MUSC Catalyst 12-06-2013

December 6, 2013

MEDICAL UNIVERSITY of SOUTH CAROLINA

Vol. 32, No. 17

More men in nursing shaping field

By Dawn Brazell Public Relations Chances are on your next stay in the hospital, you’re likely to encounter a male nurse, and it’s not as likely to be a surprise.

The image of men in nursing is experiencing a rapid change. A U.S. Census Bureau study released this year found that the proportion of male registered nurses has more than tripled since 1970, rising from 3 to 10 percent.

There has been a culture change to support the rising number. Berry Anderson, Ph.D., R.N., an assistant professor in the MUSC College of Nursing, said he’s been a nurse for 17 years and sees a shift in respect for men in the nursing profession.

“I think that has come with the increase in health care technology, competitive salaries, high job satisfaction, and that others are now recognizing that nursing is a great career. I think people are seeing through those stereotypes we’ve had in the past and welcoming men in nursing.”

Anderson expects the number of men in nursing to continue to rise. Twelve percent of nursing students in the College of Nursing this year are male.

“The weak economy has attracted more people into nursing programs. We have a lot of second-career folks.

People have been out there doing something they don’t like, and they come into nursing for the versatility and job satisfaction.”

Steve Schwade, a second semester College of Nursing student, said he left the business world because it wasn’t what he thought it would be like. He worked in a couple of different business settings, and hated it, he said.

“It was straight cutthroat and everyone was trying to make money,” he said of his experiences in the business

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See Nursing on page 10

8West Hand Hygiene Compliance is the watchword on 8West, but it can still be fun.

photos by Sarah Pack/Public Relations

See the multimedia package about MUSC registered nurses Luc Gagne (top), Tom Hubbard (bottom left, right) and Justin Morris on the MUSC News Center - www.musc.edu/pr/newscenter/.

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Volunteer Award

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Around Campus

Commitment defines the character of a dedicated MUSC employee.

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Meet Stan

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Tree of Life

READ THE CATALYST ONLINE - http://www.musc.edu/catalyst

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PeoPle Dr. Diane DellaValle Diane DellaValle, Ph.D., RDN, assistant professor, has joined the Division of Gastroenterology and Hepatology.

She completed her master’s in nutritional sciences from Penn State University and doctorate in human nutrition from Cornell University. DellaValle will continue her research on iron and physical performance within the department as well as projects with the nutrition center.

Dr. Carol Feghali-Bostwick Carol Feghali-Bostwick, Ph.D., is the Kitty Trask Holt Endowed Chair and professor in the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology.

Feghali-Bostwick, who comes to MUSC from the University of Pittsburgh, will work in training MSTP students, clinical fellows and graduate students. She will also continue her research in fibrosis.

Editorial of fice MUSC Office of Public Relations 135 Cannon Street, Suite 403C, Charleston, SC 29425.

843-792-2795 Fax: 843-792-6723 Editor: Cindy Abole catalyst@musc.edu Catalyst staff: Cindy Abole, aboleca@musc.edu Mikie Hayes, hayesmi@musc.edu

Around Campus

evenTs 23rd Annual Reindeer Run

photo by Cindy Abole, Public Relations

Sisters, Ella, left, and Maddie Chanthanbane, second right, along with friends, Nola Webb and Grace Marshall, presented a check for $287.05 to Hollings Cancer Center’s Comprehensive Breast Care Center and medical director Dr. Megan Baker Ruppel on Nov. 7. The girls and their friends raised the money from creating and selling 200 pink loom bracelets in honor of mom Janna Chanthanbane who is a breast cancer survivor.

Dr. Yunyun Su Yunyun Su, M.D., research assistant professor, has joined the Division of Rheumatology and Immunology.

Su, who earned her medical degree from Sun Yat-Sen University in Guangzhou, China, will work with Carol FeghaliBostwick, Ph.D., The Catalyst is published once a week.

Paid adver tisements, which do not represent an endorsement by MUSC or the State of South Carolina, are handled by Island Publications Inc., Moultrie News, 134 Columbus St., Charleston, S.C., 843-849-1778 or 843-958-7490. E-mail: sales@moultrienews.com.

and will continue her research on scleroderma and interstitial lung disease.

Dr. Joseph T. DiPiro Joseph T. DiPiro, PharmD, South Carolina College of Pharmacy executive dean, has been named a Fellow of the American Association for the Advancement of Science. This is an honor bestowed upon the association’s members by their peers.DiPiro was cited for his distinguished contributions to the field of pharmacy and to pharmacy education, textbooks in pharmacy and his leadership in national organizations. He served as editor of the American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education. He is among 388 members to receive this honor by the AAAS for their scientific work and efforts to advance science or its applications.

Join in this annual outdoor 5k run event on Saturday, Dec. 7, starting at Southend Brewery and around downtown Charleston. Runners and walkers of all fitness levels are welcome. Participants are encouraged to dress up in their most festive attired.

Proceeds from the Reindeer Run will support programs at the Children’s Hospital and the Darby Children’s Research Institute. Register at www. reindeerrun.org.

