It is essential that every patient who enters a UW Health hospital or clinic feels that they’re in a diverse and inclusive environment that fully supports their care and healing journey.
The same holds true for employees: Feeling confident that their work environment is supportive allows them to thrive and provide the best care possible.
To build on our commitment to becoming a diverse, inclusive, and antiracist organization, UW Health has made it a priority to embed diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) as a foundational competency and strategic priority throughout the organization.
In 2022, a group of our nursing leaders collaborated with the DEI department to present a customized learning session for all nursing leaders. Entitled “DEI Tools Supporting Through Lived Experiences,” 22 directors and four chief nursing officers attended a half-day learning session while 73 nurse managers attended a day-long retreat.
“As nurses, we’re trained on a lot of things. It’s easy for us to talk to people about changes in health care, the newest vaccine or a new workflow, but for most people, it’s not so easy to talk about DEI,” said Lea Veltum, RN, General Internal Medicine Clinic Manager at 20 S Park St Clinic and 1102 S Park St Clinic.
She proposed DEI be the focus of the Nurse Manager Monthly Retreat. “Our hope was that more nurse managers would be comfortable integrating DEI learning with their nurses on a regular basis so that it becomes a core competency and part of how we talk about the strategic plan,” Lea said.
The learning sessions centered around DEI principles that are the foundation of the UW Health vision to be a leader in actively dismantling racism in ourselves, in our system and in our community. They included facilitated, small group discussions based on the real-life experiences of UW Health employees.
The nurses were coached on how to respond when an employee experiences a racial microaggression by using the LEADER Perspective: Listen and validate, express empathy and acknowledge harm, ask the employee what they need, do recognize the cumulative impact, ensure an antiracist and inclusive workplace and reach out to the DEI and Performance Management teams.
“I think for many it was very eye-opening. It was great to have difficult discussions and learning opportunities in a safe space,” said Tracey Abitz, DNP, RN, CTN-B, University Hospital director of specialty nursing services. “Intention does not equal impact—microaggressions are too common, but they can be interrupted. As leaders, we need to help change the language and the culture. Learning to speak the same language is helpful for leadership and transparency with our teams.”
In addition to DEI learning and professional development resources, the DEI department provides support to leaders who are looking for resources and tools to help their employees navigate concerns. The department also serves as a resource for Black, Indigenous and People of Color (BIPOC) and/or LGBTQ+ providers and staff to share their experiences at work.
“It’s so wonderful and supportive to have a resource like the DEI team,” Lea said. “Now managers can say, ‘I sat in that learning session, I know who to go to. I don’t need to react to this or solve this problem instantly. I can loop in other people and make sure that we do this right instead of just doing this fast’.”
Check out more stories featuring the great work of our nurses in the 2022 Nursing Annual Report (pdf).
New ways to support patients and staff at East Madison Hospital
When nurse manager Kristen Stine, MS, RN, ACNS-BC, was thinking about ways to improve patient care and employee morale on the 4th floor Medical Surgical Unit at East Madison Hospital, she knew exactly what to do: Empower the nurses to help move the needle.
5-minute huddle leads to big changes
As part of UW Health Way leader training, Kristen learned about PICK huddles and brought the idea to the unit council in Summer 2021.
“PICK stands for possible, implement, challenge or kibosh, and the huddles provide an opportunity for frontline staff to impact their practice and their unit, and to really own the process,” she said.
Unit council leader Kelli Susee, ADN, RN, played an active role in implementing and championing the huddles on the unit, which gained traction and results in 2022.
Anyone who works on the unit is welcome to submit an idea card that describes a problem or opportunity, the idea for improvement, expected benefits and results, and the stakeholders (including patients and families) who should be consulted for feedback or to implement the change.
Ideas are reviewed at the PICK huddle held every Friday at 7 a.m. to allow both night and day shift staff to participate. Each huddle is led by a unit council member and decisions by huddle participants are based on the level of effort/resources needed and the expected impact. Suggestions requiring low effort with high impact easily fall under “implement.”
