Innovative
Trailblazers
Nick Lynch
Empowering Nurses Through Research and Innovation
As a member and Chair of Shared Leadership Council’s (SLC) Research and Innovation Council (RIC) for the last five years, Nick Lynch has been a staunch supporter of SLC and its mission to empower nurses. Nick, a Trauma nurse on K7, began his nursing career in Stanford Healthcare’s New Grad RN program six years ago after transitioning from a career in marketing. He was appointed as his unit’s Research and Innovation Council representative in 2017 after completing his nursing residency and was elected RIC Chair-Elect in 2018.
In his four years as Chair and Chair-Elect of RIC, Nick has been instrumental in growing and developing RIC into the robust and engaging council that it is today. Awarded the Daisy Award in December for his support of frontline SHC nurses and research, this past year has been no different as 2021 was an exemplary year for Nick.
This past year, Nick has focused on empowering frontline staff to become leaders of nursing research by identifying barriers, addressing fears, and educating nurses about how important it is to have their voices heard through research. Nick has collaborated extensively this past year with the Office of Research and Patient Care Services (ORPCS) to create awareness about nursing research education, funding opportunities and resources in an effort to increase SHC frontline nursing involvement.
Nick was recently honored with a 3-month full time fellowship with ORPCS, during which he supported hospital research initiatives while also developing a project of his own. Amidst a pandemic that has distinctively impacted the nursing profession, Nick led a qualitative focus group research study designed to analyze the unique impact of the pandemic on SHC nurses. It is Nick’s hope that his leadership with this project will help support nurses at SHC and inspire other nurses to lead research of their own. Nick is also actively being utilized on his unit as a collaborator and consultant to physician-led research and hopes his efforts will help support and promote more nursing-focused research by physicians.
As Nick completes his tenure as Chair of the Research and Innovation Council this year, he hopes another new initiative, the “RIC Awards” will leave a legacy. Nick recently led the development and successful launch of a new awards platform prioritized by RIC to help bring light to the stories of nurses and other staff that have engaged in nursing research and innovation in an impactful way. Nick and the council plan to honor nominees and award winners by celebrating their achievements, and in turn, inspiring others to become nursing research and innovation leaders in their own right.
When creating strategic goals for RIC in 2021, one of Nick’s primary objectives was to incorporate new and innovative technological content in a meaningful and impactful way. Nick collaborated with advisers from The Office of the ACNIO’s Nursing Innovation & Informatics team to create monthly meeting content that fostered transparency around the hospital’s patient care technology initiatives. By prioritizing dynamic and engaging discussions between the council and leadership, Nick helped give nurses an opportunity to shape how new technology is incorporated into patient care.
Clarissa Manez
Innovations from the Bedside
Clarissa Manez BSN, RN, CCRN, Unit Educator on L4 Neuroscience ICU is an entreprenurse! On June 12, 2021, she received a provisional patent for a healthcare innovation. Clarissa’s innovation is the result of real-time solutioning for a bed-bound male incontinent patient. She developed the invention of urine collection system as a result of prioritizing patient needs during a heavy shift and advocating for an improved nurse workflow. Clarissa’s invention is a shining example of the kind of nurse-led innovation that can motivate and inspire other SHC front-line nurses. Read more here.
SHC's Emergency Department
Operationalizing a Pandemic-Ready Telemedicine-Enabled Drive-Through and Walk-In Coronavirus Disease Garage Care System as an Alternative Care Area: A Novel Approach in Pandemic Management
SHC's Emergency Department (ED) was published in the June 2021 issue of the Journal of Emergency Nursing for their innovative quality improvement project to operationalize a telemedicine-enabled alternative care area during COVID-19. Their article, entitled Operationalizing a Pandemic-Ready Telemedicine-Enabled Drive-Through and Walk-In Coronavirus Disease Garage Care System as an Alternative Care Area: A Novel Approach in Pandemic Management, reduced crowding, improved throughput, and conserved personal protective equipment (PPE) during the pandemic.
Special kudos to the journal article's authors:
Patrice Callagy, MSN, MPA, RN, CEN; Shashank Ravi, MD, MBA; Saud Khan, MBBS, MHA; Maame Yaa A.B. Yiadom, MD, MPH; Hannah Mcclellan, MBA, BSN, RN; Samual Snell, BSN, RN, CEN; Thomas Major, MSN, RN, CEN, TCRN; and Maria Yefimova, PhD, RN.
Book Author Julie Richards, FNP, CTH
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Julie Richards, FNP, CTH™, Nurse Practitioner at the Vaden Health Center Student Health and Travel Clinic, co-authored a book along with six other members of the American Travel Health Nurses Association Task Force. Her book, Travel Health Nursing: Scope and Standards of Practice (2021), specifies the code of ethics for Travel Health Nursing, the scope and standards of practice, and details the associated competencies for each nursing practice level. Based on Julie and her team member’s work, late last year the American Nurses Association (ANA) recognized Travel Health Nursing (THN) as a specialty.
Congratulations to Julie on this momentous achievement, embodying her deep commitment to new knowledge and innovations, and for paving a path for Travel Health Nursing!
SHC nurses are called to be leaders and to advance the profession of nursing through the pursuit of new knowledge, innovations, and improvements. The Observation Navigator Workflow project was introduced in June 2021 by the Nursing Informatics department in collaboration with the Observation Management Team. The Observation Navigators is a reduced set of documentation requirements on Admission, Transfer, and Discharge which provides nurses on the Observation units with important guidelines on how to provide our patients with safe and high quality of care.
Observation Navigator Workflow
Before the implementation of this project, nurses on Observation units did not have Epic documentation standards that were tailored to their unique workflow. Charting on patients with the Observation class requires different focuses than on patients that are admitted as an inpatient from a regulatory, billing, and patient care perspectives. Observation units house short stay patients with Observation status that can lasts up to 48 hours.
The Observation units average more than 40 admissions and discharges per day which increases the amount of documentation that the nurses on the Observation units do each shift. The need for an innovative approach to improve this workflow issue was evident. The Observation management team recognized the importance of having Epic documentation standards for Observation patients align with the organizational strategic plan of reducing nursing documentation while increasing staff satisfaction.
To ensure the project goals and satisfy the end user’s needs, the team members were selected from bedside nurses from the Observation units at Palo Alto and Valley Care, and to further ensure the project’s compliance with regulatory standards and the high standard of care at SHC, the project advisors were selected from the members of the Observation management team, Nursing Quality, Regulatory and Licensing Affairs, Professional Practice, and a Clinical Nurse Specialist, along with collaboration from Technology and Digital Services (TDS) and Epic educators.
The project officially went live on February 2022. The Observation Navigation Workflow project is currently within the evaluation phase to study how effective the project has been and to determine if there are any areas that needs improvement. Congratulations to this innovative team for all of your hard work on this important project!
Submitted by Vi Van Nguyen, MSN, RN, CMSRN, Clinical Nurse IV, Unit Educator C1/G2S