Make a DifferenCe Volunteers needed

Indigenous Health International is seeking volunteer physicians, physician assistants, nurse practitioners and nurses for its upcoming 10-day trip to the Kunas in Panama, March 1-10.

The organization is looking for highly motivated individuals who have a passion for helping people with health needs in underserved populations throughout the world.

Contact Dr. Leonard Egede at egedel@musc.edu or visit indigenoushealthinternational@ gmail.com.

Tri-county Volunteers needed Medical and non-medical staff are needed at a free community health clinic in Summerville. The clinic operates from 5 to 8 p.m., every second Wednesday of the month.

Volunteers needed include nurses, phlebotomists, physicians, pharmacists, pharmacy students, dentists and others.

Contact Angela Robinson at robia@musc.edu.

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8 West’s hand hygiene tree shows team spirit, commitment

By Mikie hayes

Public Relations A colorful reminder that proper infection control is critical to patient outcomes, the hand hygiene Christmas tree greets everyone who approaches the nurse’s station on 8West in the Medical University Hospital. The cheerful creation, made from inflated examination gloves and construction paper garland, invites smiles from passersby and staff alike.

The 8West night crew gets credit for the clever idea.

“Spontaneity and creativity were behind this project,” said Kim Curnell–Pean, R.N., nurse manager of 8West. “Karen Fry, who leads shared governance, was thinking of innovative ways to get staff involved and engaged.

Something fun like the tree eliminates monotony and also encapsulates the importance of focusing on outcomes in a fun and relevant way.”

In the pursuit of excellence in patient care, MUSC introduced measurable goals aimed at providing a foundation

to improve service and operations.

Curnell–Pean is passionate about meeting MUSC’s organizational goal of 90 percent compliance in hand hygiene, and the entire unit strives to achieve or exceed that goal every month.

"Infection control is a critical element in ensuring the safety of our patients and hand hygiene is the key. This initiative falls under MUHA Organizational Pillar goals,” Curnell–Pean said.

Quality, one of the five pillars of MUSC Excellence, focuses on achieving the highest standards of quality care in all domains and calls for zero harm to patients through the care process.

Hand hygiene is an important indicator related to the quality and safety of the patient care that MUSC provides and is considered the most important step staff can take to prevent infections.

“Across the board, we know that proper hand hygiene decreases the risk of our patients developing infections, thereby reducing the length of a patient stay related to a subsequent acquired infection and ultimately decreasing morbidity rates,” said Curnell–Pean.

photo by Mikie Hayes, Public Relations

Staff on 8West pose with their creative hand hygiene Christmas tree.

According to The Joint Commission, studies show continuing education is necessary to inform and remind health care workers of the indications for hand hygiene. At MUSC, to ensure proper habits are followed, inpatient units are subject to audits by Infection Prevention and Control. Secret shoppers observe

staff to ensure they are taking proper precautions.

“We are all on our p’s and q’s in terms of compliance,” Curnell–Penn said.

“That includes anyone who steps foot on this unit: physicians, occupational

See hygiene on page 10

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A happy ending for a committed, much–deserving volunteer request that stemmed from seven email accounts; oversaw the audit; handled legal issues when she and the board were sued by former employees; and kept DHEC and urrounded by family, friends and coothers fully apprised of how the organization workers, MUSC’s Vickey Cornelison was progressing. She accomplished all Grant sat nervously in the audience, eager this while her husband underwent and to learn who would be named Charleston was recovering from a heart procedure, in Magazine’s and Coastal Community addition to moving her 91–and 94–year–old Foundation’s Giving Back Awards parents from Arizona to a home only three Volunteer of the Year, at the Nov. 15 doors from her own to ensure their needs annual celebration. were met. For these and many other unselfish While those who know her believe efforts, Cornelison Grant was nominated for Cornelison Grant deserved to be counted the Volunteer of the Year award. among this year’s three most devoted During the ceremony, Cornelison Grant volunteers in the Charleston area for her was declared the winner of the Volunteer of tireless work with long-standing Charleston the Year award. As the audience erupted into nonprofit People Against Rape, she was applause, they let her know just how much ecstatic simply to have been nominated. she deserved this honor. Her supervisor Never did she dare to dream she would be and friend, Kilpatrick, was in attendance named a finalist from a field of so many to support her nomination. “At the gala worthy volunteers. award ceremony, we were thrilled when they Known for her all-out commitment, announced that Vickey won this prestigious especially when the chips are down, photo provided award,” he said.

Cornelison Grant is a volunteer’s Those who know her were not surprised People Against Rape volunteer Vickey Cornelison Grant, volunteer. As an advocate for PAR, whether that she had won. “She's as determined as center, joins husband, Chris Grant, and Charleston Magazine leading the charge or down in the trenches, a bulldog with a bone and will stick with a Cornelison Grant was a team player, happy editor Darcy Shankland at the Nov. 15 celebration. project until it's completed. She will wear doing anything that needed to be done. herself out working for these causes,” said Cornelison Grant joined the PAR board money or staff. The victims needed us. We couldn’t Cindi Sanders, a dear friend of 43 years. of directors September 2010, and was named treasurer. possibly let these people down.”

