JANUARY 2014

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In This Issue
Send Us Your Good News
2014 Annual NICHE Conference
NEW Conference App
AMDA Conference
Future Conferences
Newsletter Archive
Upcoming Webinars
GRN Model - Part 1
Planning & Implementation Guide
GRN Curriculum
Clinical Improvement Models
NICHE Webinars
NICHE Solutions
Nursing Protocols

 

Calendar,

Announcements and

News     

 

 

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Care. Collaborate. Change. 

 

Register today for the 2014 Annual NICHE Conference, April 6-8, 2014 in San Diego, California.

 

#NICHE2014

  

Go to the Conference website for complete information. 
Register today to get the reduced rate for the San Diego event...sure to be our most informative and rewarding conference!

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NEW Conference App Coming Soon

Always current, NICHE will be launching a new App for smartphones, tablets and laptops that will have everything needed for the 2014 Annual NICHE Conference. Each attendee will have access to the conference schedule, keynote biographies, sponsors, site floor plans, local San Diego maps and attraction descriptions, networking function and social media connectivity. You will be able to search and access information by day, speaker or by your personal itinerary. Bookmark what you would like to come back to after the conference, add contacts for follow-up and take notes right in the App.

 

Check the 2014 NICHE Conference website for updates on this exciting new meeting tool that will allow you to maximize your conference experience.

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AMDA Conference

 

The AMDA - Dedicated to Long Term Care Medicine's 2014 Annual Conference, "Creating Harmony in Long Term Care," will be held February 27 - March 2, 2014 in Nashville, TN. Attendees will be exposed to the latest clinical developments in care for the nation's elderly, best practices in medical direction, policy and regulatory updates, as well as practical tools to help implement new ideas 

and projects in your 

practice setting.

 

Offering nursing credits and specialized interdisciplinary team educational sessions, the conference offers education, networking and socializing opportunities for all that attend. Naomi Judd, world renowned singer, author, and former RN, will be presenting a closing lecture on self-care for the caregiver. Pre-registration ends February 5, 2014. 

 

for more information or to register  

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Future NICHE Conference Sites

 

Please Join Us...

 

2015 Annual NICHE Conference, April 14-17

Walt Disney World Swan 

and Dolphin, Orlando, FL

 

2016 Annual NICHE Conference, April 17-20

Chicago Marriott Downtown Magnificent Mile, Chicago, IL

 

NICHE 25th Anniversary

2017 Annual NICHE Conference

April 19-22 - 4 Days!

JW Marriott Austin, 

Austin, TX

 

2018 Annual NICHE Conference

April 10-13 - 4 Days!

Atlanta Marriott Marquis, Atlanta, GA

 

2019 Annual NICHE Conference

April 9-12 - 4 Days!

Walt Disney World Swan 

and Dolphin, Orlando, FL

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NICHE Newsletter Archive

 

Looking for information from a past NICHE newsletter? Missed an issue? Tap into the 2013 Newsletter Archive...

 

January - COPD 

February - Ambulation 

March - Hearing 

April - Pain 

May - Discharge 

June - Palliative Care

July - Infection 

August - Behavioral Health 

September - Interprofessional Communication 

October - New NICHE Learning Management System 

November - Perioperative Nursing

December - Mobility

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Upcoming Webinars - Mark Your Calendar

 

January 22, 2014 

1:00PM EST

"A Multidisciplinary Effort to Improve Patient Care and Satisfaction with Pain Management"

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February 4, 2014 

1:00PM EST

"Depression and Anxiety in 

the Post Operative Coronary Artery Bypass Graft Patient"

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February 18, 2014 

1:00PM EST

"A Mobility Team: Making 

a Move to Reduce 

Hospital Falls"

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March 5, 2014 

1:00PM EST

"Implementation of a Geriatric Medication Surveillance Program in a Community-Teaching Hospital"

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March 19, 2014

1:00PM EST

"A Pilot Program Engaging Families to Collaborate in Delirium Recognition"

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April 23, 2014 

1:00PM EST

"Impact of Palliative Education on ICU Nurses' Moral Distress"

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May 7, 2014 

1:00PM EST

"Eliminating Continuous Observations: Cost-effectiveness without Patient Safety Compromise"

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June 4, 2014 

1:00PM EST

"Managing Behavioral Disturbances in Patients
with Dementia"

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June 18, 2014 

1:00PM EST

"Cultural Diversity, it can't 

be ignored"

