NURSING WEEK 2020 About Meet our Nurses
NURSING WEEK 2020
About | Meet our Nurses
Nursing Week 2020
MEET OUR TEAMS
Nursing Week 2020
MEET OUR TEAMS
OPERATING ROOM, POST ANESTHESIA CARE UNIT & SAME-DAY SURGERY
Birchmount
Operating Room, Post Anesthesia Care & Same Day Surgery Team at Birchmount
How does your team live our SHN values? (Compassionate, Inclusive, Courageous, Innovative)The Birchmount OR, PACU, and Same-Day Surgery nursing team has displayed tremendous acts of kindness and compassion towards one another during this strenuous time. Staff members have gone out of their way to provide emotional support to those experiencing increased anxiety during this pandemic. Nursing staff members have displayed inclusivity as they proactively engage varying members of the interdisciplinary team in proper infection control processes (in particular, personal protective equipment (PPE) donning and doffing practices).
Exemplary teamwork and effective collaboration is seen on a day-to-day basis in these units. Courage is displayed each day as staff members walk through the hospital doors and choose to adapt so effortlessly to changing practices.
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?
This dynamic surgical team has come together during the pandemic period by going above and beyond. The staff have been flexible with scheduling of shifts and supporting each other through the redeployment phase of scheduling.
STROKE CENTRE OF EXCELLENCE
Birchmount
Stroke Centre team at Birchmount
How does your team live our SHN values? (Compassionate, Inclusive, Courageous, Innovative)The Stroke team is transforming patient experience by connecting families with iPads (for video calls) during patient rehab sessions, to be inclusive and innovative.
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?
Our team uplifts and upholds each other to be the best and to do the best to enhance patient experiences and outcomes.
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
Centenary
Emergency team at Centenary
How does your team live our SHN values? (Compassionate, Inclusive, Courageous, Innovative)COVID-19 has brought us all closer together. The five-minute breaks, small moments our nurses share make us a stronger team. Those moments of “we are in this together” help nurses continue doing what they do best and bring happiness in the care they deliver. It is hard, but all our colleagues are happy to fight the COVID-19 battle. Our team comes every day ready to support patients and their families.
In a time when families can only call, the nurses convey information, caring, and support. At times, they have used their own phones so patients can connect with their loved ones sometimes for the last time. Our nurses face barriers like patients in isolation who are behind closed doors, and we aren’t able to communicate like normal. The team leader and other team members got baby monitors so we could see and speak with our patients — opening up conversations beyond a closed door. The team is adjusting, but our care stays close to the values of caring with heart.
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?
Even in the daily dynamic changes — it has been fine because we have each other. We were never on our own, we always supported one another no matter how tough or difficult it was facing an invisible enemy. Everyone not only showed up for work, but also worked in the COVID-19 Assessment Centre and did outreach to nursing homes.
We were all scared as we knew what COVID-19 tragedy looks like; but each nurse had the heart: “I can do this work, send me. I can help”. Although many of our nurses were scared as we saw every age, race, ethnicity, and gender affected — scared for patients, each other and ourselves — our nurses in each moment stayed, continued with care, adjusted and stayed strong to fight. Despite the stress, patients are the priority, “caring for you when you can’t do it for yourself.” Despite the Code Blues, acute changes in patient status, we are never alone as we stand strong together to persevere and overcome these tough challenges. The emergency department nurses never say, “No, we are closed, we have no beds.” No. Our colleagues say, “we got this” and they do it. They get the job done, they do care, and they are the epitome of the heart of nursing.
ONCOLOGY CLINICS
Centenary & General
Oncology Clinic teams at Centenary and General
How does your team live our SHN values? (Compassionate, Inclusive, Courageous, Innovative)Our professionalism and compassion is front and centre as we work together every day to support our patients and their families during their journey with a cancer diagnosis. This is especially true as the Oncology team has come together, supporting the important ongoing changes required to keep our patients and staff safe during the pandemic. Happy Nursing Week!!
INTENSIVE CARE UNIT
Birchmount
Intensive Care team at Birchmount
How does your team live our SHN values? (Compassionate, Inclusive, Courageous, Innovative)It’s great to be a part of one amazing team.
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?
It’s a very difficult and challenging time for all of us, but together we are stronger and we can get through this as one great wonderful team.
REGIONAL CARDIAC CARE CENTRE
Centenary
Regional Cardiac Care Centre team at Centenary
How does your team live our SHN values? (Compassionate, Inclusive, Courageous, Innovative)The cardiac centre team demonstrates their compassion every day. Our ability to put patients at ease and support their families during these challenging times is one of the many ways nurses live the value of compassion.
CORONARY CARE UNIT
Centenary
Coronary Care team at Centenary
How does your team live our SHN values? (Compassionate, Inclusive, Courageous, Innovative)We work together. We collaborate. We support each other. We fight COVID-19 together.
We are an amazing team and we care a lot. We are great at comforting everyone and we encourage everyone to get better.
We provide excellent patient care with genuine and compassionate family support. We utilize an iPad to communicate with family during this pandemic. Each nurse possesses competent skills that enable them to act quickly during emergent and critical situations requiring time-sensitive cardiac intervention.
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?
Teamwork! We always collaborate, support, and are kind to each other.
We created a staff WhatsApp group where we can express concerns and help/support each other this way.
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
General
Emergency team at General
How does your team live our SHN values? (Compassionate, Inclusive, Courageous, Innovative)As the front line at SHN’s General hospital Emergency Department, we have been working hard daily to keep everyone safe and provide the best care possible during these tough times. We are a critical-thinking team, and provide our patients with compassion and care. We are there for them during these hard times when their loved ones cannot be with them.
We are a team of compassionate individuals who bring our best selves forward each day. We are eager to work for our Scarborough community and proud to represent SHN!