In news even better than the high–profile award, At that time, she was in her 26th year with MUSC’s Operating the only rape crisis center in Charleston, DHEC announced it would restore PAR’s funding National Crime Victims Research and Treatment Dorchester and Berkeley counties, 24–hours a day, retroactively. Cornelison Grant was able to satisfy Center. Early on her work at the center intersected seven days a week, with no funding and no paid help debts, pay the former staff the money they were owed, with a personal interest in PAR’s mission. Cornelison was a Herculean undertaking, especially considering its and most recently, PAR was able to begin hiring staff.

Grant said, “Because I had known people who had small five–person board of directors all had full-time Kilpatrick praised her dedication: “Thanks largely experienced sexual assault, and I was working in a jobs. That didn’t stop Cornelison Grant. She went into to her efforts, PAR has gotten some of its funding division of psychiatry that specialized in researching high gear and started prioritizing. Soon, she was in restored, hired an executive director, and even started trauma and the effects of victimization, I became charge of organizational triage. a public education campaign about rape prevention,” personally as well as professionally invested in the work Director of the MUSC National Crime Victims he said. of PAR.” Research and Treatment Center and PAR board A humble woman, Cornelison Grant is quick to In August 2012, PAR experienced a nonprofit president, Dean Kilpatrick, believes that had it not been give credit to everyone, while taking none herself. organization’s worst-case scenario. During a review of for Cornelison Grant’s dedication, perseverance, and “I’m just a worker bee,” she said. “I am blessed to PAR’s accounting, Cornelison Grant realized something untiring efforts, PAR may well not be standing today. be surrounded by all these brilliant researchers and was very wrong. A number of irregularities quickly “Her nomination was richly deserved because she did clinicians who do all the hard work and make such an pointed to an employee’s misappropriation of funds, an extraordinary job in keeping things afloat under incredible difference every day.” and almost immediately, PAR lost 100 percent of its extremely challenging circumstances while continuing Today, the neon pink, life-size poster that hung on operational funding from S.C. Department of Health to do her usual outstanding job as the business manager the wall of Memminger Auditorium honoring her and Environmental Control and the S.C. Department for our division in the Department of Psychiatry and nomination adorns the wall of her office. Kilpatrick of Public Safety. Cornelison Grant was forced to lay off Behavioral Sciences,” he said. points to it and refers to Cornelison Grant as “our the entire staff, more than a dozen employees.

For 14 months, in addition to her full-time job at celebrity.”

Still, the important work of the organization had MUSC, PAR was always on her front burner. She “Although Vickey won this award for her work with to go on. PAR has offered support and services for staged four volunteer training events; maintained the PAR, I think it reflects well on our department, the survivors of sexual assault in the tri-county area for 24/7 crisis hotline schedule, taking numerous shifts College of Medicine, and MUSC that we have such nearly 40 years. “We could not fail,” said Cornelison so service was never disturbed; spent many hours with amazing employees like Vickey who make a difference Grant, “PAR is too important - we simply could not victims providing comfort and support; organized in our community not only through their day jobs but let it fail. Rape didn’t stop just because we didn’t have the annual Take Back the Night rally; managed every also through this type of volunteer work,” he said.

By Mikie hayes Public Relations

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The CaTalysT, December 6, 2013 5

Meet Stan

Stan Sulkowski Department Office of Instructional Technology and Faculty Resources How long at MUSC 4 years How you are changing what’s possible at MUSC I work hard every day to try and make the lives of others a bit easier.

Children and their names Nadia, born February 2013 What music is in your player right now Nine-inch Nails, Tool, The Strokes, Artic Monkeys and Wu-Tang Clan What are your hobbies Photography and Arsenal Football Club.

I’m an active member of Charleston’s official supporter’s group, Charsenal.

Best thing about living in Charleston Being a bit of a foodie, the restaurants in Charleston take my vote for best things here.

Favorite quote “Try not. Do or do not; there is no try.” — Yoda

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Nurse attracted to profession despite being minority

By Dawn Brazell Public Relations

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octors crowd into the room of a patient in the medical surgical ICU in Ashley River Tower, where the mood hangs heavy. They monitor a patient’s seizure as a nurse stands by the packed doorway, trying to push a cardiac monitoring cart through the sea of white coats.

“I can’t get in there right now,” she said, turning for guidance to charge nurse Luc Gagné, R.N. He waves reassuringly, a picture of calm. Getting gowned up, he jokes that he’ll weasel his way in, which he does in short order, the doctors parting for him like the Red Sea. Quickly connecting the patient to monitors, he coordinates with other team members to determine what needs to be done. Then he is down the hallway, in a blur, wheeling the patient to an elevator to go up to a surgical floor.

It’s not his patient, but as charge nurse, Gagné, 56, is used to taking the lead.

Though the number of male nurses is on the rise, Gagné entered the field at a time when it wasn’t the norm. Gender aside, some people are just born nurses.

