Talk about 3 of the Councils you are on and discuss them in terms of what they contribute to:
• Communication & Collaboration – across disciplines as well as nursing
• A Culture of Patient Safety
• Quality Nursing Care
• Process of Decision-Making
At my job, I sit on a Unit Based Practice Council. What we do is discuss problems that might arise on our floor and through evidence based practice we try to find interventions or better ways to treat such problems. Before every meeting, we also send out an e-mail to the entire unit (Spinal Cord Injury Unit) and ask the staff if they have any topics that they would like to cover in our meetings. The entire unit is welcome to join us in our meetings. After each meeting, the meeting minutes are e-mailed out to the staff. Things we cover include infection control, safety, better ways of communication, and so forth. A recent project we have been working on is whether or not night shift nurses should give half of the baths and/or showers on night shift. The night shift RN’s are saying that they do not have time as all of their work has to be done at the beginning of shift and at the end and between Midnight and 4 am the patient’s need to sleep. Dayshift RN’s feel this is possible and are requesting that (if time permits and patients agree to it) patient’s be bathed between the hours of 12-4am. This has been a work in progress for us.
Another committee I sit on is the HUSH committee. “help us support healing”. We really don’t have very many meetings for this and it is really about keeping the noise down and lights dim during evening hours so that patient can get rest and heal. Each unit has a HUSH representitvie and my job is to dim lights, keep HUSH signs posted everywhere, remind staff to speak quietly (not to yell down the hall at other staff memebers, keep cell phones on vibrate, IV alaris pump alarms on a quieter setting, etc.) For our patient’s that are unable to sleep and they want to watch t.v. we give them headphones so as not to disturb their neighbors.
I am the unit rep for the National Nurses United (NNU), our union. We have meetings the first Wednesday of every month and it is my job to ask my fellow co-workers if they have any issues they want me to address at my meetings. I take those issues with me and whatever is discussed at the meetings or information I receive I post it for all to see on my unit on our union peg board that I created in our breakroom.
My professor wants these things addressed:
• Communication & Collaboration – across disciplines as well as nursing
• A Culture of Patient Safety
• Quality Nursing Care
• Process of Decision-Making
How do these councils help in these ways. I do not have time to answer these questions or do this assignment as I am currently working 68 hour work weeks.