Those defined as “possible” require little effort but are low impact while “challenge” means high effort and high impact. Recommendations under “kibosh” typically fall outside the nursing council’s scope.
Ideas from the PICK huddle that have been implemented include working with Post-Anesthesia Care Unit nurses to improve medication management for patients who are transferred to the unit after surgery; using secure chat to improve communication efficiency with colleagues from imaging to schedule appointments for patients; and moving intravenous fluids from central supply to the pharmacy so they are easier to access.
Some ideas such as making a public announcement about the end of visiting hours were easier to implement. Updating the phone list took a great amount of time but both Kelli and Kristen said it was well worth the effort.
In addition to vetting ideas for patient care improvement, PICK huddles have also become a space to share recognition such as positive patient feedback, DAISY Award nominations for nurses, Sunshine Award nominations for nursing assistants, Hi-5s from colleagues and colleagues’ birthdays.
“PICK huddles are a constructive place to give feedback. It’s a great outlet for people to voice their concerns, and staff and providers can see the great work that’s being done because we post a list of what’s been completed,” Kelli said. “It was a big transition, but everyone really embraces the huddle now and it’s just so much fun. It seems like this should be on every unit.”
Care team leader rounding improves satisfaction
Elevating the role of care team leaders (CTLs) on the 4th floor Medical Surgical Unit at East Madison Hospital has had an exceptionally positive impact on patients and employees.
“I want to empower people at the bedside to make decisions in the moment and be proactive. This impacts quality outcomes and patient satisfaction, as well as staff satisfaction,” said Kristen. “We are a growing hospital, so this was also a way to start succession planning and build leadership skills to ensure that staff members have opportunities to grow professionally when they’re ready.”
The hiring of a house supervisor a year ago to maintain the inpatient nursing operations of the hospital meant that CTLs such as Eden Larson, BSN, RN-BC, had more time for patients and staff. CTLs on the unit now round on patients each shift, something Eden says has made a world of difference.
“CTL rounding with the patients is a great way for us to support our nurses. They can see that we’re more available to them, and it’s a positive change for patients,” Eden said. “When a patient who’s had a dissatisfying experience can feel that they’ve been heard, it changes their outlook on their stay. And the nurse doesn’t have to feel alone when they have another person who can talk to the patient, really listen to them and address their concerns.”
Eden and Kristen feel a renewed sense of teamwork on the unit. “People really enjoy coming to work and say this is their work family,” Eden said. “Medical surgical nursing is not easy and most people don’t stay in this field for very long. I’ve been here for six years and I just love the people I work with. Morale has improved over the last year. People smile a lot.”
CTLs on the unit worked with the nurse manager and clinical nurse specialist to develop a standard set of questions for rounding based on patient satisfaction metrics. Since they began rounding in July 2022, there has been a dramatic increase in their top box scores:
- General hospital satisfaction rating increased from the 86th to the 93rd percentile
- “Staff worked together to care for you” rating increased from the 74th to the 92nd percentile
- “Response to complaints” rating increased from the 88th to 92nd percentile.
When asked about the increase in the scores, Eden said, “I think it was a little unbelievable. I initially thought it was wrong, and that it had to be a different unit.”
Kristen said, “It’s a validation that we’re doing something right and it just keeps pushing us forward.”
Check out more stories featuring the great work of our nurses in the 2022 Nursing Annual Report (pdf).
Blazing trails in clinical research
As she began nursing school, it never dawned on Tamara Kempken Mehring, MSN, RN, CNS-BC, that her future would be in clinical research.
“I fell into the world of clinical research nursing, as did most of my colleagues,” she said.
Decades later, Tamara is blazing trails as a leader in her field, confident she made the right choice. “There is a reason I ended up on this path — it’s been extremely rewarding,” she said.
