Designing nursing excellence through a National Quality Forum nurse scholar program.

Closing the knowledge gap for current practicing nurses in the Institute of Medicine (IOM) core competencies is critical to providing safe patient care. The National Quality Forum (NQF) nurse scholar program is one organization's journey to close the gap in the IOM core competencies in a large teaching organization. The NQF nurse scholar program is positioned to provide a plan to assist current nurses to accelerate their learning about quality improvement, evidence-based practice, and informatics, 3 of the core competencies identified by the IOM, and focus on application of skills to NQF nurse-sensitive measures.

The EMPOWER project: an initiative to educate and mentor paraprofessional staff.

This column describes a new program designed to enhance patient safety by teaching paraprofessional staff (PPS) how to communicate changes in patient status to professional staff. Phase 1 of the project included assessment of PPS perceptions of the patient safety culture at the hospital through survey and focus group discussions. Results from Phase 1 and plans for Phase 2 are described.

Providing holistic care to bariatric patients.

Bariatric patients often encounter challenging physical environments and sometimes encounter negative attitudes from health professionals when seeking care. Most facilities have the basic equipment needed to care for these patients. Using ceiling lifts or limb slings to facilitate repositioning or transfer has benefits for patients and staff.

Surviving cardiac arrest.

Surviving cardiac arrest requires high-quality cardiopulmonary resuscitation, advanced life support interventions, and optimal post-cardiac arrest care. After return of spontaneous circulation and stabilization of airway, breathing, and circulation, the focus shifts to the treatment of post-cardiac arrest syndrome. Research indicates this unique and complex syndrome requires specific treatment strategies.

Implementing a health system-wide evidence-based practice educational program to reach nurses with various levels of experience and educational preparation.

This article describes a system-wide evidence-based practice (EBP) educational initiative implemented with a geographically, educationally, and clinically diverse group of nurses with the intent of increasing their EBP skill set and efficacy as local change agents and leaders. The overall scope of the larger National Quality Forum Scholar Program is described, and then the focus is narrowed to describe the EBP components of the initiative with case examples and lessons learned.

The trifecta: harnessing the power of philanthropy, joint appointments, and practice to ease the faculty shortage: academia, practice, and philanthropy.

Partnerships between clinical facilities and academia are critical in supporting undergraduate and graduate nursing education. The authors discuss a unique model that blends academia, clinical practice, and philanthropy and uses grateful patient benefactors to assist in providing clinical instructor support for affiliated nursing schools. The authors review the process of proposal development, solicitation of benefactors, and results of the model.

Improving program documentation quality through the application of continuous improvement processes.

Maintaining the integrity of record keeping and retrievable information related to the provision of continuing education credit creates challenges for a large organization. Accurate educational program documentation is vital to support the knowledge and professional development of nursing staff. Quality review and accurate documentation of programs for nursing staff development occurred at one institution through the use of continuous improvement principles.

The value of the political action committee: dollars and influence for nurse leaders.

Nurse leaders play an important role in the shaping of healthcare policy and the care delivery models of the future. It is vital for nurse leaders to understand the role of money in politics and how donations to a candidate's campaigns can be beneficial in getting one's concerns addressed by Congress. The political action committee (PAC) is a major vehicle for campaign contributions for candidates from any party.

The success story of an intermediate care area nurse internship program.

Mayo Clinic Rochester Hospitals have experienced significant growth in the number of patients requiring the specialized nursing care offered in intermediate care areas (ICAs). To ensure quality nursing care for ICA level patients, a standardized educational program was developed. The Mayo Intermediate Care Area Nurse Internship Program was a tuition-free education program that provided additional knowledge, insights, and skills needed to develop a highly competent ICA nurse.

Centralizing a registered nurse preceptor program at the institutional level.

New nurses are traditionally oriented into their professional role by a registered nurse preceptor. This article describes the process of renovating and centralizing RN preceptor programs within the Department of Nursing in a multispecialty medical center in the Midwest. Outcomes of centralizing the preceptor program included involvement of nursing leaders, identification of methods of RN preceptor recognition, implementation of methods of improving institution-wide RN preceptor professional development, identification of opportunities for specialized RN preceptor classes and forums, creation of a tool to measure workload productivity, and finally, the formulation of a database to track performance and completion of orientation programs.