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July 9, 2014 

1:00PM EST

"Implementing Long Term Care Advisory Standards for an Alzheimer's/Dementia Program at The Lighthouse, Brick, NJ"

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July 23, 2014 

1:00PM EST

"Crossing the Continuum 

of Care - Creating New Partnerships"

 

Live Webinar Pricing:

 

NICHE Site: Free

Non-NICHE Site: $99

Each participant will receive 1.0 Contact Hour 

 

NICHE Hospital Advances and Resources Update: Geriatric Resource Nurse Model - Part 1

The Geriatric Resource Nurse (GRN) Core Curriculum is used by NICHE members to educate nurses in best practices for older hospitalized adults. The GRN Core Curriculum is based on the book Evidence-Based Geriatric Nursing Protocols for Best Practice. The fourth edition, published in 2012, includes the most current evidence-based nursing protocols known to experts. The following is an excerpt from Elizabeth Capezuti, Marie Boltz, and Cynthia J. Nigolian, Acute Care Models (2012). 

In: Boltz, M., Capezuti, E., Fulmer, T. & Zwicker, D. (eds.). Evidence-Based Geriatric Nursing Protocols For Best Practice (4th ed.). New York: Springer Publishing

 

The Geriatric Resource Nurse (GRN) model fosters professional development and enhanced work satisfaction for nurses that feel they have institutional support to provide quality care for older adult patients. These supports include geriatric-specific resources (continuing education, education, and specialty services), interdisciplinary collaboration, as well as patient, family, and nurse involvement in treatment-related decision-making. 

Following is an approach developed at a NICHE Hospital related to the Geriatric Resource Nurse model.

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Innovations


Building, evaluating & sustaining the Geriatric Resource Nurse model of care to improve
geriatric outcomes
 

2013 NICHE Conference Poster Presentation. Author: Sue Nickoley, MS, RN, GCNS-BC, Rochester General Health System, Rochester, 

New York.

 

Decreased NICHE Geriatric Institutional Assessment Profile (GIAP) knowledge scores at this health system triggered the need for an enhanced Geriatric Resource Nurse (GRN) educational approach using the NICHE geriatric acute care model, GRN Model of Care components, Magnet� principles and NICHE resources as building blocks.

The initiative involved:

  • Defining the Geriatric Clinical Nurse Specialist (CNS) Role - Leadership, facilitation, mentoring, learning and support
  • Building, evaluating and sustaining the GRN model of care to improve geriatric nursing expertise and competencies
  • Facilitating the GRN
    • Visibility/age matters
    • Voice in decision-making
    • Identify role as "geronurse"
    • Outcome documentation
    • Certification
  • Obtain Hospital Commitment and Support
    • Paid course time
    • Financial support for certification
    • Clinical ladder/recognition

The range of GRN Core Course learning activities facilitated evidence-based geriatric knowledge transfer and application. The competency-based learning supported GRN role development and changes in practice behavior that resulted in improved outcomes. 

 

NICHE-related Resources

Full access to some of the resources referenced here is only available to NICHE member hospitals.

Planning & Implementation Guide

 

Chapter 1: An Introduction to NICHE

Provides an overview of the context of geriatric sensitive care for older adults by nurses within the acute care setting and the NICHE program.

 

Chapter 5: The NICHE Staff Development Guide

Outlines the content of education programs for nurses, patient care associates, and the Geriatric Resource Nurse (GRN) role including the logistics of training, encouraging participation and evaluation.

 

Chapter 7: The NICHE Guide - The Geriatric Resource Nurse (GRNModel

Describes the Geriatric Resource Nurse (GRN) model including steps to plan, implement, evaluate and sustain this key model for improving care of hospitalized older adults.

 

View the Planning & Implementation Guide description 

Geriatric Resource Nurse (GRN) Curriculum

 

Module: Why Geriatric Nursing?

With an aging population and increased life expectancy, it is more critical than ever for nurses to improve the quality of care for hospitalized older adults.

 

Module: Function

Describes nursing care strategies to restore, maintain and promote functional health.

 

Module: Falls

Explains how nurses can provide leadership during the development and implementation of programs to reduce patient falls.

 

Module: Medications

Provides nurses with the knowledge and tools to successfully intervene and reduce adverse drug events in older adult patients.

 

Module: Pain

Gives nurses the knowledge to handle assessment and management of pain in older adult patients.