For the past eight years, Tamara has been the clinical nurse specialist (CNS) on the Clinical Research Unit (CRU) at University Hospital. She leads a team through research protocol implementation while supporting the conduct of safe, ethical, compliant and high-quality clinical research at UW Health.
Tamara disseminates best practices as she fosters the specialty practice of clinical research nursing.
Each day brings new opportunities and appreciation
MSN, RN, CNS-BC
“Much of my role is operationalizing a clinical research protocol in the clinical setting,” Tamara said. “Education and training are a significant part of my day-to-day, supporting nurses and other research professionals to be able to ensure fidelity to the research protocol while providing remarkable care to our patients.”
One moment she might be working with CRU nurses caring for patients, the next she’s collaborating with the interdisciplinary research team during the protocol implementation process.
Jessica Branson, CNS manager, says Tamara’s expertise in bridging the gap between clinical work and research helps both worlds better understand one another.
“It allows us to successfully provide a multitude and variety of studies to our patients on and off the Clinical Research Unit,” Jessica said.
“Tamara’s dedication to her unit, practice and profession is evident in everything she does,” said Tammy Kiger, MSN, RN, nurse manager.
“She heightens the visibility of clinical research nursing at University Hospital and has earned the respect of national and international colleagues through her incredible contributions.”
Collaboration and outcomes
The variety of work and collaboration with clinicians, researchers and patients keeps Tamara engaged and inspired.
“If we don’t carry out research protocols accurately, and ensure protections for human subjects, new treatments will not make it to market — new discoveries may not be made,” she said.
This was evident during the early days of the pandemic, when there weren’t standard-of-care vaccines or treatments for COVID-19. “We only had research and clinical trials. Today we have approved vaccines and treatments,” she said.
Being on that clinical research path was something Tamara never would have predicted, but it’s the trail she’s grateful to walk every day.
Check out more stories featuring the great work of our nurses in the 2022 Nursing Annual Report (pdf).
One nurse’s ‘crazy’ journey to sisterhood — and a dream job
Michelle Hornung, BSN, RN, was looking for a creative outlet after working long hours as a trauma nurse. She found it online in Huntington Beach, Calif.: A 1969 Volkswagen Transporter that an old hippie used to haul surfboards to the beach. Picture a vintage VW van with its roof removed.
Her husband and father-in-law modified it so she could fill the rear with buckets of locally grown flowers, and the Crazy Daisy flower truck was born.
Michelle and Crazy Daisy became a bright spot at the Sun Prairie Farmers Market, and at local celebrations, where she offered a “build-your-own-bouquet” experience for bridesmaids, baby showers and corporate events.
“It was exactly the respite I needed from the trauma unit,’’ Michelle said. But funny thing, the flower truck eventually became a vehicle for sharing a breast cancer journey that would drive her to a new calling: Nurse navigator in the UW Health Breast Center.
First, a word on the truck’s name. Michelle’s team on the trauma unit already called her “Daisy” because of the amazing number of nominations she has received over the years for the DAISY Award that recognizes exceptional nurses.
“To date, I’ve had 20 nominations and one win,’’ she said. “And every one of them means the world to me, because they come from patients and families of patients.”
Michelle was 41, and had no family history of breast cancer, so when she found a lump in her right breast, she assumed it was a cyst. A mammogram, followed by an ultrasound and biopsy, revealed instead that she had Stage 2B triple-negative breast cancer.
“Never in a million years did I think I would be on this side of the hospital bed,’’ Michelle told her followers on Crazy Daisy’s Instagram and Facebook pages. Michelle said she initially shared her diagnosis on social media to let the flower truck’s fans know why she was canceling public appearances.
But she continued to share: her biopsy results, her chemo infusions, her lumpectomy and the day she had her head shaved. Some of her posts were brutally honest: crying ugly tears, struggling through brain fog and being plagued with the lingering taste of onions from the chemo. Others were funny. She dubbed her final eyelash “Lorraine the Lash,’’ a “tough old bird” who hung on long after all her other lashes fell out. And she showed off the daisy caps, T-shirts and goofy chipmunk costumes her nurse colleagues wore to cheer her up.
