Magnet Recognition Award for
Excellence in Nursing Service |
The nursing staff of Huntington
Hospital continually strives to find new and better
ways to improve patient care. Nursing research
as well as Evidence-Based Nursing Practice (EBP)
activities are integral to this quest to provide
patients with the very best nursing care possible.
Huntington Hospital’s nursing staff has
shown increasing interest in all areas of nursing
research and EBP, particularly in the areas of
patient safety and outcome measurement.
The hospital’s Nursing Research/EBP Council,
comprised of direct care nurses as well as nurse
managers, supervisors, educators, and clinicians,
provides an intellectually stimulating platform
for discussion and evaluation of various research
and EBP initiatives. Valuable information is then
disseminated to the nursing staff at regularly
scheduled meetings conducted by the nurse managers
on each of the patient care units. In addition,
Judith Moran-Peters, RN, DNSc, CNA, BC, the hospital’s
Coordinator of Nursing Research/Evidence-Based
Nursing Activities, provides guidance to nursing
staff and nursing students throughout the hospital
regarding a wide range of nursing research and
EBP topics. Dr. Moran also serves as a liaison
with the hospital’s Institutional Review
Board.
Nurses who are interested in research may participate
in a comprehensive 8-hour seminar on “Nursing
Research and Evidence-Based Nursing Practice:
Essential Elements.” The seminar is taught
by Dr. Moran-Peters on a monthly basis. Nurses
successfully completing the seminar are awarded
5.5 CEUs.
In 2007, 25 EBP projects developed by teams of
direct care nurses and nurse managers were conducted
at Huntington Hospital. Topics reflected the wide
spectrum of interests, concerns and importance
to nurses throughout the hospital, ranging from
the effect of music therapy on postoperative abdominal
surgery patients’ perception of pain, to
a study by endoscopy nurses examining the level
of scientific enquiry serving as the basis for
physician ordered, post-procedure dietary instruction
in patients diagnosed with diverticular disease.
Many of their research findings were shared with
other professionals at nursing conferences throughout
the country.
One recent study highlighted positive outcomes
associated with a “Prepare for Surgery/Heal
Faster” workshop. Eighty percent of the
preoperative patients who completed the workshop
reported that it helped them to make the decision
to have surgery, improved their pain control,
and decreased stress-related symptoms such as
headache, palpitations and gastrointestinal distress.
As a result of this study, a proposal has been
submitted to hospital administration to support
the expansion holistic nursing service at the
hospital.
Because Huntington Hospital is part of the North
Shore-Long Island Jewish Health System and its
Institute for Nursing, collaborative activities
and research projects are developed across a broad
spectrum of healthcare facilities. Regular meetings
of the Health System’s Nursing Research
Council provide an excellent opportunity for experienced
and aspiring nurse researchers to exchange ideas
and information. In addition, a workshop provided
by the Institute helps Huntington Hospital nurses
generate important research questions with relevance
to their respective areas of clinical practice.
In addition, Dr. Moran co-teaches a class, “How
to Critique a Research Study,” with other
doctoral prepared nurse leaders during the Nursing
#101 Course, which is offered on a quarterly basis
by the Institute for Nursing.
Nurses interested in learning more about nursing
research and evidence-based nursing practice activities
are encouraged to contact Dr. Moran at jmoran@hunthosp.org
or (631) 351-2070.
 BACK
TO NURSING HOME
Practice
Nursing The Way It Should Be!
|