Gagné, who has been in this field 36 years, is one of them.

Known to have the energy of 10 people, Gagné is praised by fellow nurses who say they know he will be there for them if they need help. Coworker Dana McCarthy, R.N., said she enjoys working with him and wishes there were more male nurses on the floor.

Colleague Alyssa Beyl, R.N., agrees. “A male personality and perspective can bring a better balance to a floor that has mostly female nurses,” Beyl said.

His spunky nature catches some people by surprise given his 5-foot 6-inch stature and exotic FrenchCanadian accent. Gagné, a ballroom dancer and figure skater, is known for being a “character,” a description that makes him grin.

“I don’t know what they mean really by that,” he said, feigning innocence. “I’m very loud when I speak, so I’m heard – I’m heard from far. I like to bring a lot of humor around the work. The work is stressful enough, but people forget about that, and they get so focused that they don’t hear anything – they don’t see anything else. I’ve learned over the years to add that humor component to my work.”

McCarthy said Gagné’s personality lightens the mood and his years of experience prove invaluable. She recalls a bariatric patient who was reluctant to get active. “He told him to get up and get moving - that he was not going to get any better lying in bed.”

Male nurses are part of what’s changing the image of the profession, a positive trend that McCarthy thinks would be happening anyway, but that male nurses are

photo by Sarah Pack, Public Relations

Luc Gagné, who has been a nurse 36 years, said he feels he’s a nurse everywhere he goes, not just at work. To see a video, visit MUSC News Center - www.musc.edu/pr/newscenter/2013/gagne.html. helping to accelerate. Nurses have more autonomy and are expected to do more critical thinking in the care of patients. “Now we have our own voices and our own positions. We don’t just follow doctors around anymore with clipboards. Doctors listen to us more now.”

Male nurses offer more diversity and a greater range of available candidates, such as Gagné, who represents some of the best in the field, she said, adding that men in nursing seem to be shaping the profession in a good way. “They do bring us more respect – it’s sad to say, but it’s still a man’s world.”

Research shows male nurse are helping to raise salaries faster. If that’s the case, McCarthy said, “Bring it.”

Taking the plunge Gagné, who has been at MUSC since Aug. 1997, has worked in a wide range of departments, but like many other male nurses, he loves critical care.

Hailing from the province of Québec, Canada, Gagné was drawn to the field of nursing through a relative who seemed to really enjoy the work and who traveled to exotic, fun places. Not many men were doing nursing at the time, but it didn’t stop Gagné.

He took the plunge into nursing, even though his first two placements would have been challenging, even for a seasoned nurse. Enrolled in a federal Canadian

program established to allow French people to go West to Saskatchewan, he served in a very small community hospital, close to Indian reserves, where he stumbled through trying to better his English. He then went to northern Quebec to work with Inuits where there were no doctors, and just two nurses working 24/7 shifts.

The population was demanding in terms of their needs and expectations, and he had a crash course in culture clashes.

“It opens minds. If you come in and you’re really narrow–minded, that’s not going to work.”

The experiences shaped him in a profound way, he said. After five years, Gagné returned to get a bachelor’s degree in nursing, married and decided to take an international position, working in Saudi Arabia for 13 months. Later, he would go on to accept jobs in West Palm Beach and Pahokee, Fla., before stints in New Hampshire and Vermont.

To escape the cold winters, his family was glad to come to Charleston. He has been at MUSC for 16 years in a variety of positions, currently serving at the medical surgical intensive care unit at Ashley River Tower.

He is glad to see more men entering the nursing profession. “I’m glad that guys are opening their eyes that it is not necessarily a female area. I’m very happy when I have two or three guys on a shift. It gives a break

See Minority on page 7

The CaTalysT, December 6, 2013 7

MinoriTy

Continued from Page Six

to all the female nurses,” he said.

His wife, Muriel L. Labonté, Male or female, though, it’s the R.N., is also a nurse at MUSC, attitude that matters most, he said. said she always gets asked what it “It has to be more than just a job. is like being married to Gagné.

I cannot work like that, and I cannot He’s one of the most personable think like that. If you’re a nurse, and high-energy people that you’re a nurse everywhere you go. It’s she knows, personally and not only at work during the week … professionally.

“As a parent he was involved it’s a constant thing.” as much as I was. If it was time Gagné said he feels he’s a nurse for new shoes he went out and everywhere he goes, not just at shopped, if it was time for the work. dentist, well, he went there, too.

Some patients will mistake him for He was considered an excellent a doctor. “I tell them, ‘I’m not your PTA parent as he worked around doctor – sorry – I’m your nurse. I the needs of the school and don’t want to be your doctor.’ I’m the band as well. He’s baked done with that focused mind of cupcakes and cakes for birthdays wanting to be a doctor. It’s flattering and even has done a little sewing to know that people could perceive photo provided when absolutely needed. With you as a doctor. That tells me that Gagne uses dancing and figure Luc, it is always other people I’m probably reflecting enough of my skating as healthy outlets. first.” knowledge that it is perceived at that Gagné, who is one of nine level.” children, is a great comfort to his extended family, she He gets respect as a nurse, not so much because said.

