BWFH Nurses Share New Knowledge and Innovations with Poster Presentations 

Like so many aspects of life, the COVID-19 pandemic has drastically changed the way we share information. In the past, nurses at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital were encouraged to attend local and national conferences to share their work and learn from the work of others. With travel restrictions in place and large gatherings discouraged, our nurses and their colleagues have gone virtual, presenting their work at various online only conferences over the past year.

“Sharing new knowledge and innovations is central to who we are as a Department of Nursing,” says Kathy McCarraher, MHA, BSN, RN, CPAN, ONC, Professional Development Program Manager for Surgical Services at Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital. “Despite the challenges we have faced throughout the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, it has been inspiring to see nurses from across our organization continue to focus on quality improvement projects and then go on to share best practices with others.”

At the Society of Hospital Medicine HM20 Virtual Conference in July of 2020, Chief Advanced Practice Professional Johanna Baldassari, MSN, RN, CNP, Associate Chief of Medicine Erin O’Fallon, MD, MPH, Interim Chief Medical Officer and Chief of Medicine Scott Schissel, MD, PhD, and Chief Nursing Office and Vice President of Patient Care Services Cori Loescher, MM, BSN, NEA-BC, presented their project, “Workforce Strategies: Implementing A Triad Leadership Model,” which was the winner of the HM20 Virtual Abstract Competition in the category of Innovations!

In September of 2020, Pain Management Center Clinical Leader Kathy Armando, BSN, RN, and Amie Kandalaft, RN, also from the Pain Management Center, presented “Reducing Cancellations in Outpatient Spinal Cord Stimulator (SCS) Trials through Patient Education” at the 5th annual Quality & Safety Symposium: Quality & Safety Efforts Across the Mass General Brigham System.

Also in the Fall of 2020, Chief NP Katie Killinger, MSN, RN, FNP-C, Lindsay Bandazian, MSN, RN, ANP-C, Katie Kane, MSN, RN, NP-C, ONP-C, 7 South Nurse Director Mary Anne Barry, MBA, BSN, RN, Manager of Inpatient Physical Therapy Gina Marsh, PT, MSPT, Kerri-Anne Morse, BSN, RN, Senior Director of Surgical and Procedural Services Jeff Blackwell, MHA, FACHE, and Director of Rehabilitation Services Jean Flanagan Jay, PT, DPT, CLT, presented “Same Day Joint Arthroplasty: Redesigning the Care Pathway in a Community Hospital” at the American Association of Nurse Practitioners’ AANPconnect: An Online Conference Experience.

In April of 2021, PACU Clinical Leader June Nichols, BSN, RN, and Charlene Salvi, BSN, RN, presented “Diffusion of Successful Same Day Discharge Practice for Total Joint Arthroplasty Patients to a Select Population of Mastectomy Patients” at the 2021 ASPAN American Society of PeriAnesthesia Nurses National Conference: A Virtual Experience. At the same event, the PACU’s Jill Benoit, BSN, RN, Mary Deseignora, BSN, RN, and Robin Egan, BSN, RN, presented “Administering Ketamine Infusions for Depression: Embracing Change in the Post Anesthesia Care Unit.”