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?
COVID-19 has proven to bring out the best in each of us. We were faced with unsure times and ever-changing protocols, but we pulled together and made our team even stronger than we ever thought possible.
We have become an even stronger team by protecting each other and staying together, and have been working hard 24/7 saving lives. We are stronger as a team and we have come together to overcome the challenges that COVID-19 has brought us.
EMERGENCY VOLUNTEERS FOR LONG-TERM CARE FACILITIES
Birchmount & General
Emergency volunteers for long-term care facilities
How does your team live our SHN values? (Compassionate, Inclusive, Courageous, Innovative)Our team of nurses demonstrate courage, compassion, and inclusiveness. We volunteered and came together with no second thoughts as soon as the call for help was out.
We go the extra step to ensure the patient experience and the community comes first. Volunteering to go to long-term care (LTC) facilities to provide COVID-19 testing for the elderly and their staff.
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?
This emergency department team came together from all of our SHN hospitals, and teamed up to help the LTC community. We look out for each other to ensure we all continue to practice safely. Creating opportunity out of challenge. Adapting and informing the new approach to protected Code Blues for everyone’s safety.
9W MEDICINE
Centenary
9W Medicine team at Centenary
How does your team live our SHN values? (Compassionate, Inclusive, Courageous, Innovative)We are a very caring, dedicated, and compassionate team, always putting others before us.
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?
Working tirelessly and courageously to care for those who depend on us to keep them safe and healthy. We also went out to be part of the COVID-19 testing team to swab long-term care residents and staff.
INTENSIVE CARE UNIT
Centenary
Intensive Care team at Centenary
How does your team live our SHN values? (Compassionate, Inclusive, Courageous, Innovative)Compassionate: “Checking in” with each other. Recognizing we are all in this together and that we each have our own feelings, emotions, and vulnerabilities.
Inclusive: Respecting each other — fostering a positive, safe environment that allows everyone to voice ideas and thoughts.
Courageous: Nurses are heroes. Full stop.
Innovative: Addressing issues and developing creative strategies to mitigate them. Examples include ways to store our personal protective equipment (PPE) safely, participating in task force committees, and supporting families who cannot visit their loved ones.
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?
Attending Staff Town Hall meetings, asking questions, sharing information with others to ensure everyone stays informed, attending Task Force meetings, and collaborating with hospital leaders.
EMERGENCY DEPARTMENT
Birchmount
Emergency team at Birchmount
How does your team live our SHN values? (Compassionate, Inclusive, Courageous, Innovative)Our Birchmount Emergency Department team continues to provide excellent care by involving patients in their care plans. Alice, our interpreter has been a big help in assisting us to accurately identify our patients’ concerns.
Just recently, we implemented iPads to connect patients with their families. Our staff have also shown tremendous courage by being willing to pick up overtime hours to support the department when the need arises, volunteering to assist in the long-,term care settings, and so on. They have been very supportive of the changes to our procedures and processes such as the implementation of our bi-directional interface at triage as we find ways to improve our patient care experiences.
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?
We continue to encourage and support each other wherever possible, especially during our daily huddles.
SEXUAL ASSAULT DOMESTIC VIOLENCE CARE CENTRE
Birchmount
Sexual Assault Domestic Violence team at Birchmount
How does your team live our SHN values? (Compassionate, Inclusive, Courageous, Innovative)
We share the philosophy of the Ontario Network of Sexual Assault Domestic Violence Treatment Centre. We are “committed to operating from a feminist analysis of violence, which recognizes the embedded social, cultural, and systemic imbalances within society that promote and maintain violence. As such, we recognize the importance of promoting choice, respect, and empowerment, while honouring differences.”
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?
Our team has been resilient in responding to recent changes. We have come together to support each other during these unprecedented times.
CARDIAC CARE WARD
Centenary
Cardiac Care Ward team at Centenary
How does your team live our SHN values? (Compassionate, Inclusive, Courageous, Innovative)Our team does not let fear of the pandemic overcome our passion for nursing. We consistently provide the best care to our patients.
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?
Our team has been very supportive of each other. We talk about our fears and guide each other on how we would handle each new challenge that comes our way.
4D MEDICINE
Birchmount
4D Medicine team at Birchmount
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?We have responded to this pandemic by working tirelessly and courageously to care for those who depend on us to keep them safe and healthy.
INTENSIVE CARE UNIT
General
Intensive Care Unit team at General
How does your team live our SHN values? (Compassionate, Inclusive, Courageous, Innovative)We show up on the frontlines.
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?
We collaborate as part of a COVID-19 task force to provide safe, compassionate care.
4A MEDICINE
Birchmount
4A Medicine team at Birchmount
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?We have become warriors in the fight against COVID-19. True 4A POWER RANGERS!
We work together as one, with the same values and a positive mindset. We are also a supportive team that advocates for one another and finds ways to cope together.
CRITICAL CARE UNIT
Birchmount
Critical Care Unit team at Birchmount
How does your team live our SHN values? (Compassionate, Inclusive, Courageous, Innovative)Everyday Critical Care nurses improve lives through exceptional care. In the context of this pandemic, our ICUs cared for almost 50% of all confirmed COVID-19 cases in the Central East LHIN. Our teams demonstrate Courage and Compassion everyday as they continue to provide the best care for our patients and their families.
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?
We have developed a COVID-19 task force in collaboration with General and Centenary ICUs. This platform provides a digital space for aligned communication, Q&As, and support for each other during this pandemic.
HEMODIALYSIS CLINIC
Centenary
Hemodialysis Clinic team at Centenary
How has your team come together to respond to recent challenges?
Our team is like a big, extended family — everyone looks out for one another and has gone above and beyond to help each other during these challenging times.