“As a nurse, Luc is excellent.

He is involved, caring, of gender, but rather as a result of his style. compassionate and very knowledgeable.”

Communication is critical to him, and patients A perfect example of his compassionate spirit is when sometimes thank him for his ability to translate tough they went to see her uncle who was dying from cancer. medical jargon into layman’s language. Some patients “As Luc is talking to him he comes straight out and don’t understand what’s going on and are afraid to ask, asked him if he was ready to die. He also asked him if he said. “Sometimes I have to put the words in their he had had visions of God and past family members mouth. ‘Don’t you want to know this? Have you heard who were there to help him. I was shocked and had not this? Did you understand everything they just said?’” expected this interaction, but my uncle went ahead and Gagné does this because it’s what he would want. He had a 20-minute conversation with Luc about dying, and tries to put himself in the patient’s position – what it who he had envisioned and talked to.” would feel like to be totally dependent on others for Labonté said her husband reassured him and brought care. He recalls a story of a patient who spent several comfort at a time no one else in the immediate family months in the hospital, and understandingly became highly demanding given an infection that required parts had felt comfortable broaching the subject. “My aunt of both of her legs and two fingers to be removed. Gagné who was witness to the whole thing could not thank Luc volunteered to be by her bedside when he was on duty. enough and could not believe that he had done so with He would paint her nails and helped her not to have such empathy and caring.” to cut her thick hair, because he knew what it meant to “It’s a profession that has to be chosen from the her. There needed to be flexibility from the other nurses heart,” Gagné said. His advice to potential nursing for Gagné to spend that extra time with her when she students: “This is not a place where you need to be was at her sickest, but they worked as a team to try to miserable because if you’re miserable, you’re making a relieve some of this patient’s suffering. lot of other people miserable. It’s more than a job. It’s “I made her walk,” he said, ticking off a long list of definitely more than a job.” how he tried to keep her spirits rallied. She went from Gagné said there are days when he hasn’t felt like being a very active woman to being intubated at one being at the bedside, but those are rare. point in her treatment. After she was discharged, she “Ninety-five percent of the time, it’s not hard. I know was interviewed on national television and sang Gagné’s this is where I’m supposed to be. It’s been said of me praises as being influential in her recovery. that I’m ‘contagious.’ My compassion, my work, my love “I tended to more than just her physical needs. That — whatever that comes with the territory — is perceived lady will stay in my mind forever.” by whomever I encounter. You love your job, and you show it.”

Being Contagious

Do You Know?

What do Walt Whitman and Tom Hubbard have in common?

Before modern day nursing, men - not women - served as nurses. The earliest recorded nursing school was in India around 250 B.C. and was exclusively for men. During times of war it was common for men to volunteer as nurses. That was the case for poet Walt Whitman, who volunteered as a nurse during the American Civil War. Tom Hubbard said a military link exists today with nursing and it was his pathway into nursing. Read his story at www. musc. musc.edu/pr/ newscenter/2013/hubbard.html.

This is a recruitment poster from the American Assembly for Men in Nursing. The goal is to have 20 percent male enrollment in nursing programs throughout the U.S. and the world by the year 2020.

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Minimally invasive surgery opens portal to spine By kiMBerly MCGhee Business Development & Marketing

T

raditionally, correcting problems with the spine has necessitated open back surgery, requiring a large incision (5-6 inches or longer), muscle dissection and retraction to expose the spine.

Surgeons had full access and visualization of the spine, but at the cost of significant tissue trauma and long recovery times.

Many of the spinal procedures once done via open surgery are now being performed, Kimberly McGhee with comparable outcomes, using minimally invasive surgical techniques that require smaller incisions, resulting in less blood loss and disruption of muscle tissue. In addition to speeding recovery times, these techniques are associated with less scarring and a reduced risk of infection

Frontiers

or wound breakdown.

Bruce M. Frankel, M.D., professor of neurological surgery and radiation oncology in the Departments of Neurosciences and Radiation Oncology at MUSC, has helped pioneer the application of these MIS techniques, now almost commonplace for the surgical treatment of degenerative disk conditions, to the treatment of patients with metastatic spinal tumors or with traumatic fractures to their thoracolumbar spine.

Frankel specializes in MIS techniques for the spine. Instead of exposing the spine to gain visualization and access, Frankel opens a limited portal, through which the exact spinal region of interest can be visualized with the aid of a microscope and through which specialized surgical instruments can be passed to perform the procedure. He makes a small incision off the midline of the back, much smaller than that which would be required for open surgery, and establishes a channel to the spine not by dissecting muscle but by dilating it.

Dr. Bruce Frankel uses the new surgical technique on a patient.

Once access to the appropriate region of the spine has been achieved using fluoroscopic guidance, an 18- to 24-mm port is inserted. The posterior approach minimizes complications by avoiding the transabdominal region and the chest.

