The Education Councils facilitate the development and implementation of educational programs for nurses. Following are some innovative programs introduced during the past year.
Click on the links below for additional information on specific Crozer-Keystone hospitals.
Crozer-Chester Medical Center
Delaware County Memorial Hospital
Taylor Hospital
Crozer-Chester Medical Center/Springfield Hospital
Developing Nursing Grand Rounds and Team Building Seminars
In 2007, Crozer’s Education Council developed Nursing Grand Rounds. During these quarterly sessions, the nursing staff learns from peers who present case studies on medically complicated patients for whom they provided care.
Currently, the Education Council is developing quarterly seminars on team building to be presented throughout 2009. “Working effectively in interdisciplinary teams is essential to ensure the best patient care,” says Marianne Kupchick, RN, MSN, CCRN, Crozer Education Council chair. “We are working with Human Resources to develop seminars that will help us achieve that goal.”
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Delaware County Memorial Hospital
Educational Initiative Reduces Central Line Infections
The DCMH Nursing Education Council consists of (l-r), Donna Kerr, RN, BSN, Frank Tanzosh, RN, and Sylvia Spaeth-Brayton, RNC, BSN, MSN.
The rapid dissemination of information related to IV issues and reduction of hospital associated infections has been a hallmark of the DCMH Education Council. Donna Kerr, RN, BSN, the council’s representative from the IV team, has made a significant contribution to the council’s success in this vital area. Since 2007, she has taken her passion for providing the best IV care and channeled it into educational efforts to ensure that DCMH nurses are at the forefront in reducing central line infections.
Recently, DCMH was experiencing more infiltrates in IVs that had to be treated, followed by IV restarts. Through her ongoing research into best practices, Kerr discovered that this increase was largely due to IVs that were being inserted over bony joints. She presented her findings at an Education Council meeting in late spring 2008, teaching the nurses alternative locations to use when starting IVs. Council members, in turn, shared this education with their units.
The next month, Kerr noted that the IV team was already seeing a reduction in the number of infiltrations and calls for restarts. In addition, the IV team was being notified much faster about problems because nurses were able to identify problems more quickly thanks to the education Kerr provided.
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Taylor Hospital
Reviewing a Complex Case to Improve Patient Care
From left to right: Fran DiLucido, RN, Heather Chambers, RN, Joanne Schultz, RN, and Erica Riddagh, RN.
In April 2007, a patient with complex medical problems died while hospitalized at Taylor. Subsequently, Heather Chambers, RN, an ICU nurse who provided care to the patient, developed a case study for presentation to the Education Council. Chambers’ comprehensive case review enabled the Council to look at the patient’s many physical problems, the course of events in the patient’s condition, the care provided and ways that care could be improved in the future. The multidisciplinary case review involved the attending physician, infectious disease physicians and Pharmacy as well as Nursing.
Chambers’ case study has become part of a hospital-wide education effort about treating and preventing C. diff infections in patients. “Nurses have become more aware of their need to act as patient advocates and move quickly to call the physician’s attention to an escalating problem because of this case study,” says Fran DiLucido, RN, clinical nurse educator and former Education Council co-chair. “The entire nursing staff and, ultimately, our patients will benefit from this education.”
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