For some on social media, this was too much information.
“It was interesting to see how many followers I lost — and how many I gained,’’ Michelle said. As some flower fanciers faded away, she gained a new following among women with breast cancer. They’d direct message her for advice and ask about coming to UW Health from as far away as North Carolina for a second opinion.
“I learned that breast cancer is a sisterhood,’’ she said. When Michelle rang the bell in radiation oncology to signal the end of her own treatment, she was surprised by how sad she felt. “I had such a bond with my team when I was fighting cancer,’’ she said. “And I was left with this uneasiness, this feeling of, ‘Now what?’ “
The answer arrived three months later when the Breast Center posted an opening for a nurse navigator. While Michelle said she was blessed with an “all-star team” and great support, she saw ways the system could be more approachable for breast cancer patients.
“When this position was posted, I knew at that moment: This is my dream job,’’ she said. “Once you’ve been through breast cancer, you want to do ten-fold to help the next person.”
Check out more stories featuring the great work of our nurses in the 2022 Nursing Annual Report (pdf).
Growing the nursing workforce
Like most health care organizations, UW Health continues to be challenged by a nationwide nursing shortage. Addressing the shortage, however, is not just a near-term objective but a long-term goal as well. Taking a proactive stance, UW Health has created new, innovative programs designed to both grow and diversify our nursing workforce while creating new pathways for career advancement and professional growth.
Befitting the reputation UW Health nurses have as national leaders, a first-of-its-kind Nurse Apprenticeship Program was recently launched. Funded by a generous seed gift from Verona-based Epic, this innovative program creates pathways to employment, training and advancement to join the nursing profession. Local community partnerships, educational support and a focus on diversity are all part of this effort to grow our nursing workforce.
The first cohort for this program will pull from selected UW Health entry-level clinical staff such as certified medical assistants (CMA) and certified nursing assistants (CNA), with future cohorts including external candidates to help grow our overall workforce.
“This Nurse Apprenticeship Program offers a comprehensive growth pathway like nothing we have ever seen before,” said Anne Mork, MS, MHCDS, RN, chief nursing officer, ambulatory and nursing support services. “We are excited to start opening the doors to employees who have wanted to pursue a career in nursing but could not afford it or take the necessary time away from work for their schooling. This Nurse Apprenticeship Program lets them work while they learn, covering all education expenses. It helps foster a culture of learning, support and professional growth by offering wrap-around support as necessary.”
ADN to BSN career path
In addition to increasing the number of ADN RNs through the Nurse Apprenticeship Program, UW Health offers an ADN to BSN (Bachelor’s Degree in Nursing) career path through a partnership with UW-Madison School of Nursing.
The first cohort of six ADN nurses was enrolled in Spring 2023, with an additional 50 ADN spots set aside for the Fall 2023 semester.
Funding limitations preclude every UW Health employee who wishes to participate from being accepted for enrollment. Accordingly, ADNs from inpatient and ambulatory units with the highest number of ADNs will be among the first ones invited to apply for enrollment in the ADN to BSN career path.
“Regardless of degree or title, every employee who interacts with patients is essential to ensuring outstanding patient care,” Mork said. “At the same time, the literature shows that health care systems with greater numbers of BSN prepared nurses have been shown to have better patient outcomes. BSN educated nurses are also better positioned for leadership, teaching and quality improvement opportunities. The Magnet organization endorses the Institute of Medicine’s 80% BSN recommendation for nursing and has set up the program to drive organizations to reaching and maintaining that threshold.”
Community partners making a difference
Karina Rohrer-Meck, a nurse and clinical information leader at Epic, said her company is pleased to help UW Health champion new solutions to challenges such as the nursing shortage.