The more rapid recovery times made possible by MIS techniques are particularly critical for cancer patients with tumors that have metastasized to the spine. These tumors can put pressure on the spine, leading to extreme pain as well as loss of mobility and neurological function.

Surgery is one palliative option in these patients, helping to relieve some of these symptoms by removing or debulking the tumor. However, many of these patients are in the last months of their lives, and physicians and patients alike have had to weigh the benefits that could be gained through surgery (lessened pain, better ambulation) against the long recovery times required after open surgery.

The availability of an MIS option tips that balance, because the same gains can be achieved with dramatically shortened recovery times. New approaches to minimally invasive spine surgery are being pioneered at MUSC to positively affect the outcomes of patients with complicated conditions involving the

spine.

In 72 patients with metastatic spinal tumors at MUSC, those treated using MIS techniques had shorter hospital stays, as well as decreased blood loss and wound breakdown, and the quality of their lives increased, in part due to decreased pain and better ambulation (data unpublished but presented at national meetings). The surgery does not prolong survival, but it could affect it indirectly by making it possible for patients to restart chemotherapy or radiotherapy sooner and to stay ambulatory, staving off immobilityassociated complications.

This MIS technique also can be used to stabilize the spine or fuse vertebrae in patients who have sustained thoracolumbar fractures, which are caused by high–velocity accidents like car crashes. Such fractures can result in severe pain, spinal instability, as well as lack of mobility and neurological function. In a cohort of 61 patients (MIS technique, n=45; open, n=16), those undergoing an MIS technique vs open surgery lost less blood (mean: 518 mL vs 1800 mL), had shorter hospital stays (6.5 vs 20.2 days), and had fewer complications (hardware failure: 6.6 percent vs 12.8 percent; wound infection: 3.3 percent vs 6.4 percent; data unpublished but presented at national meetings).

MUSC specializes in tissue-sparing minimally invasive surgery for the brain and spine. For example, MUSC is the first in the state to offer transforaminal endoscopic microdiscectomy for herniated disk repair. This repair, which adopts a unique approach through the intervertebral foramen (the opening formed by a neural arch through the spinal cord), requires only an 8-mm incision and has a far shorter recovery time than more traditional discectomies.

To read more about minimally invasive spine surgery at MUSC and other stories, visit the November issue of Progress Notes, available at http://www.

Editor's note: "Progress Notes" is a bimonthly publication produced by Business Development & Marketing Services and sent to all physicians licensed in S.C. to inform them about clinical and research innovations at MUSC.

The CaTalysT, December 6, 2013 9

applauSe prograM The following employees received recognition through the Applause Program for going the extra mile: Medical Center

Frank Hoyland, MUSC Sleep Center; Heidi Knode, MUSC Sleep Center; Lisa Kaiser, Bronchoscopy; Gail Rivers, Environmental Services; Billy Berkes, Physical Therapy; Shannon Weaver, Physical Therapy; Rainey Causey, Medical Records, Coding & Incomplete; Vernell Threat, Safety, Security, & Volunteer Services; April Austin-Genua, PACU; Gloria Mort, PACU; Laureen Johnson, PACU; Jessica Edwards, Peri Anesthesia; April Austin–Genua, PACU; Debbie Cepeda, Womens Health; Sandy Streisel, 9NSI; Lori McCall, Medical Records, Jenna Delany, Surgery Trauma ICU; Kathy Salter, University Internal Medicine; Phyllis Laboard, University Internal Medicine; Vera Campbell, Heart Center; Amanda Grams, ART- Rad Diagnostic; Barbara Cobb, Peds Same Day Cath Room; Cindy David, Peds Same Day Cath Room; Joanne Marcell, Peds Procedure Area; Doris Smalls, Medical Records; Carol Sherman, Hematology/Oncology; Lucinda Magwood, MICU; Mary Washington, ART Card/Vasc/ Surgery; Derek Austin, ART 3W; Erin Johnson, ART 3W; Laurel Faja, Infant Care Unit; Madeline Gehrig,

MUHA website features FAQ about new MUSC Health Care Plan

Peds Clinical Resources; Karen S. Johnson, Postpartum; Meredith Canning, Postpartum; Dorothy Winters, Postpartum; Sharon Groat, Postpartum; Sarah Jenkins, Postpartum; Chiquita Anderson, Postpartum; Karen Johnson, Postpartum; Monica Wigfall, Postpartum; Rocio Bullock, Postpartum; Melvina Nelson, Youth Psych–Inpatient; Karen White, Labor & Delivery; Andrew Kennedy, 7W; Amelia Hinchcliffe, Cannon WH Ultrasound Genetics; Ana Rosa Virella-Pena, Cannon WH Ultrasound Genetics; Theresa Mathrua, Guest Services; Herbert Jenkins, Guest Services; Aretha McFadden, Guest Services; Justin Carr, Guest Services; Harolyn Smith, Guest Services; Mary Curnett, Guest Services; John Parler, Guest Services; Robert Watson, Volunteer Services University Lisa Beattie, Human Resources; Roger Brownlee, Printing Services; Peggy Bull, Dental Medicine; Vickie Chapman, Dental Medicine; Eric Cooke, Printing Services; Jonathan Coultas, Instructional Technology & Faculty Services; Audrey Gagnon, Printing Services; Gordon Knight, Printing Services; Ronald Williamson, Printing Services.