 

Module: Pressure Ulcers and Skin Tears

Describes how to identify patients at risk for pressure ulcers and skin tears, and how to initiate prevention protocols. Also details effective management strategies when pressure ulcers do occur.

 

Module: Restraints

Discusses the consequences of physical restraint use and strategies that promote alternatives to restraint use through evidence-based care for falls, delirium, nutrition, medications, sleep, pain and function.

 

Clinical Improvement Models

 

Module: Restraint Reduction Program

Describes the steps involved in implementing a restraint reduction program driven by nurse managers and nurse specialists.

 

View the Clinical Improvement Models description 

NICHE Online Connect Webinars

 

Webinar: The Role 
of the GRN in the Heart Failure Clinic

 

Describes the evolution of the Heart Failure Clinic at Bergan Mercy. This education program equips GRNs to provide excellent care in this setting, improve outcomes and prevent harm for our older adults.

 

View the webinar description 

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Webinar: Implementation of the Geriatric Resource Nurse (GRN) Model throughout an Academic Health System - Linking Geriatric Nursing Education with Practice Improvement Education

 

Details the development a Geriatric Resource Nurse Intensive Model to help nurses learn and apply an evidence-based approach during their development as GRNs. The model incorporated the Duke 8-Step Process for Evidence Based Geriatric Nursing Practice.

 

View the webinar description

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Webinar: Pre-Operative Assessment and Education Sessions for Hip and Knee Surgical Patients

 

Older adult patients undergoing hip and knee surgery are at high risk for post-discharge complications and stress. To help forestall complications, the Cape Breton District Health Authority developed a nurse-driven program that included comprehensive discharge planning and a pre-operative, home-based assessment and education session.

 

View the webinar description

NICHE Solutions Series

 

No. 1 Solution: Improving Medication Safety in 

Older Adults at the University of Alabama at Birmingham Hospital

 

Prescribing medications appropriately for older adults is a growing mandate of increasing importance for hospitals. Many common medications are listed in Beers Criteria as potentially inappropriate drugs for older adults. This Solutions describes an educational drug warning mechanism embedded in a computerized physician order entry (CPOE) system to alert physicians when a potentially inappropriate drug is prescribed for an older adult patient.

 

View the No. 1 Solution 

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No. 3 Solution: Promoting Safety for Older Adult Population in the Surgical Observation Unit

 

This improvement project at St. Luke's Episcopal Hospital educated staff regarding the care of older adult patients in a Surgical Observation Unit. A Geriatric Resource Nurse (GRN) was assigned to the unit to assess safety issues and concerns. The unit implemented improvement processes based on the GRN's evaluations including frequent rounding, bowel and bladder program, appraisal and understanding of medication interactions.

 

View the No. 3 Solution 

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No. 6 Solution: Pre-Operative Assessment and Education Sessions for Hip and Knee Surgical Patients

 

To reduce the risk of post-discharge complications and stress for older adult hip and knee surgery patients, the Cape Breton Regional Hospital implemented a preoperative assessment and education program, provided by an interdisciplinary team and coordinated by the Clinical Nurse Leader (CNL). The program reduced Length of Stay for patients.

 

View the No. 6 Solution

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No. 16 Solution: Overlaying Geriatric Principles within a Disease Management Structure: Northeast Hospital's Geriatric Initiative

 

Describes how a multi-tiered leadership team championed adoption of best practices in geriatric care system-wide via interdisciplinary collaboration.

 

View the No. 16 Solution 

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No. 25 Solution: Geriatric Resource Nurses - Change Agents to Prevent Hospital Complications

 

Describes how a performance improvement team was formed at Glendale Adventist Medical Center to launch Geriatric Resource Nurse initiatives targeting functional decline in hospitalized older adults.

 

View the No. 25 Solution 

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No. 35 Solution: A Multidisciplinary Effort to Improve Patient Care and Satisfaction with Pain Management

 

This Solutions describes a comprehensive, proactive approach to pain management that ensured use of evidence-based practice and standards of care. It included an emphasis on a multidisciplinary approach across all hospital settings. Geriatric Resource Nurses (GRNs) drove pain-related initiatives at the unit level.

 

View the No. 35 Solution

Evidence-Based Geriatric Nursing Protocols 

For Best Practice Book

 

Chapter 33: Acute Care Models

 

Identifies the objectives common to all geriatric acute care models and describes the various models employed in North American hospitals including the NICHE Geriatric Resource Nurse model.

 

View the Protocols book abstract

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