“UW Health and the University of Wisconsin have a long tradition of serving as beacons of support, advancement and excellence in our community, and innovative programs like these build on that tradition,” Rohrer-Meck said. “We are happy to help them champion new solutions to such important challenges.”
Check out more stories featuring the great work of our nurses in the 2022 Nursing Annual Report (pdf).
Questions sponsors should ask a Graduate Nursing Student
- Does the student’s academic institution have an affiliation agreement with UW Health?
- If no, the student’s academic institution’s Clinical Placement Coordinator should initiate this process immediately.
- Did the student complete onboarding and submitted required documents to myClinicalExchange?
- If no, work should not continue. Required onboarding and documentation must be completed before the student begins school relate activities at UW Health.
- Did you, as the sponsor, review and signed the UW Health sponsor form?
- The student will need to attach the electronic version of this form to the Nursing Student’s Academic Project Submission Form.
- Did you, as the sponsor complete the Nursing Student’s Academic Project Submission Form together with the student?
- Does the student’s academic institution require the use of an electronic platform for logging hours and/or evaluations (e.g., Typhoon, Exxat)? What is the sponsor’s role in using these platforms? Or, if no platform, what is the sponsor’s role in logging the student’s hours?
- How many hours does the student need to complete while doing their project?
- What cadence for meetings and updates will work best for you and the student?
- Did the student arrange a meeting with the sponsor, their academic project chair, and themselves?
- Would the student need to collect data for their project? What kind? Review “Data Use” section of the sponsor guidelines with the student.
- What are the student’s thoughts/plans for dissemination?
- What expectations does the sponsor have of the student and vice versa?
Frequently Asked Questions for Sponsoring Graduate (MSN/DNP) Nursing Student Projects
How will sponsors learn about student project sponsoring opportunities?
- A student may contact a sponsor directly or they may receive an inquiry from UW Health’s Program Coordinator for System Strategy to discuss their willingness to sponsor a student.
- If interested, the sponsor will be contacted again to finalize necessary UW Health documentation.
- The student will then contact the sponsor to arrange an initial meeting date, at which time you and the student can set up a schedule and determine a plan for moving forward.
What should a sponsor do if they have concerns about the program or the student they are sponsoring?
- If a sponsor has any concerns about the program or a student’s performance, they should attempt to work through the challenge with the student and their faculty advisor. If they have questions about how to manage the situation, please contact NursingStudentsProjectsRotations@uwhealth.org
What should the sponsor expect from students?
- Students should demonstrate professionalism.
- Students are all licensed RNs and should observe professional norms related to patient confidentiality, respect and documentation.
- Students should be timely, dressed professionally per UW Health policies (including wearing their student badge) and prepared for project activities in terms of having adequate resources and knowledge.
- Badging
- Students should have obtained a badge prior to their first day.
- Student UW Health badges are expected to be visible and displayed at chest high level while students are on site.
- Direct students to the Nursing Student Project at UW Health with a Sponsor for more information.
- If the student experiences issues with their badge access to stock rooms, pharmacy med rooms on the unit, or doors in general, they may need to go to the Badge Office to have the access updated.
- Badging
- Although students are not expected to know everything on day one, they are expected to be accountable for their own learning needs as they are encountered.
- Students should be leading the project with support and guidance from their sponsor.
What if a student incurs an injury while working with me?
- Students that are UW Health employees, and on UW Health’s payroll, are eligible for coverage under UW Health’s Worker’s Compensation policy should they suffer an occupational injury/illness while in a UW Health site for the rotation experiences.
- Students that are not UW Health employees are not eligible for coverage under UW Health’s Worker’s Compensation policy. Should they suffer an injury/illness students will need work with their school or rely on their personal health insurance coverage.
Refer to UW Health’s Worker’s Compensation Policy 9.17.
If a sponsor agrees to sponsor a student, is it possible for others to also sponsor the same student?