Beginning January 1, 2014, many MUSC employees currently under the State Health Care Plan will be transitioning to the new MUSC Health Plan. A comprehensive FAQ website has been developed to answer many of your questions about the plan and its benefits and requirements, as well as provide plan comparison charts. The site can be viewed at https:// www.musc.edu/medcenter/MUSChealthplan/MUSC_ HealthPlan-FAQ-9_26_2013.pdf.

MUSC Trident United Way It’s not too late to pledge and make a year-end contribution to MUSC ‘s Trident United Way Campaign. This year’s goal is $150,000.

The Trident United Way supports many non-profit organizations in the Tri-county area including the MUSC Foundation.

Gifts can be made by payroll deduction, check or credit card. Pledge forms and brochures also are available to all employees.

To make an online pledge, visit http:// wwwmusc.edu/tuw. For information, contact Whitney McLuen, 792-1973 or mcluen@musc.edu.

National Coalition Building Institute will offer Welcoming Diversity Workshop 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m., Jan. 25, Harper Student Center Auditorium This free workshop is designed to introduce participants to various aspects of diversity, which includes but is not limited to, identifying the information and misinformation individuals have learned about other groups. Participants will learn how groups, other than their own, can experience mistreatment, learn the impact of discrimination and practice other techniques to reduce behaviors. Open to all MUSC students, staff, faculty and MUHA employees. Register at http:// academicdepartments.musc.edu/ncbi/registration.html.

10 The CaTalysT, December 6, 2013

nursinG

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world. He would come home discouraged and see his wife, who is a nurse, be happy about her work everyday. He realized that was what he wanted and enrolled in nursing school.

He admits it’s been tougher than he thought. “I went home after the first day of class and apologized to her. Until you see it for real, it’s like ‘wow.’”

Schwade, 26, said he made the right choice, though, and feels he can go in a variety of directions once he has his degree. It is strange being the only male in his classes at times. It’s the first time he has been a minority. He hopes more men will choose nursing as a profession.

Already he has encountered patients who want to know if he’s a physician, but the question doesn’t bother him.

“I want to help people. I don’t want to diagnose them.”

Anderson, who heads the local Men in Nursing group, hears the same from other nurses. At MUSC, there has been a dramatic increase in the number of men parlaying their military experience into the field of nursing. (See story about Tom Hubbard, R.N.) They may have been a military paramedic or held another medical job, and have come to the position well-trained. Anderson said it’s a good trend.

“The diversity pot makes everything better. You don’t just have one way of thinking, you have several ways of thinking.”

The stigma of being a nurse also is decreasing. It is a profession in its own right – not just a career men choose because they couldn’t “make it” as a doctor, he said. Anderson, who knew he wanted to be a nurse since seventh grade, never wanted to be a physician.

His parents were nurses, and he always enjoyed the sciences. “I thought nursing had a lot of job opportunities – the diversity of nursing. I couldn’t imagine going to school and picking something while I was really young, doing a residency and then sticking to it forever.

What if I didn’t like it? With nursing, you have flexibility. So if I get tired of something, I can just change. ” In his last semester in nursing school, he became interested in psychiatric nursing and went on to love working at the MUSC Institute of Psychiatry

and being an assistant professor at the College of Nursing. Anderson, who always has been fascinated by why people behave the way they do, found psychiatric nursing a perfect fit. “It’s been a great career for me.”

Anderson has found nursing to be the perfect fit for him.

He tries to pass that passion along to his students and instill compassion.

Nursing on an acute psychiatric unit is particularly challenging because patients typically don’t give much feedback or thanks, given the nature of their illnesses, but he gets enough signs to know he’s making a difference. He recalls a former patient who came up to him at a restaurant to thank him.

“It blew me away because first of all she came up to me and said she was a psych patient, which a lot of people wouldn’t do because there’s a stigma involved, and I was with a group of people. She said, ‘what you told me made such a difference in my life.’”

Anderson would like to see more men in the profession. His two main pieces of advice are to have a heart for the job and to find the right niche. “Follow what you want to do. You may not find it in your first job, but you’ll get there. Nursing will allow you to do that. You can do whatever you want.”

One new trend appealing to men is obtaining a Doctor of Nursing Practice degree, which can be more lucrative and offers the possibility of operating independently of physician oversight to relieve the shortage of medical care in rural areas.

“I hope to see the rules change so nurse practitioners can operate independently,” he said of state legislation that would allow that to happen. “They could open their own business and hang their own shingle. I think that’s coming, and the Affordable Care Act may help push it forward.”

Men are helping to reshape nursing’s image. “People are seeing it as a worthwhile profession in which you can make really good money with career opportunities. It hasn’t always been that way.”

