Clinical Nurse Specialists: Value Added!

Barbara Wheeler RN, MN, IBCLC, RLC

St. Boniface General Hospital

21 November 2008

The Strong Model

Ackerman, M.H. et al. (1996)Ackerman, M.H. et al. (1996)

The CNS Role Practice Education Leadership Research

CNS role: “recognized as ideal to bridge the research gap between academia and clinical practice” (Nelson, et al., 2007)

Importance of Nursing Research To provide scientific accountability & a

foundation for evidence-based practice

To evaluate the efficacy of nursing practice

To advance the practice of nursing, and ultimately,

To improve clinical outcomes

St. Boniface General HospitalSBGH: 10 Clinical Nurse Specialists

Cardiac Sciences Gerontology Medicine Palliative Care Surgery Woman & Child Program

SBGH CNS Research Staff knowledge & attitudes

regarding implementation of the Hospital Elder Life Program (HELP) (B. Tallman)

The effectiveness of probiotic yogurt in preventing antibiotic associated diarrhea in hospitalized patients (K. Jabusch)

Canadian heart failure patients’ & caregivers’ emotions (E. Estrella-Holder)

Multimodal assessment of functional capacity in heart failure patients: The integrated role of the heart failure and device clinics (E. Estrella-Holder)

SBGH CNS Research

Testing the Breastfeeding Self-Efficacy Scale (BSES) among mothers of ill or preterm infants

What really happens after they go

home? Human milk feeding after NICU discharge (B. Wheeler)

SBGH CNS Research Parents in the NICU: Development

of a satisfaction survey (B. Wheeler)

The effects of post-operative pain education on selected patient outcomes for urgent coronary bypass surgery (A. Fedorowicz)

SBGH CNS Research Urinary drainage following

continence surgery: Development of Canadian best practice guidelines (B. Lewthwaite)

What do nurses know about post-operative nausea and vomiting? (B. Lewthwaite)

SBGH CNS Research Factors related to patient satisfaction

in a Family Medicine Residency Teaching program (J. Parker)

Late-Preterm Infant Research-Based Practice Project (B. Wheeler) AWHONN: 15 sites in the US and Canada

Our Current Project… Planning implementation of the

WRHA Pain Assessment & Management Clinical Practice Guideline (CPG)

CNS group: an opportunity to: improve pain management, improve patient satisfaction, and to decrease LOS

“Pain” Project Goal: explore knowledge &

attitudes nurses (~700 +) have re: pain assessment & management i.e. baseline knowledge level

Research Tool: a well-validated 22 item true/false questionnaire

Our current project… Study findings will guide

implementation of the CPG at SBGH Identify knowledge gaps Design appropriate education sessions Generate interest in learning about pain then….

Introduce CPG

Thank you!