As President of the Professional Nursing Staff, it is with great pride and appreciation that I present the PNS Annual Report for Fiscal Year 2020 that highlights the many outstanding accomplishments of the organization this past year.
First, recall according to the PNS Bylaws, “the purpose of the Professional Nursing Staff (PNS) is to promote excellence in professional performance among the nursing staff, provide high quality and cost-effective nursing care for patients, establish and monitor standards of clinical practice, and facilitate the quality of professional life of its members.”
Fiscal Year 2020 goals were formed based on the purpose set forth by PNS Bylaws. On behalf of the entire Professional Nursing Staff, I would like to extend my deep gratitude and thanks to all our nurses for their hard work, time and dedication to PNS that resulted in PNS reaching and exceeding its set goals. The following is a summary of key accomplishments.
PNS was able to impact nursing practice by embracing technology and innovation. First, PNS rolled out new IV pumps. With the help of our great team of nurses, we were able to select the appropriate pump for patient safety.
Next, PNS introduced initiatives through the RN3 validation committee to convert from a portfolio binder to an electronic format. Subsequently, the RN3 validation committee advanced 51 nurses that were in RN2 roles to RN3 status and maintained 60 nurses at RN3 level. Lastly, we put forth strong efforts in marketing PNS to all of nursing by restructuring the PNS newsletter and partnering with media productions to do video messages that were shared with the public and staff.
The PNS Magnet and champions committees did extensive work on preparing staff for the 5th Magnet site visit. The Magnet document was submitted at the end of January 2020. The document contained 70 stories of quality improvement projects completed across the hospital and the ambulatory clinics.
Given that the document was so strong, the organization went straight to the site visit. The Magnet committee and champions held a mock site visit and Magnet fair which had record-breaking attendance with over 325 personnel in the summer of 2020, while maintaining compliance with COVID-19 social distancing regulations.
Due to the impact of COVID-19 on the organization in the spring of 2020, PNS shared governance committees were temporarily placed on hold. However, given the extreme circumstances, nursing needed a way to have their voices heard. As PNS president, I implemented intentional rounding on all units throughout the hospital.
This process involved listening to the many ideas, concerns and opportunities brought forward by the frontline nursing staff. Importantly, this allowed the PNS president to collaborate and establish connections with staff, unit leadership and nursing senior leadership. Due to rounding, PNS helped facilitate the following initiatives based on nursing feedback:
- COVID crisis pay
- Extra eight hours of PTO
- Recognition/appreciation pay
- Hospital-provided uniforms
- Asymptomatic COVID testing in order for staff to feel comfortable visiting friends and family
- Redeployment of nursing staff in low census areas such as perioperative or pediatrics
Volunteerism to support our local communities is another priority of PNS. Pre-COVID, PNS volunteered through Trilogy and Senior Fest events to promote health and wellness among Chicagoans. During COVID, PNS set up a virtual food drive partnering with the Greater Food Depository of Chicago and was able to donate more than 30,000 meals to the community.
Multiple efforts were implemented to ensure staff safety. PNS representatives sit on the hospital safety steering committee and were delegated to start a task force to create a debriefing tool after escalation occurs. This continues to be a work in progress and once the tool is completed, it will provide nurses a closed looped communication to address behaviors leading up to escalation, what went well and areas of opportunities moving forward. De-escalation training is also available for all nursing staff. The visitor management system during COVID was shut down temporarily to protect the community, patients and staff from COVID. We continue to evaluate the data and follow the science to do what is best for all of the people that we serve.
This has been an exceptional and unprecedented year for PNS. I am so proud and I thank you for the opportunity to serve you as PNS President for 2020.
Jackie L Hoskins, BSN, RN, CCRN