Dear Colleagues,
As we mark Nursing Week from May 12-18, with this year's theme,
Nursing: A Leading Force
for Change, we can all celebrate nurses as not only delivering high-quality care, but as leaders at the forefront of health-care transformation.
The ever-increasing, complex needs of our healthcare system have resulted in a new evolving nursing role, one which embraces knowledge, change management strategies, systems-thinking, innovation and lifelong learning. One which prepares nurses to work confidently in the fields of complex information technologies, robotics, quality improvements projects, interprofessional education and clinical decision-making tools.
At the bedside, our nurses are crucial in providing safe, patient-centred care, with our patients and families as Partners in Care. Nurses work with interprofessional teams to create the exceptional experiences for our patients, so that they feel cared for, secure and engaged in their plan of care. Without the skills, dedication and experience of nurses, we simply could not provide the excellent care that we do, and be the Partners in Care that we are.
Our nurses are also involved in developing and improving a number of best practices, which serve not only our patients, but will help patients across Ontario. Such initiatives include: in-depth pain assessment, management and development of resources materials, creation of a Knowledge and Innovation team, skin health - creating new pilot projects such as daily pressure ulcer huddles which have reduced pressure ulcers, falls prevention and management, identifying best practices in delirium prevention and management, co-leading with SIMS and other clinicians, a new Patient Dashboard that displays several patient safety or information icons and co-developing the Patient Portal with a team of patients/families/caregivers, clinicians and staff across UHN, which will improve patient access to information such as future appointments, test results, and discharge summaries.
As we honour our nursing colleagues during Nursing Week, let's appreciate and thank our nurses for the difference they make for our patients and our colleagues throughout the hospital and the healthcare system as a whole.
Bob