- It is unlikely the student would have multiple sponsors for their project. Have the student confirm with their school whether they can have multiple sponsors and, if so, under what circumstances multiple project sponsors would be appropriate.
- If it is confirmed by the school that multiple sponsors are possible and the additional sponsor is confirmed to be appropriate for the project, contact UW Health’s Nursing Student Placement Coordinator NursingStudentsProjectsRotations@uwhealth.org to determine next steps.
- All students should have a registered nurse with a minimum of a BSN as their sponsor. However, it is recognized some projects may contain a large interprofessional component and the UW Health lead primarily supporting the student may be a non-nurse.
If a sponsor works out of more than one location (e.g., clinic, hospital), may the student accompany them to these other locations?
- Are the other locations affiliated with UW Health?
- If yes: The student may accompany their sponsor after onboarding is completed. All student onboarding requirements (e.g., vaccine and TB testing) are the same regardless of clinical location.
- If no: The student may not accompany their sponsor as they only have the necessary onboarding paperwork completed through UW Health.
How are students evaluated during their projects?
- Students are evaluated on their project work in a variety of ways, including through class assignments and discussions where they are encouraged to give feedback. Faculty advisors may also contact the sponsor to evaluate the student’s performance.
How many students can a sponsor take on at a time?
- We encourage UW Health employees to sponsor only one student at a time.
- If a sponsor feels they can accommodate more than one student at the same time, or sponsoring more than one student would be valuable to advance the work, the sponsor should discuss with their next level leader to determine workload and prioritization of needs.
Once a sponsor agrees to sponsor a student, are they obligated to sponsor students regularly?
- No. We recognize that sponsoring a student is time and energy intensive and do not expect someone to sponsor students every semester. If a sponsor is asked about their interest in sponsoring a student, they should say “no” if timing is not right.
How can a sponsor find more information about sponsoring a graduate nursing student project?
- The Conducting Nursing Student Projects page includes additional information
Who are the key stakeholders during the sponsor selection and project approval processes?
- The student’s academic institution’s Clinical Placement Coordinator
- The student’s faculty advisor
- UW Health’s Nursing Student Placement Coordinator
- UW Health’s Program Coordinator for System Strategy
- The student’s UW Health sponsor
- The student
Nurse-led research: Improving pressure injury care for patients with dark skin tones
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Understanding skin tone and how it relates to pressure injuries and tissue damage can be challenging, and the issue is widespread. Hospital-acquired pressure injuries affect more than 2.5 million Americans annually. Pressure injuries can lead to poor patient outcomes and longer hospital stays, negatively impacting quality measures and financial reimbursement.
Traditionally, nurses are taught to look for redness to detect first signs of pressure injury, but this is challenging with patients with dark skin tones who require tactile and sensory assessments as well. Under-recognized or misdiagnosed deep-tissue pressure injuries are affecting patients with dark skin tones with greater severity of complications.
That’s why Courtney Maurer, DNP, RN, focused her doctorate project on improving assessment and documentation of pressure injuries for patients with dark skin tones. “As nurses, we are educated in healthcare disparities, but resources on the acute care needs of patients with dark skin tones is limited,” says Courtney. “I did not feel confident in my skin assessment skills for dark skin tones, and I recognized a need for more resources and education that are inclusive of diverse patient populations .”
Courtney first completed a needs assessment to compare current documentation and resources with international guidelines. She collaborated with UW Health’s Burn and Wound Center team and a clinical nurse specialist to create a Translating Research into Practice (TRIP) resource sheet and a video modeling a skin assessment.
With visual examples of different-stage pressure injuries, nurses were able to better identify pressure wounds on dark skin tones. This work led to bringing together UW Health’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI) team, Nursing Documentation Committee, Center for Clinical Knowledge Management, Nursing Informatics and the Nursing Practice Council—to implement recommended terms in the skin and wound nursing documentation flowsheets in our electronic health record (EHR).
