services
Clinical Education
Clinical Education at CommonSpirit is overseen by the National Clinical Education Council (NCEC). This council provides oversight for all aspects of clinical education and contributes to the achievement of transformative initiatives where education plays a significant role. Council objectives include standardization of essential clinical education, professional development for nurses, and support of facility education leaders to ensure compliance with required mandatory and regulatory education. In alignment with our nursing vision, the clinical education team has moved forward with initiatives vital to the hiring and retention of our nurses. As an initial offering in a plan to support nurses at every stage of their careers, the first virtual leadership program for frontline nurses was initiated in FY22. This program, Advancing Scholarship in Clinical Excellence and Nurse Development (ASCEND), is an application-based, selective program that recognizes nurses who have demonstrated a passion for leadership.
Advocacy
The CommonSpirit Abuse, Neglect, and Violence policy, applicable to all care settings, was adopted this fiscal year. Designed in partnership with providers, nurses, social workers, chaplains, and other colleagues, it includes the PEARR tool which guides health professionals on how to assist victims in a traumainformed, healing-centered manner. (PEARR stands for Provide privacy, Educate, Ask, Respect & Respond.)
Research and Evidence-Based Practice Council
The CommonSpirit Nursing Research and Evidence-Based Practice Council (NREBPC) is comprised of members from each of the system’s divisions. The council’s mission is “to support the generation of new knowledge and application of Evidence-Based Practice (EBP) through building a culture of inquiry and developing and advancing nursing research and EBP that aligns with strategic organizational initiatives.” Among its objectives is to support and share scholarly activities of CommonSpirit nurses. During its inaugural 18 months, the NREBPC accomplished its goals through subcommittees to help build research and evidence-based practices across the system.
Nursing Excellence Showcase
In May 2021, the first Nursing Excellence Showcase (NES) was launched to highlight the outstanding scholarly activity conducted by CommonSpirit nurses. NES is a monthly showcase, conducted virtually. Nurses are selected to present their completed research or evidence-based practice (EBP) projects. Attendance is open to everyone, and the audience is able to ask questions after each of the two 20 minute presentations. To date, 32 registered nurses have presented their projects at the showcase, demonstrating their commitment to advancing the profession through nursing research and EBP.
COVID-19 Well-Being
In the Spring of 2020 an interdisciplinary “COVID-19 Resilience as Well-Being Task Force” was initiated to support staff as they dealt with emotional stress and trauma of the pandemic. Efforts (see sidebar) were geared toward supporting Employee Assistance Programs (EAPs) onsite in facilities; proposing new HR resources and policies to support staff; educating leaders, collaboratives, and clinical groups on trauma and well-being; and establishing feedback loops. To further increase access to resources,
COVID-19 Resilience as Well-Being Task Force Goals (Spring 2020–December 2021)
n Support resilience and well-being in clinicians, leaders and staff in response to COVID-19 n Coordinate COVID-19 resilience and well-being efforts to ensure seamless delivery and minimize information overload
n Remain agile, seek feedback, and respond to changing circumstances with meaningful resources a Well-Being Check-In was created. This colorful, friendly approach to asking employees how they’re feeling provides a gateway to link them to helpful resources. In December of 2021, the Task Force transitioned from a committee to a broader system-wide strategy that launched in 2022.
Perioperative Services
Each division of CommonSpirit has perioperative representation from each state within that division serving on the system Perioperative Council. The Council’s objective is to improve quality, patient safety, patient satisfaction and staff and physician satisfaction through increased systemness. Its work is done through the following subcommittees: Sterile Processing Department (SPD), Policy/Quality, Education, EMR Standardization, Capital Equipment and Business Strategies. The subcommittees have helped to both establish standard work within our Electronic Health Records (EHRs) and create standard orientation and annual competencies for SPD and the Main OR. They have also created more than 10 system policies, and created standardized use of IT platforms for clinical practice across the system.
Additional highlights for FY 2022 include: • Expanded the system’s Prevention of Retained Surgical Items Policy.
• Planned for the system-wide implementation of the Enhanced Recovery After Surgery (ERAS) program based on best practices from across the system. • Implemented a perioperative growth tool to right-size surgical blocks across the organization and release unused blocks for other surgeries.
• Contracted with the Association of periOperative Registered Nurses (AORN) to help support the PeriOp 101 Core Curriculum and eGuidelines for perioperative nursing practice. Contributed to the AORN CineMed video library for their portfolio of Perioperative Nursing practice videos.
• Improved patient satisfaction and patient readiness for surgery, while reducing the no-show rate by more than 20% through use of the patient preOp preparation tool, EMMI across the system.
• Implemented a systemwide contract for Robotics which has led to additional facilities becoming Robotic Centers of Excellence.
Professional Practice
The Nursing Professional Practice Council (NPPC), with members from each division, was officially established in March 2020 when the Nurse Executive Council approved its initial charter. The mission of the NPPC is to support professional nursing practice; align clinical practice to evidence; and provide oversight, direction and governance for professional nursing practice across the system. This ensures quality, safety and excellence in care for all patients and their families.
The NPPC work is aligned to our strategic pillars: People, Excellence, and Future. Major work of the council has been implementation of the Nursing Core Standards of Practice. These standards are based upon the 3rd edition of the American Nurses Association (ANA) Scope and Standards of Practice. Applied in conjunction with CommonSpirit facility policies and procedures and licensed independent practitioner (LIP) orders, they reduce variation in practice across our organization by conforming to current evidence. We accomplish this by leveraging the nursing and respiratory care procedures found in Elsevier Clinical Skills, our source of truth for evidence-based nursing procedures. As evidence has evolved, Elsevier has researched and made beneficial substantive changes to these procedures because of change requests made by CommonSpirit nursing staff.
The NPPC structure now includes a Joint Practice-Education subcommittee and a Joint Practice-EHR sub-committee, both established in 2021. These committees have extended the reach and capacity of the NPPC by leveraging subject matter expertise of our committee members, who provide content review and recommendations to the council. The efforts of Council members have led to systemic changes throughout CommonSpirit that benefit both our patients and our nurses. •
