UHN on the Go is our monthly feature highlighting news and events at UHN.
Education to help nurses take charge
Last month, 22 Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) staff nurses from the Psychiatric Emergency Services Unit (PESU), Emergency Department and the General Internal Medicine team on 4B completed the Charge Nurse Leadership Education Program to prepare them to take on the role of Charge Nurse in their areas.
Charge Nurses are responsible for managing the unit to promote patient and staff safety particularly during off hours as they are the point person for all members of the care team as well as for patients and their families. Although each unit has an orientation for new Charge Nurses, these were based on a unit's routine and lacked the opportunity for leadership skill development.
"Prior to this program, we didn't have standardized education for staff nurses taking on the Charge Nurse role," explains Sandra Li-James, Director, Clinical Practice, TWH and lead of the project's team.
"This course not only provides our nurses with the skills they need to take on this clinical leadership role, but also teaches them how to further promote patient and staff safety at the unit level, and successfully support the care team on their unit."
"Participating in the session was enjoyable, fun, educational, empowering and inspiring," says Pamela Rose, a registered nurse at TWH. "We learned about coaching, mentoring and how to undertake important conversations, which will help us not only as front line staff, but also in our role as charge nurse with colleagues, management, and patients."
The program was organized by unit leadership team members, TWH Professional Practice and Organizational Development and funded through the Nursing Graduate Guarantee Fund.
UHN Library & Information Services improves remote access to electronic library resources
UHN Library and Information Services have improved the way staff and learners can access online library resources remotely.
The Virtual Library is a gateway to the web-based resources provided by UHN Library and Information Services. Through UHN's Virtual Library, staff and learners can access e-books, journals, databases, point-of-care tools, and subject guides that are invaluable for research and patient care information needs.
To login to the Virtual Library:
Go to
www.uhn.ca
Click on the "For Staff" link at the top of the page
Then click on the "Virtual Library" link on the For UHN Staff page.
The system will prompt you for your username and password.
Username: use your UHN e-mail address (ex. John.Smith@uhn.ca)
Password: use your T-ID password. The same password you use to login to your e-mail or computer workstation.
All UHN online library resources will now be available to all UHN Staff regardless of where you are physically located. Please note that the rest of the Corporate Intranet will not be accessible via this link.
Please contact Ron MacPherson from Library and Information Services if you have any questions/comments. You can reach Ron at 416-340-4800 ext. 4279 or by e-mail at
Ronald.MacPherson@uhn.ca
Volunteer Resources gives back
In the last several months, Volunteer Resources at Toronto General Hospital (TGH) and Toronto Western Hospital (TWH) held book sales and bake sales to raise funds for their respective Emergency Departments.
Volunteers baked cupcakes, cookies, muffins, brownies, tarts, and squares, and sold them along with books donated by staff, patients, families and visitors.
The TGH Volunteer Resources team raised $1000 for the hospital's Emergency Department and the TWH Volunteer Resources team raised $500 for its Emergency Department.
The money raised for both Emergency Departments was used to purchase much needed clothing for patients.
