We are known all over the world…the doctors and staff.
We are part of the tradition of excellence at a hospital
known for medical advances and world-class facilities.
From excellence in every day patient care to medical
breakthrough clinical studies that help determine the
treatments of tomorrow. There’s no place in the world
you would rather work.

ACCELERATED NURSING DEGREE PROGRAM Qualify For A Scholarship To Earn A Degree In The Nation’s Most Sought-After Profession. < LEARN MORE> EDUCATION NEWSLETTER View articles online below. <view>

 

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ACCELERATED NURSING DEGREE PROGRAM
Qualify For A Scholarship To Earn A Degree In The Nation’s Most Sought-After Profession.

It’s not just for those who have a familiarity with healthcare. It’s for everyone who holds a bachelor’s degree. For anyone who wants the unique rewards…the heartfelt satisfaction…the attractive compensation and the career stability that comes from being a nurse professional.
• Receive a nursing degree within a year
• Qualify for a tuition waiver if you were economically impacted by the events of 9/11
• Earn a stipend as you pursue this full-time program
• Have a Tulane nursing career waiting for you upon graduation
There is much more to tell you, so contact us today. It could be the most rewarding e-mail you ever send.

For interested applicants, please contact Human Resources Phone 504.988.5525; Toll Free 1.866.676.0004 or Our Lady of the Lake College Phone 877.242.3509

 

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Professional Development Opportunities for Nursing Staff at Tulane
Gillian Knowles

One of the ways Tulane University Hospital and Clinic helps nurses enhance patient care and their levelof professionalism is by providing educational courses with continuing education credit.

Continuing education credit is provided through the Education Resource Center’s (ERC) CE Provide Unit as well as through our distance learning/satellite subscription to Heath and Science Television Network (HSTN).

Classes range from one (1) contact hour sessions on clinical case management topics to two-day workshops/conferences on disorders or various body systems - from topics that meet mandatory credentialing requirements for specific clinical specialties to professional development options that “ broaden the nurses’ horizons.”

In 2003, the ERC provided 47 continuing education activities attended by 844 employees and provided at total of 4313.6 contact hours to hospital and clinic employees.
In 2004, we will provide a similar number of professional development opportunities for staff.
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The calendar of CE activities is posted on the unit’s conference room bulletin boards. It can also be found in the Meditech™, Education Resource Center library. A chronological listing of courses, course descriptions and registration forms are located in this cabinet. The information is updated monthly. Staff is required to obtain manager/supervisor approval for registration. Call Gillian Knowles in the ERC at 584-2885 for more information.

HSTN has a variety of clinical topics offered each month via satellite. Program guides are available through each unit’s clinical manager and in the ERC. Staff may attend live broadcasts or opt to view the videotaped session four to six weeks after airing. Call Jennifer Matthews in the ERC at 988-6653 for more information.

What do employees say about the continuing education opportunities at Tulane?

“ It’s a shame more of our staff don’t take advantage of the free slots you have for these classes (co-provided with the medical school). I’m glad I called you”, Rene Guilbeau

“ I can’t believe we get this free! You mean I really don’t have to pay?” Anonymous

“ I like the idea of being able to watch the video at my convenience and still get credit for my license”, Sharon Buzbee

“ My manager just schedules us so that we get what we need.” Anonymous

“ Having this on the weekend is convenient for my staff. I really appreciate being able to provide CE for them and still get patient care done”, Judith Halverson

“ I’m glad you have a follow-up to this so someone will be with us when we start to give chemo. This class was really good, but I’m still apprehensive. Chemo is serious business. Thanks for everything” Amanda Flettrich and Surajan Panday

“ I’m glad you are giving CE credit for this class and we don’t have to go all the way downtown to get it.This is really helping me to understand the DSMIVTR manual”. Anonymous

“ This was really great. I wish we had more workshops for advanced practice nurses”, Gwen Foxworth



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Clinical Supervisor –— New Role, New Opportunities

Six months after joining TUHC leadership in 2001, Nancy Schryer, Executive Director of the Tulane Hospitalfor Children, initiated a pilot to try a different model in her clinical areas. This model involved creating new roles – roles that distributed accountability and decision making among a team of people along clinical and operational lines – with a clinical manager and an operations manager leading a team of clinical supervisors
from each unit.

During the next three months, Schryer and the PICU Clinical Coordinator, Russell Smith were helped by Administrative Resident Sharif Omar to refine the organizational infrastructure and the roles. Multiple focus groups were held with staff to talk about theproposed structure, to get their suggestions, and to anticipate any barriers that might occur. At that point, nurses who thought they might want to apply for the job of clinical supervisor completed a twelve-week educational series designed to introduce them to the skills required and assist them in their transition to the supervisory role.

