UI Hospitals and Clinics Nursing Services and Patient Care
University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics has more than 1,500 nurses on staff. Heidi Nobiling, interim Associate Hospital Director and Chief Nursing Officer at UI Hospitals and Clinics, talks about the role nurses play at UI Hospitals and Clinics:
How critical is nursing care in the day-to-day events of a facility like University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics ?
Nurses are an essential part of the care that is provided throughout University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics. Nursing staff provide care prior to, during, and after a patient visits a clinic or has a stay in an inpatient area at UI Hospitals and Clinics. Nurses assess the health status of patients, plan and provide nursing interventions within their scope of practice, and work collaboratively with physicians and other members of the health care team to provide the care that physicians and others prescribe for the patient.
UI Hospitals and Clinics have a diverse nursing staff. What are some of the many roles of nursing at UI Hospitals and Clinics?
There are so many roles for nurses at UI Hospitals and Clinics it is hard to describe them in a brief conversation. Some of our more common roles include clinic nurses, who work with patients coming in for outpatient or specialty care appointments in a variety of primary care and specialty clinics. Of course, there are many nursing staff involved in work as inpatient nurses, caring for patients throughout the course of a hospitalization. Many nurses serve in the Operating Room or procedural areas such as the Cardiac Cath Lab, the Dialysis unit or the Labor and Delivery unit. Others work as educators of patients or as staff educators, helping to train and orient nursing staff members throughout the organization.
Nursing also covers varying degrees of education as well. Tell us about what sorts of nursing responsibilities go with a registered nurse (RN), or a bachelors degree (BSN), or masters degree, or even PhD's in the nursing field ?
Nurses with a diploma, an associate degree or a BSN degree work throughout UI Hospitals and Clinics as staff nurses, providing care and services in many of the roles I just described. Nurses with advanced degrees, such as Master's degrees, also serve in other more specialized roles such as Advanced Practice Nurses in a particular specialty field of practice or in nursing management or administrative positions. We are very fortunate to have several doctorally prepared nurses on our staff as well, and these nurses serve as leaders in clinical care in certain specialty areas of practice and also lead research and quality management initiatives in our Department .
This year, 10 University of Iowa nurses were included in the 100 Great Iowa Nurses campaign. Is that a testament to your nursing staff?
The inclusion of 10 of nurses in this year's group of 100 Great Iowa Nurses http://www.uihealthcare.com/news/news/2007/03/12nurses.html is absolutely a testament to our outstanding nursing staff, and in fact since the 100 Great Iowa Nurses program began in 2005, 39 of our staff have received this recognition.
UI Hospitals and Clinics was the first hospital in Iowa to achieve MAGNET status. What is MAGNET status and what does it say about the hospitals and clinics?
Magnet http://www.uihealthcare.com/depts/nursing/magnet/index.html status is a recognition of the excellence of the nursing care provided by our nursing staff as evidenced by our demonstration that our nurses meet the Magnet standards as defined by the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC). http://www.nursingworld.org/ancc/
Have there or will there be any special events planned for UI nurses this week?
A day long event was held Monday and was sponsored by our staff nurse council. During that event, we honored and recognized the recipients of this year's 100 Great Iowa Nurses award, as well as those honored in 2005 and 2006.
We also had a special activity this year in which nurses from different clinical areas sponsored brief educational seminars about nursing practice in their work units so other nurses could come and learn about things that aren't done in their particular area of expertise. That was a really exciting event planned by one of our staff nurses. Each member of our nursing staff has or will receive a small gift in honor of their exceptional service and outstanding nursing care they provide every day.
As students at all levels -- elementary school, high school, or college -- consider a possible career in nursing, what advice would you offer to guide them in their decisions about nursing as a career path?
I advise students at all levels to work very hard to develop a strong foundation in basic sciences and mathematics, because they'll need that in any health career that they're interested in. Those that have a specific interest in nursing also need to focus on developing excellent written and verbal communication skills. And I certainly encourage potential nurses to explore the world of nursing by serving as a volunteer in a hospital or another care setting, and by taking advantage of any job shadowing or career development activities that might be focused at learning more about nursing and the various roles nurses play.
If someone was interested in learning more about joining the team of nurses at UI Hospitals and Clinics, is there a phone number or web site the could go to for more information?
Individuals interested in learning more about joining our excellent nursing care team may visit the Department of Nursing Services and Patient Care Web site or contact our nursing human resources staff at 319-356-2120 or 800-777-4692. We'd love to hear from people interested in nursing. |
