BWFH nurse leaders enhance their skills at ONL Leadership Academy

The Organization of Nurse Leaders (ONL) Leadership Academy is a two-month, multifaceted, executive-style program, designed using the ONL Leadership Development Model. Its purpose is to develop and continuously expand the knowledge, practice and character of nursing leadership for the benefit of patients, the nursing profession and the organizations the ONL serves throughout its five member states of Massachusetts, Rhode Island, New Hampshire, Connecticut and Vermont.

Among the participants in the Spring 2019 program were three representatives from Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital: 6 South Nurse Director Allison Bernard, PhDc, DNP, MSN, RN, 6 North Clinical Leader Jessica Ollis, BSN, RN, and 7 North Clinical Leader Jacqueline DeJean, BSN, RN.

The program consisted of four modules spread out over the course of the two months: The Self, The Leader: Organization, The Leader: People and Participant Presentations and Contemporary Topics in Nursing Leadership. Participants focus on a project with which they are engaged at their home institution. It is that project that is presented during the fourth module. They also write a structured abstract for their project.

Bernard’s project, titled “Patient Care Assistant (PCA) Perceptions of Patient Assignment Based on Acuity,” aims to make assignments equitable among the PCA staff. Through exploration of this topic, Bernard says she gained a better understanding of herself as a transitional leader. “In addition, , I also learned that advocating for practice change is not only about empowering the staff, but also about empowering myself as their leader.

Ollis’s project was titled “Narrowing the Gaps Between Insulin Dosing and Glucose Point-of-Care Testing to Improve Glycemic Control.” Her goal in investigating this topic was to reduce the average time between point-of-care testing and pre-breakfast insulin administration from 85 minutes to less than 60 minutes. Ollis learned a lot about engaging her staff through the project. She says, “Successful outcomes are dependent on how engaged your staff are. Creating a positive environment with your own passion and enthusiasm will encourage everyone to work at their best level.”

DeJean worked on a project titled “The Effectiveness of an Educational Program on Correct Staging and Documenting of Skin Pressure Injuries.” The goal of her project is to increase nurses’ knowledge of staging pressure injuries so they are better able to assess and describe the five stages of pressure injuries. DeJean says while working on this project she hopes to learn more about measuring outcomes and discussing projects. “Our projected goals for outcomes is to be below the median. The goal of this project is to help engage nurses and the project team members on working together to improve outcomes,” she says.