At the completion of the series, nurses who were still interested applied for the job and were interviewed using a behavioral interviewing system that also identified development needs.

In the meantime, the administrative resident graduated and accepted the role of Operations Manager, and the PICU Clinical Coordinator accepted the role of Clinical Manager. In the spring of 2001, eight nurses were selected as clinical supervisors on four units.

There are numerous benefits evident from the success of this pilot. This new design has renewed attention to succession planning and been the foundation of a clinical ladder for individual development and advancement. One of the original clinical supervisors, Kim Graham, was recently promoted to Clinical Manager, and a staff nurse, Josephine D’Amico, moved into the clinical supervisor role. According to Graham, who has been a staff nurse, a preceptor, and a charge nurse during her 10 years at Tulane says this promotion gave her “the opportunity to contribute more to the organization while continuing my own professional development.”

With this new model, patient outcomes remain a priority and clinical supervisors feel good about their ability to focus on meeting the needs of patients. Employees believe they have someone is interested in their growth and development. Physicians like knowing there is one person available to answer their questions.

From the Hospital for Children, the model has moved on into Respiratory Care, the Birthing Place, Medical Surgical Nursing, Critical Care, Perioperative Services, and the Emergency Department.

When first approached with this idea, Med/Surg Clinical Manager Kathy Steiner told Schryer,
”I have to think about this.”

Now she says,” the clinical supervisors have been a major contributor to the enhancement of patient care as well as staff morale.”

The willingness of TUHC nursing staff to get on board with a new way of providing enhanced patient care is an indication of their desire to be the provider of choice in the New Orleans area.

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Tulane Meets the Challenge of the Nursing Shortage

Summer, 2003, Tulane University Hospital and Clinic entered into an agreement with Our Lady of the Lake College (OLOLC), Baton Rouge, Louisiana, to make Tulane the site of the first accelerated registered nurse (RN) program offered in the state. On May 19, 2004, 28 students are expected to participate in the commencement exercises for this program. A pinning and honors ceremony will be held on June 23, and our first class is expected to begin work at Tulane on July 19.

Students participate in a rigorous academic journey with eight-hour classes three to five days a week and ten-hour clinical two to three days a week. Each course or “minimester” is completed in five to six weeks. Students are required to spend independent time studying, reading, searching the internet, researching and doing group work to complete course assignments and to achieve acceptable grades in order to progress to the next course.

What do the students think about the program?
“ The accelerated program was a lot of information to learn in nine months but the caring and loving staff at Our Lady of the Lake College and Tulane Hospital helped us through it.” Alison Sauviac

“ I would recommend this program because I feel that it has been a wonderful and challenging opportunity. As a teaching hospital, TUHC offers the nursing student a chance to develop critical thinking skills quickly. I feel that this program has helped me to learn to make quick judgments and has well prepared me for my career as a nurse.” “ If I had to do it all over again, I would.”“ I would recommend the OLOL accelerated program to anyone wanting to become a RN on a fast pace/fast track time frame. I would do the program all over again. No regrets!” Jayme McKenzie

“ I would recommend this program to only the dedicated student. …Only if the person plans well, (financially and personally). You must be able to put personal life on the back burner. It is worth it in the end.” Brenda Goff

“ … it gives students the opportunity to learn in a pragmatic setting in a continuous timeframe of 10months. The fact that all of the nursing courses are taken in a 10 month timeframe makes it easier to recall information from previous classes. It also makes it easier to build on the previously learned material. Hopefully this will make it easier to remember information when boards (N-Clex) are taken.”

What do Staff Nurses think about this Program?
“This is a much more mature and responsible group than the other students.They really want to learn.” Josephine Eusey

“They come and ask a lot more questions than students from the other schools.” Monique Matthews

“They really want to be good nurses;” “I am glad Tulane is doing something about this staffing issue. It will be great to have nurses who are actually Tulane employees and committed to coming here everydayand making this a better place.”

Managers and directors are equally excited about the prospect of almost 30 full time nurses coming on board in July 2004. Danita Sullivan, director of nursing for adult services says, “I can’t believe the time has gone byso quickly! This will really help us in the medical-surgical units.” Kathy Steiner, manager of med/surg nursing, is getting prepared for the new graduates by developing the nurse preceptors to facilitate the orientation and transition of the students to the staff nurse role. She is collaborating with Lucy Retzlaff and Sharon Chauvin of the Education Resource Center and hospitalists Brian Conkerton and Rita Preistakis in the planning and coordination of the orientation, internship, and preceptorship. According to Steiner, “We have an
unprecedented opportunity to change the course of nursing at Tulane”.