That’s not to say financial incentives are the main draw for men. “I’m inspired by helping people. I’ve never been a person who did something just for

photo by Sarah Pack, Public Relations

Dr. Berry Anderson (far right) teaches a class of nursing students about psychiatric illnesses. Nursing student Steve Schwade (far left) hopes the number of men in nursing will keep rising. money. I get a lot of enjoyment out of making a difference,” Anderson said, adding that he looks for that in his nursing students. “I can truly say I enjoy what I’m doing and that inspires me to do more.”

hyGiene

Anderson is just glad both men and women will be shaping the field in the future. “It will benefit both,” he said. “I think not having a ‘women’s profession’ but having a ‘profession’ is better for nursing.”

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therapists, physical therapists, transporters, environmental services, dietary, techs… it doesn’t matter.”

Friendly competition among hospital units adds an element of fun to the hand hygiene program. On a quarterly basis, prizes are awarded to the unit with the highest compliance scores. Silver, gold and platinum winners receive various prizes, including cash for the department to host a unit wide celebratory meal or to purchase scrub tops; banners to proudly display in the unit; an Excellence trophy to the platinum winners; and campuswide recognition.

With October’s score of 92, Curnell–Penn and her team are satisfied, but remain vigilant. Everyone on the unit takes responsibility for making the grade.

“We focus on real-time education and coaching. If anyone is about to enter into a patient’s room without cleaning their hands, everyone on staff is empowered to remind them to do so,” said Curnell–Pean. “It’s all about our patients. We want to decrease the risk of infection and ensure that is the focal point at all times. If someone is careless about hand-washing, it can be detrimental to a patient’s health; therefore everyone has to be accountable.”

Everyone is part of the team on 8West. Daina Williams with Environmental Services loves to share the good work being done. She said, “We are awesome up here and our patients love us. Everyone loves this floor. We’re always up to something good or nice.”

Williams has earned many fans on the floor and around campus due to her charming personality and can-do attitude. Dick Smith, general manager of Environmental Services, said, “Daina is sensational — truly a great person.”

The team is especially proud that 8West has the highest year–to–date Hospital Consumer Assessment of Healthcare Providers and Systems scores in the hospital, representing a joint effort between Environmental Services and clinical staff. According to Smith, the HCAHPS initiative measures patients' perspectives on their care via a survey that is sent to them after they’ve been discharged.

When compliance goals are met, everyone wins. MUSC leadership recognizes and rewards units with high performance scores.

The CaTalysT, December 6, 2013 11 Sidewalk repair work continues until Dec. 15

Items for Sale Signed copies of Dr. Peter Cotton's award winning rhyming children's books about Fred the friendly snake are available at: www.petercottontales.com

The Medical Center Facilities and Capital Improvements Department will continue to replace and repair sidewalks on Bravo Street (between Ralph Johnson Drive and Bee Street) until Dec. 15.

Temporary walkways are set up for pedestrian traffic.

Pedestrians also are encouraged to use extra caution walking around this area.

For information contact omraju@musc. edu.

12 The CaTalysT, December 6, 2013

Campus kicks off Tree of Life lighting, Angel Tree

By Dennis frazier Facilities and Capital Improvements

T

he Horseshoe was lighted up on Nov. 20, as MUSC’s Tree of Life and Angel Tree event officially kicked off the MUSC community’s efforts.

Patients, visitors, faculty, staff and administration were treated to festive holiday music courtesy of the Isle of Palms Coastal Belles and the Salvation Army Band. Medical center executive director and CEO Pat Cawley, M.D. welcomed visitors and spoke about the history of the tree and its significance during the holidays.

“This is a big event here at MUSC. A lot of employees and medical staff are heavily involved in the MUSC Angel Tree effort and really look forward to it ever year,’ said Cawley.

Salvation Army of the Lowcountry’s Major Thomas Richmond also shared his appreciation of the MUSC community and their dedication to the spirit of giving in the Tri-county area.

“What better way to light this tree today in front of this place — an institution of healing, learning and knowledge. This also is a place of sorrows on some days. But mostly it is a place of joy where hands are helping others and hearts are reaching out and each of you make others your priority,” said Richmond.

Tree lighters for this event featured two brothers who earlier that same morning welcomed the birth of their baby sister at the MUSC Labor and Delivery unit.

Thanks and recognition go to MUSC

The campus’ Tree of Life honors the year’s memorable events that occured at MUSC. personnel who contributed to the success of this event. They are Bruce Mills, Catherine Colonna, Contrenia Haynes, Damon Amella, Earle Droze, Fred Miles, George Goodhue, Greg Weigle, Gopi OmRaju, Jackie Samuels, James Garbarini, Jennifer Pearce Aldrich, Jessica McElrath, Jim Roche, Josh Ivey, Katy Kuder, Kyle Connelly, Liz Nista, Mark Brown, Mary Lester, Melilssa Kubu, Mike Schultz, Nate Dubosh, Paul Hunt, Robin Smith, Sue Grimm, University Electrical Shop, Vicki Marsi, Warren Sholl and Zone Maintenance Shops.

photos provided

The Isle of Palms Coastal Belles serenade the crowd.