May 18, 2007

Everyday heroes: The MGH celebrates Nurse Recognition Week

Nurse Recognition Week is a time to reflect upon the important contributions of nurses to the quality of care, culture of learning and collaborative environment at the MGH. This year's 12th annual celebration, which ran from May 6 through 11, featured a variety of speakers, research events and opportunities for nurses to network — all to honor the hard work, dedication and enthusiasm of MGH nurses and to thank them for all that they do.

The events kicked off with a staff nurse breakfast May 6, which, together with a second one held May 10, were attended by more than 1,000 nurses. On May 7, the MGH hosted two national speakers: Beverly Malone, RN, PhD, FAAN, president of the National League for Nursing; and Patricia S. Yoder-Wise, RN, EdD, CNAA-BC, FAAN, president of the American Nurses Credentialing Center. Malone spoke about professionalism and the importance of nurses in patients' lives, while Yoder-Wise, whose organization oversees Magnet designation, presented the latest research from the Gallup Organization about how to engage the workforce.

Nursing research was Tuesday's focus, and two teams of MGH nurses presented their findings in the morning sessions. The 13th annual Yvonne L. Munn Nursing Research Awards and Nursing Research Lecture took place in the afternoon. Dorothy Jones, RN, EdD, FAAN, the newly-appointed director of the Yvonne L. Munn Center for Nursing Research, presented four research grants to teams of MGH nurses, as well as one postdoctoral fellowship.

On Wednesday, MGHers enjoyed a performance by Kathleen Duckett, RN, director of Clinical Programs for Partners Home Care. In her one-woman show, "Florence Nightingale, a Medical Revolutionary," Duckett told the inspiring story of the founder of modern nursing.

The week's events culminated with a special address by Jeanette Ives Erickson, RN, MS, senior vice president for Patient Care Services and chief nurse, entitled "Nurses: Everyday Heroes." In this multimedia presentation, Ives Erickson spoke to a capacity crowd in the O'Keeffe Auditorium about the nature of heroism and the situations in which one encounters it. She went on to enumerate what she perceived to be "the eight qualities of nurses as heroes," which are courage, honesty and integrity, caring, helping others, focus and skill, belief in others and in the self, innovation and the willingness to take a journey.

Ives Erickson concluded by thanking the nurses for their indispensable contributions to the MGH. "I'm privileged to be surrounded by 3,800 heroes," she said.

MGH nurses, from left, Diane Carroll, RN; Virginia Capasso, RN; Anastasia Tsiantoulis, RN; Mary Larkin, RN; and Marion Phipps, RN