Department of Nursing gathers for Fall Nursing Summit

Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital’s Department of Nursing recently gathered chairpersons from each of the Unit Based Councils, Nursing Shared Governance Committees and the Advanced Practice Provider (APP) Council for their annual Fall summit meeting. The summit is designed to develop leadership skills, share examples of unit- or committee-level practice improvements and engage clinical nurses in the development of the Department of Nursing’s Strategic Goals. This Fall, the work was focused on revising Unit Based Council charters and sharing best practices.

The session was facilitated by Executive Director of Nursing Professional Development, Practice and Innovation Colleen West, DNP, MBA, RN, CPHQ, Professional Development Manager for the Perioperative Areas and 7 South Kathy McCarraher, MHA, BSN, RN, CPAN, Program Manager for Nursing Quality and Magnet Rose LaPlante, MBA, MSN, RN, NEA-BC, and Nurse Scientists Helene Bowen Brady, DNP, MEd, RN, NPD-BC, NEA-BC and Kathleen Ahern Gould, PhD, RN. The day began with the unveiling of the department’s newly redesigned Professional Practice Model and Shared Governance Model before Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services Cori Loescher, MM, BSN, RN, NEA-BC, reviewed the progress that was made on the 2022 Nursing Strategic Goals and introduced the 2023 Strategic Priorities.

Collaborative work began when small groups broke off to focus on revising the Unit Based Councils’ charters. “Members from the Councils were really engaged in this work,” says Bowen Brady. “It was a chance to reflect on past accomplishments and brainstorm ways to breathe new life into their Councils.”

Later in the day, LaPlante offered an update on the hospital’s Magnet journey while the Outpatient Infusion Center Unit Based Council and the APP Council shared updates on their work with the group. That was followed by a spotlight on recent publications and podium and poster presentations as well as updates on ongoing research projects.

At the close of the day, Loescher reflected on this year’s summit. “I hope you found the summit to be as exciting as I did. It is so invigorating to sit with all of you and hear about your work and to learn from one another,” she said. “It is inspiring to reflect on the 16 summits I have attended over the years and see how much we have changed and how much we have grown. You truly are an amazing department!”

Published 11/4/22