Celebrating Nurses
Montefiore Hospital celebrates the innovations made by nurses. -Photo by Montefiore |
By Una Hopkins DNP, FNP-BC, RN, FACCC, Director of Nursing Research Bronx Voice
May 6, 2024
BRONX - National Nurses Week - May 6 to May 12 - is a time to honor and celebrate the incredible work of nurses and the impact they have on our community.
At Montefiore Medical Center (MMC), one of the key drivers of providing exceptional patient care is its commitment to nursing-led research. Our nursing department empowers nurses to look at new ways to improve the care of each patient who walks through our doors. As the needs of patients evolve, so does the care and skillsets of our nurses.
A Rich History
Nursing research has contributed to health significantly over the last 150 years. Here are a few examples.
In 1859, Florence Nightingale used the battlefields of the Crimean war as her laboratory to understand the injuries and causes of death of the soldiers in her care.
In 1899, The U.S. Patent Office granted nurse and inventor, Letitia Mumford Geer, a patent for a one-handed medical syringe – the precursor of the modern syringe.
In the 1900s, Nancy Ellicott continued the trend of innovation among nurses. As a frontline healthcare professional, Ellicott looked for ways to redesign cumbersome tasks in nursing, maintain a germ-free environment and tend to patient needs. Among her inventions are the ceiling-mounted runners and curtains used to maintain privacy between patients in their hospital rooms, and the hamper on wheels used to transport dirty linen.
Today, nursing research is recognized and promoted through the National Institute of Nursing Research (NINR), a division of the National Institutes of Health (NIH)—advancing the practice of nursing and the patient experience.
Nursing-Led Research Improves Health Outcomes
Research efforts at MMC are focused on both what is happening in our hospitals and primary care locations, as well as factors beyond our facilities, such as social determinants of health - the conditions that people are born into, work and live in, like housing, transportation, and education, which impact health outcomes.
Many of our nursing research initiatives have been featured at internal and national meetings and our goal is to increase the number of research projects to continue to inform care and enhance the health of our community. Listed below are just a few of the projects that demonstrate the impact of nursing-led research.
Food Insecurity and Preterm Birth
We’re exploring the link between a mother’s access to healthy food and risk of prematurely giving birth. We are developing initiatives that improve health outcomes for all Bronx families with a newborn, including community outreach at local bodegas and prescribing fresh produce as ‘food as medicine’ through our Fresh Connect program in partnership with Stop & Shop.
Making Needles Less Scary for Kids
Our nurse-investigators found that using a colorful vibrating ice pack helped with pain perception among children who had to have procedures, like blood draws, using needles.
Infection Prevention Device
We refined procedures for newborns who needed catheters in our intensive care unit, to reduce the risk of serious bloodstream infections.
We hope this type of research will inform national nursing-led efforts to advocate on behalf of patients.
This Nurses Week, I encourage nurses at any stage of their career to consider new ways to approach operations and direct patient care, and for every nurse out there, I thank you for your hard work, dedication and passion for improving the care of others!
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