Courtney also worked closely with ICU clinical nurse specialists, skin care nurses, and wound teams in four ICUs at University Hospital, surveying nurses (pre and post) to understand perceptions, attitudes, education and resource availability.
Courtney’s resources are now available on UW Health’s intranet and included in the University of Wisconsin School of Nursing curriculum. “I’ve seen our resource materials laminated at nursing stations and on bulletin boards. The feedback from nurses has been positive and the adoption of documentation changes and resources from other facilities – including Agrace, American Family Children’s Hospital and UW Health SwedishAmerican Hospital – has shown the profound need for these resources.”
Courtney hopes this work empowers other nurses to improve processes and education to continue to work together to eliminate healthcare disparities. “As nurses, we feel proud when we know our betterment efforts are what’s right for our patients and ultimately improve the quality of our care and their health outcomes.”
Check out more stories featuring the great work of our nurses in the 2021 Nursing Annual Report (pdf).
Impacting Care Beyond Our Walls
Volunteering and advocacy work are more than just hobbies to UW Health RN Care Coordinator Jill Kietzke, MSN, RN, BC-ADM, they’re part of who she is. Jill learned the importance of service early in life by watching her parents, both of whom regularly volunteered at their church, with emergency medical services (EMS) and their local chapter of the Lions Club. But it wasn’t until her father passed away in 2017—just a couple months prior to Jill receiving her master’s degree in nursing—that she discovered how much her parents’ legacy would influence her professional and personal life.
“I absolutely underestimated the power of volunteerism until my dad was gone,” says Jill. “I know now that community service and advocacy on behalf of causes I care deeply about is the best way I can honor him and who he was.”
For Jill, that meant not only joining the local chapter of the Lions Club but also volunteering with the American Diabetes Association (ADA), where her passion and expertise about diabetes were quickly recognized as assets to the organization. It wasn’t long before she went from discussing diabetes research, prevention and prescription drug costs with members of Wisconsin’s congressional delegation, to joining 200 other diabetes advocates on Capitol Hill to spread the word about ADA programs on a national stage.
Jill says that experience, which included meeting the CEO of the American Diabetes Association and listening to a powerful speech by former U.S. Surgeon General Dr. Jerome Adams, solidified her passion to continue the work.
“It was exciting to feel like the work I was doing had the potential to make a difference in the world,” she says.
Since then, Jill has become an “ADA influencer,” routinely engaging in rapid-response communication to legislators about urgent topics impacting people with diabetes and their care. As a result, she was chosen in March 2021 to represent Wisconsinites in a roundtable discussion about medication costs with Governor Tony Evers.
In addition to her advocacy efforts, Jill also mentors youth with Type 1 diabetes at the Wisconsin Lions Camp every year. As part of the medical staff, she helps to manage Type 1 diabetes in kids while they participate in typical summer camp activities. She says the mentoring that she and others provide at camp can be life changing for these kids because they learn not only from their mentors, but also from other kids their own age who are struggling with the same challenges. She adds that the week she spends volunteering at camp has been life changing for her, too, and that her experience continues to help inform and define her role at UW Health.
“I feel that volunteering and advocacy on topics that impact my patients’ lives just make me a better nurse,” says Jill. “Going the extra mile really exemplifies what being a UW Health nurse is all about, and I like encouraging all my colleagues to engage in issues they’re passionate about because doing so creates a ripple effect on the care they provide at UW Health.”
Ultimately, being highly skilled and passionate about caring for and serving others goes far beyond the rewards of a job well done—for Jill, it’s personal. “I know that my dad sees all the work I’m doing for others and that he’s cheering me on,” she says. “Just knowing that makes it so much more powerful to me.”
Check out more stories featuring the great work of our nurses in the 2021 Nursing Annual Report (pdf).
Answering the Nursing Shortage
With more than 500,000 registered nurses (RN) retiring by 2022, the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics projected the need for 1.1 million new RNs for expansion and replacement of retirees, and to avoid a nursing shortage.
