The health care delivery system, especially in the hospital setting, calls for a dynamic and quality service from the staff. Nurses are the forefront of health care and we must always strive for effectiveness and competence as we go through the nursing process of assessment, nursing diagnosis, planning, implementation, and evaluation.
This week, we will feature a nurse whose role as the Research and
Systems Manager in one of the top notch hospitals in the Philippines. His work
experience enabled him to progressively realize research as an integral part of
the nursing profession. He even added that the foundation of nursing research
boils down to the never ending questions of “What?”“Why?”“How?” and “What is
next?”. Let us bring in on Marion Gerald M. Mangalindan of St. Luke's Medical Center (SLMC).
Marion obtained his BS Nursing degree at Our Lady of Fatima University-Valenzuela City in 2008. He is also completing his masters in nursing degree at the Trinity University of Asia-Quezon City.
In June 2009, he joined SLMC and has been with the latter for more than five years. SLMC is known as one of the high quality hospitals in the country with more than 500 nurses employed.
In June 2009, he joined SLMC and has been with the latter for more than five years. SLMC is known as one of the high quality hospitals in the country with more than 500 nurses employed.
He first worked as a staff nurse at the Pulmonary Care Unit, OphtaCare
Unit (2010) and as an Assistant Nurse Manager of three general units. In 2014,
he joined the Nursing Research Systems Management and Accreditations Department
under the Nursing Care Group.
He is currently working as the Research and Systems Manager (nursing
research and quality) and the NDNQI Site Coordinator and Survey Coordinator of
SLMC Quezon City.
In 2014, SLMC-QC and GC have participated in the National Database of Nursing Quality Indicators® (NDNQI), an external database that collects and measures data from the different nurse-sensitive indicators. Nurse-sensitive indicators reflect the structures, processes and outcomes of nursing care. Examples of indicators include falls, pressure ulcers, IV Infiltrations, physical restraints, healthcare-associated infections and other indicators. NDNQI helps to determine the current status of nursing care and identify nursing units that need specific interventions for quality improvement purposes.
“As the site coordinator, I am primarily responsible for the data collection, submission, interpretation and dissemination of NDNQI results to executives, managers and staff nurses. My role is to make everyone aware of their performance through the data gathered. I have staff nurses working with me in conducting prevalence surveys and discussion of findings. NDNQI is founded on the basic tenet of research suggesting that empowerment of staff nurses improve patient outcomes while exemplary outcomes translate into patient satisfaction.”
“I am the primary point of contact between NDNQI and the hospital, I manage staff access to website, I manage the units (including enrollment and selection of hospital units), I supervise accurate data collection and submission for the various nurse-sensitive indicators, and I also disseminate and interpret staffing and clinical indicators report.”
“As the survey coordinator, my role encompasses unit management, hospital survey planning and collection, analysis, and dissemination of RN Survey reports. RN surveys play a very vital role in gauging and improving the nursing practice environment. I am also part of the team who classifies and analyzes different issues or incidents in the hospital. Any issue reported by patients, doctors, nurses and allied medical professionals are discussed collaboratively ensuring a “blame free” environment through the AM Huddle initiated by our Head and Chief Nursing Officer.”
“At the end of the day, root cause analysis and problem resolutions are ensured. Resolutions are monitored through timelines. It again boils down to “What difference have you made?”
Some of the Process and Performance Improvement (PPI) projects initiated in collaboration with nurses and other stakeholders include the following:
a. Safety Event Analysis Learning Sheet (SEALS) March 2014
Aim: Classify patient safety incidents and formulate effective interventions based on the identified cause. It is adapted from the WHO International Classification of Patient Safety.
b. End of Shift Hand-off Tool- September 2014
Aim: Standardize shift to shift hand-off of direct care nurses, to ensure continuity of care and seamless communication among nurses.
c. SAFE Diet Check –September 2014
Aim: Deliver the right food to the right patient. It promoted collaboration among nurses, food servers and patients. Such partnership, prevent errors related to diet.
“Basically, my primary job is to assist nurse leaders and staff nurses in decision making through the data. Our assumptions should be supported by data. We can never improve what we cannot measure.”
“Being exposed to various nursing areas has opened my eyes to many things. It stimulated my hunger for continuous improvement. It also kept me on the ground. Often times, boredom and exhaustion stop people. Seemingly, this occurs if one’s vision is not clear. I contemplated and reminisced, I am called a nurse for a purpose. Having that in mind, the routine work of a manager becomes extraordinary, every day becomes an opportunity for growth and a chance to make a difference.”
“Making a difference means bringing an impact to one’s person by all means even in little ways. Every day became a new experience for me. These new experiences required openness to change. Resistance to change is normal, but stopping change is abnormal and that’s so impossible.”