Leading the Way: Unit Based Councils meet for annual Fall Summit

Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital’s Department of Nursing recently brought together nurses from each unit for their annual Fall Unit Based Council Summit. Attended by nurse leaders and representatives from each of the Unit Based Councils, the day provided the opportunity to share ideas and best practices. The topics for the day supported ongoing leadership advancement for nurses under the American Nurses Association (ANA) leadership domains of “Leading the Way: Leading yourself, leading others, leading the organization.”

The day began with a welcome from Executive Director of Nursing Professional Development, Practice and Innovation Colleen West, DNP, MBA, RN, CPHQ, followed by an update on the Nursing Strategic Plan by Chief Nursing Officer and Vice President of Patient Care Services Cori Loescher, MM, BSN, RN, NEA-BC. Next, the group had a discussion about Shared Governance at BWFH, exploring best practices and ways to make the structure function even better.

Later, Performance Improvement Manager Claire Massero, MS, spoke about leadership and project management skills. During her presentation, Massero focused on how to run effective meetings by providing tools that participants can refer to when hosting a meeting, as well as how to employ them in their daily use.

The morning wrapped up with an update on BWFH’s journey toward Magnet Designation from a group of nurses who recently attended the 2018 ANCC National Magnet Conference in Denver, CO. Loescher, West, Liz Vazquez, BSN, RN, from Care Continuum Management, Ginny Ryan, MSN, RN, from the PACU, Dan Rec, BSN, RN, from Pre-Op Holding, Quality and Magnet Program Manager Tracy Lane, BSN, RN-BC, and Senior Manager of Care Continuum Management Jim Grafton, MSN, MHA, RN, all shared their take-aways from the conference.

After lunch, each Unit Based Council had the chance to update the group on their individual projects and learned about the Great American Cookie Experiment from PACU Educator Kathy McCarraher, MHA, BSN, RN, CPAN, ONC, and Nurse Scientist and Regis College Professor Margaret Oot-Hayes, PhD, RN.

Amie Kandalaft, RN, who was on hand to represent the Pain Management Center, says the day was a great reminder of all the work being done in the Department of Nursing. “I was impressed by the level of dedication and the overwhelming amount of knowledge and expertise I heard,” she says. “BWFH should be very proud of its nurses. I know I am!

2 South Clinical Leader Kerry Parsons, BSN, RN-BC, has attended three Unit Based Council Summit meetings and says this one was by far her favorite. “I loved Tracy’s presentation. She is a wonderful presenter and an inspiration for nurses. The whole day just reaffirms how much the nurses in this hospital care and the lengths they are willing to go to ensure the best outcomes. The energy is great and the whole experience leaves you feeling motivated to continue the awesome work we do here at BWFH,” she says.

This year, participants in the Fall Unit Based Council Summit also earned nursing contact hours.

Credit Designation Statement: Up to 6.0 nursing contact hour(s) will be provided to nurse attendees. Contact hours awarded commiserate with participation. To receive contact hours, attendees must complete evaluation forms.

Disclosure Statement: The presenters and planners have no conflicts of interest relevant to this program to declare.

Approval Statement: Brigham and Women’s Faulkner Hospital is an approved provider of continuing nursing education by the American Nurses Association Massachusetts, an accredited approver by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation.