Camp 98.6 Project Visits Surgical/Trauma ICU
Special visitors made their way into the Surgical/Trauma ICU (STICU) this summer. Developed for high school students, Camp 98.6 allowed the students from Harlandale High School an opportunity to explore careers in the medical field. Ten students spent at total of four days learning about the different aspects of health care, two days at a local college and then two days of field trips here at University Hospital in the EC, OR, Radiology, PACU, STICU and Reeves Rehabilitation. Their goal was to trace how a patient involved in a motor vehicle crash made their way through the healthcare system, from initial access of the hospital, the various departments the patient would visit and on to rehabilitation for the final phase of their recovery.
The students arrived early in the morning eager to begin their day. When asked about which particular fields they were interested in, the students were quick to answer that they wanted to be nurses, cardiologists, and surgeons. They were given a tour of the STICU with information regarding the types of patients we care for, different machines that the patients may need, and how nursing impacts the care and recovery of the patient. Once the tour was complete, we stopped to visit a special patient, Sim Man.
This was the second appearance of our new simulation mannequin Sim Man, the first being a Breakfast of Champions meeting delineating the professional model of care for the nursing staff. The students were delighted to see what Sim Man was all about. The patient (Sim Man) had a head injury, required mechanical ventilation, and multiple IV lines. As we talked about head injuries and how they impact the patient, the students were allowed to discover pulses in the feet, take blood pressures, and listen to normal and abnormal heart and breath sounds. Sim man’s capabilities made it easy to enhance the sounds so that the students could tell the difference between normal and abnormal. They also had the opportunity to view X-rays on Sim man’s monitor screen and learn how to find the different injuries and tubes on X-ray. All in all it was a good day for the students and they expressed a great desire to continue on their goals of having a career in healthcare.
Anyone with a computer these days can find out about our patient satisfaction and our quality indicators. Within months our health system will be joining other hospitals in the reality of “Pay for Performance” regulations. Besides we all take Pride in “I AM UHS”. We want to be the best………but how do you get to excellent patient care delivery?
Have you ever seen your unit data? It begins by understanding the indicators that are tracked for quality or by identifying problems that exist on your unit and finding solutions. Do you know how to write an AIM statement to address a quality issue on your unit? Do you know how to organize or lead a process improvement project? Have you ever had a fun time creating a fish bone diagram of all the issues surrounding a problem on your unit? If not, you missed a great learning opportunity. Forty-five nurses joined Charles Reed, MSN, RN, Michael Payne, BSN, RN, Carlos Castenada, BSN, RN, Allison Clarke, MSN, RN, Lisa Wammack, MSN, RN and Dr. Andrea Berndt, PhD in a day long quality workshop learning skills required to take a problem and seek a solution…and how to measure your success!