No Float Reward

To honor our long term employees in pediatric critical care, we will implement a no float policy effective 1/1/14.  This will be a unit benefit for all nursing staff who have worked on our units for at least 10 years.    My hope is that this small, but heartfelt gesture will demonstrate our appreciation for their loyalty, dedication, and clinical expertise.  Unfortunately, we cannot include the ancillary staff because we typically staff with only one PCT and one unit secretary.

Please join me in saying thanks to the staff who have been the foundation of our success for so many years.

Happy New Year,

Melinda

Nutritional and Vaccine Screenings

Please remember that all patients must be screen for pneumococcal and influenza vaccines.  While we do not typically administer the vaccinations while patients are in the PICU, we still MUST do the screening.  We have missed two patients in the past few months.  This information is monitored as we need to be 100% compliant to meet the Joint Commission standards.  Please take a moment to remind yourself what the screening looks like, where it is in McKesson, and how you need to complete it.

We have also been non-compliant with getting the nutritional screening done on admission.  Please remember to complete all sections of the admission assessment within the first 24 hours of admission.

Thanks,

Melinda

Season's Greetings

I just want to take a moment to thank each of you for making 2013 a successful year for our Pediatric Critical Care team, patients, and families.  We have made great strides in our CAUTI prevention and continue to be hospital leaders in CLABSI, VAP, and falls prevention.  Patient Satisfaction and hand hygiene scores are at or above goal for both units as well.

Your unwavering commitment and passion for this difficult work saves lives and touches hearts each day.  In my long career I have not witnessed the level of teamwork and professionalism that we have in both units.  Despite a tragic summer and an early respiratory season with high acuity and some very sad situations, you remain steadfast in our mission to provide the best care.  You should all be proud of the high quality and compassionate care you give each and every shift.  The children and the families of South Carolina are blessed to have you.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year from your very proud and thankful nurse manager!

Cheers,

Melinda

Pulse Ox/BP cuffs

Please be sure to rotate your pulse ox and BP cuff sites at least daily.  They get gross/smelly and cause skin breakdown.  Pulse Ox probes also cause burns if left on the same site for a prolonged period of time.  Let me know if you have any questions, thanks.

Erin

Magnet Updates

The following are a ton of updates from the past two magnet meetings. Please read through and let me know if you have questions! I am hoping to continue to use the blog as an informal way to pass along some of the information from my meetings to you all! Enjoy! –Kelsey

Johnson and Johnson Gala

-       28 RNs from MUSC in attendance

-       3 of the top 4 videos came from MUSC and the winner was from 9E with a video about falls prevention

Nursing Excellence

-       Joint Commission Diabetes Center: keep up the good work! We help with this with our diabetes admissions!

RN III

-       Nurse alliance is looking into a new system for this…

o   Hopefully will not be based on points but rather, yes- something is completed, or, no- its not

o   Hopefully non-exempt employees will be able to become RN IIIs with a pay raise

-       Evidence Based Practice Workshop- if interested in RN III highly recommend doing this class where you can get your research project completed

o   One MUSC RN made a poster with the project she did and was able to go to New Orleans to present it

Back to School

-       38 RNs have taken advantage of tuition discounts at University of Phenoix- don’t forget there are 5 schools offering discounts to MUSC

-       We currently have several Nurses going back to school! (Sheri Fannin, Julie Taylor, Erin O’Donnell, Alli McCraw)

Certification

-       Last spring we had set a goal as a unit to have 5% certified

-       Currently we have 3 nurses including Melinda (Jason Williams, Patricia Prause)  

-       I am going to take the test in January so let me know if you want to study together! (FYI over TEN PC RNs are certified- only one did not pass on their first try)

AACN

-       Highly recommend membership- you get discount on certification exams, free CEs, opportunities to attend conferences, and a newsletter that has some interesting articles in it! (I will leave my copy in the break-room for you to take a look at)

-       *With the certification discount- I think there are some rules about when the discount will apply after becoming a member-FYI*

Christmas Party Details - Please RSVP

Documenting Transfer Delays

Hey guys.  We are still working on meeting the hospital's goal of getting transfers out of the PICU to the floors within 1 hour.  I have developed a chart to track any potential delays so that we can gather data to determine where and why the delays are occurring.  Once we know this, we can make an effective action plan.  The chart is in the charge book in PICU.  For the time being, charge RNs, please record all transfers out by noting the patient name, MRN, transfer date, unit transferred to, and any reason for the transfer taking longer than 1 hour after a bed was assigned and noted as clean.

I apologize for asking you to do one more thing, but this is the only way to know if the delay is on our end or the receiving end.  I don't want to keep harping on you guys if the other units are creating the delays.

Thanks so much for your help!

Melinda

Tuition Reimbursement Deadline for 2013

2013 Tuition Reimbursement Payments: FINAL DEADLINE for Calendar Year Tuition Assistance Request to Payroll Department will be Friday, December 13, 2013, which  will be paid on Wednesday, December 24, 2013 pay date.

EPIC Demo

For those interested in what EPIC will look like, the team is rolling out mini-demos to introduce workflows through the system.  This demo begins with information about where we are in the EPIC build and what is to come.  If you only want to see the demo, fast forward to about 22 minutes.  More of these to come! 

https://tegr.it/y/1bkeb

Erin

Train of Four

Just to clarify- Train of Four's should be done on completely paralyzed patients only. If your patient is moving, breathing or coughing AT ALL, there is no need to deliver a painful shock to them. The purpose of the train of four is to determine whether or not the paralytic dose is appropriate, it has nothing to do with sedation. On the other hand, if the patient's TOF is 0/4 at 40 (max) try repositioning the electrodes to be sure they are placed correctly over the ulnar artery- the distal lead should be placed at the wrist crease in a straight line from the base of the pinky, and the proximal lead should be placed 1 to 2 cm along the same plane. If the TOF remains 0/4 at 40, the MD should be notified. In many cases, the paralytic dose needs to be decreased to a therapeutic level, or a paralytic holiday should be given. Please let me know if you have any questions.




Thanks,

Erin

Certifications that are due to expire within the next 30/60/90 days

Please check this list for your name to see if you have any required certifications that are due to expire within the next 30/60/90 days.

December 31st
BLS: Kylie Weddington

January 31st
BLS: Kelly Grommersch
          Mary Carla London
          Amy Russell

 RES FIT: Lindsay Amerman           Shane Crawford
                 Emily Dorman                 Jessie Green
                 Kelly Grommersch          Mary Carla London
                 Karen Loury                     Kelli Masters
                 Lisa McCormick              Anna Mechem
                 Lauren Mercede               Amy Russell
                 Kate Santos                      Philip Schlabs
                 Kate Siegfried                  Amanda Smith
                 Trellar Terry                     Julianne Walsh
                 Kylie Weddington

February 28th
BLS: Shane Crawford
         Julianne Walsh