Given these statistics, UW Health is focused on removing any barriers to recruitment. We started an Ambulatory Nurse Residency Program in winter 2020-2021 aimed at helping new nurses transition to their first professional nursing job.
UW Health has 84 clinics and more than 3 million outpatient clinic visits per year, providing nurses with diverse experiences, says Terri White, nursing education specialist and Nurse Residency Program coordinator for our ambulatory clinics.
“There is this notion that new nurses have to work in a hospital setting and take care of sick patients in a hospital, that you can’t work in a clinic setting until later in your career,” Terri says. “But clinic nursing has opportunity for extensive growth. Clinic nurses are critical to the healthcare team, and we are here to give them the training they need to succeed in this demanding and important profession.”
Since burnout is a key contributor to nurses leaving the field early in their careers, UW Health has created a 12-month program to help ensure new nurses are well-trained and become acclimated to stay in the nursing field.
Our ambulatory program began in February 2021. The residency is for new nurses who just finished nursing school, and places them in a clinic setting (ambulatory) with a mentor (preceptor) to learn the job in a real-world setting. Additionally, the nurses take two nursing classes per month, with frequent check-ins and evaluations by program coordinators. The program runs two groups per year and expects to expand their numbers.
“I am so glad the Ambulatory Nurse Residency exists to get nurses into the ambulatory world,” says Kaarina Powell, BSN, RN, current ambulatory nurse resident. “I hope this program continues to grow and provide opportunities for other nurses like me, to help patients in the clinic setting.”
UW Health has been running an inpatient Nurse Residency Program since 2004 that helps new nurses adjust during their first year taking care of patients in hospitals. Since that program began, the first-year retention rate for nurses at UW Health has been (on average) 97 percent. The national average for programs with a nurse residency program is 91 percent. For hospitals that do not have nurse residency programs, the retention rate is 71 percent.
Terri says, “By keeping nurses in the field through a program like ours, we can do our part to address this looming nurse shortage.”
ORs partner with local nursing school
Starting in fall 2021 the UW Health Peri-Operative Departments at American Family Children’s Hospital, The American Center and Madison Surgery Center partnered with the local Edgewood College Nursing program to provide clinical sites for nursing students who were interested in learning more about perioperative nursing.
“These nursing students were provided many hours of didactic and skills/lab-based training prior to starting their clinicals, to ensure they had a solid foundation of the core role and skills needed to function in a perioperative department,” states Tricia Ejzak, MSN, RN, CNOR, Nursing Education Specialist. “Their clinical time was spent with RNs but also included time observing in the many departments of the hospital that provide daily support to the OR, such as Reprocessing, Anesthesia, and Medical Imaging.”
Students were able to observe the surgical experience for our patients from admission to discharge. “This program will help UW Health attract new graduates to perioperative nursing jobs and prepare them to be able to successfully transition into their new role,” states Laura Ahola, MSN, RN, Director of Surgical Services, American Family Children’s Hospital. “It will also increase retention of these new clinicians and prepare them for the opportunity to become a Certified Nurse of the Operating Room (CNOR).”
The success of the program has built tremendous excitement across UW Health, knowing that the number of clinical site opportunities will be increasing within the organization.
New role to support clinical staff
Given the growing concerns about workforce challenges pertaining to filling licensed/certified clinical roles, a UW Health workgroup began meeting and identified an improvement opportunity to use the framework designed for the RN Helper role (used during the first COVID surge), to create the Nursing Care Partner (NCP) position. The NCP role has been designed to provide support to inpatient staff with tasks that are often time consuming or do not require a clinical background, thereby allowing clinical staff to focus on the care their patients need. The NCP position provides an opportunity for those who are interested in healthcare, but not yet clinically trained, to support our patients and staff in the inpatient setting.
Check out more stories featuring the great work of our nurses in the 2021 Nursing Annual Report (pdf).