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February 2014
Marilyn Dubree,
MSN, RN,
NE-BC
A newsletter
from the office
of the Executive
Chief Nursing
Officer
IN THIS ISSUE
Nurse Residency Program
evolves
Certified Nurses photo op
Feb. 21
Nurses Week award
nominations due March 3
NURSING
Transforming patient care through professional practice
1FEBRUARY 2014 NURSING AT VANDERBILT UNIVERSITY MEDICAL CENTER
Recognized Excellence—Designated Magnet
V
anderbilt nurses constantly amaze me. The
dedication our nurses have to patient and
families is palpable. The valuable and construc-
tive input so many of you have given is literally
shaping the way our entire health system deliv-
ers care.
In this issue, we share exciting news about a
new inventory management system that has
resulted from direct input from our direct care
nurses and our workflow redesign efforts. My
hope is that it makes a profound difference in
everyone’s work day.
This month we also have several reminders,
such as the Nurses Week Award nominations,
Certified Nurses Week photo, and the Nursing
Leadership in Global Health conference.
The things we all have in common as
Vanderbilt nurses is the desire to move forward,
to grow and to achieve more together on behalf
of our patients. It is in that spirit that we have
gathered this collection of news.
Enjoy this issue,
INVENTORY MANAGEMENT PROJECT
E
liminating unnecessary “hunting
and gathering” by nurses and direct
care staff is the key objective in reviewing
inventory management. An approach
was started on 8 South in January and will start rolling out to units in
Vanderbilt University Hospital and Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital
at Vanderbilt in waves over the next few months.
“Every day we have to ask ourselves what are we trying to accom-
plish, are we getting the outcomes we want, and if so, how do we make
it sustainable,” said Bill Fulkerson, Associate Hospital Director,
Professional Services.
Fulkerson describes this inventory management project as a tremen-
dous team effort, led by Vickie Thompson, MSN, RN, Children’s Hospital
Manager, Special Projects; Ashley Staniewski, MSN, RN, Surgical ICU
assistant manager; Mark Sullivan, PharmD, MBA, VUH Pharmacy direc-
tor; and Amber Goldston, Materials Management manager.
“Through observations that we did as a team, we noticed a lot of
hunting and gathering of supplies and medications and we set out to
identify opportunities, where supplies on the unit don’t meet the demand
at the bedside,” said Thompson.
The team observed units in November and December with more than
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