What do I do to qualify?
Applicants must have completed a baccalaureate degree from an accredited college or university completed all the pre- and co-requisite science and general studies courses of the ASN curriculum. The successful applicant is highly motivated, able to work independently, requires minimal supervision, is tenacious and has a commitment to caring for patients and the public.

Students enrolled in the program are required to work two years at Tulane after graduating.

Interested parties can call 1.800.733.9354.

A Special Internship Program, summer 2004
Gillian Knowles

The first class of accelerated RN (ASN) students will graduate from OLOLC, New Orleans campus (Tulane) this summer. They begin fulltime employment July 19, 2004. The ERC, inpatient clinical resources and the HR department have collaborated to design an internship program to meet the transitional needs of the OLOLC
new graduate.

The internship program will span approximately 12 weeks and will also include new graduates from other schools who have been hired at Tulane. New grads will be assigned a staff nurse preceptor who has completed the basic preceptor workshop and who has clinical expertise and commitment to facilitating the transitioning of new grads from student to staff nurse role. Principles of adult learning and elements of the Performance Based Development System™ will be used to assist preceptors, new grads, managers and educators to identify/assess learning needs, plan learning experience, implement the orientation and evaluate progress towards completion of basic staff nurse competencies.

The new grads will have routine planning/progress sessions with the preceptors and Sharon Chauvin. They will also have scheduled classroom sessions to incorporate learning from the accelerated program curriculum and build on performance in the clinical areas. The successful new graduate (novice nurse) will be able to safely perform the frequent and critical nursing competencies identified for their respective clinical area.

We are encouraging staff to become involved in this process beyond the internship by volunteering to serve as mentors for the novice nurses. Please inform your manager if you are interested in this endeavor.

What happens after the Internship?
According to Kathy Steiner, clinical manager of the medical-surgical area, “we are delighted and very supportive of this (OLOLC) program and pleased about the caliber of students. Our greatest challenge over the next year will be to assure the professional development of the graduates”. Nurses at Tulane are fortunate to have access to continuing education (CE) activities. New graduate nurses may continue to build on their professional development by enrolling in CE activities provided by the ERC and through our distance learning/satellite subscription to Heath and Science Television Network (HSTN).

The calendar of CE activities is posted on the unit’s conference room bulletin boards. It can also be found in the MeditechTM, Education Resource Center cabinet. A chronological listing of courses, course descriptions and registration forms are located in this cabinet. The information is updated monthly. Staff is required to obtain manager/supervisor approval for registration. Some examples of courses being offered fall 2004 include chemotherapy, peritoneal dialysis, medical-surgical nursing update, advances in abdominal transplantation, advances in diabetes mellitus and cardiovascular disease, and pharmacology management of the orthopaedic patient. HSTN has a variety of clinical topics offered each month via satellite. Program guides are available through each unit’s clinical manager and in the ERC. Staff may attend live broadcasts or opt to view the videotaped session four to six weeks after airing. These sessions offer one (1) contact hours for nurses. Call Jennifer Matthews in the ERC at 988-6653 for more information.

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eMAR and Bar Coding: Technology Helps Nurses Enhance Patient Care

In November 1999 an Institute of Medicine report, titled “To Err is Human,” suggested that more than 45,000 patients die each year in U. S. hospitals because of treatment errors. Following this report, HCA’s Quality Department developed an integrated, company-wide initiative that had a primary goal of reducing medication errors. Implementation of electronic medication administration record (eMAR) and bar coding technology is one means by which HCA, and TUHC, planned to have a positive impact on reducing medication errors.

At Tulane, an interdisciplinary Steering Committee started planning the purchase, building, and training of eMAR in October 2003. By late December, they were ready to “go live” with three specialty units - the Birthing Place, Bone Marrow Transplant, and Respiratory. Following a two-month evaluation and “tweaking” of the system, the second group of units was “brought up” beginning February 2nd, and by March 15th, all inpatient nursing units were using eMAR to administer all medications.

According to Kathy O’Byrne, HIS Project Lead for eMAR Building and Training, a lot of nurses have told her it makes them feel safer administering drugs during very busy times. O’Byne has statistics that say that of 191,165 doses administered in April 2004, eMAR prevented potentially 6,318 errors

“Super Users,” staff nurses trained to act as a problem solvers and eMAR experts on each unit, continue to meet monthly to address issues.