Achievements
Clinical Impact:
Participated in development of clinical protocols at Prentice Women’s Hospital.
Revised Hypoglycemia Protocol, new admission protocol for babies born to women
with chorioamnionitis.
Participated in changes made to protocols/practice guidelines of the Code Team at
Prentice. Also participated in improving the consultation service for the
Labor/Delivery floor and postpartum nurseries provided by the hospitalist group.
Assisted in development and implementation of new Mother/Baby unit opened
(May ’10) at Prentice Women’s Hospital. This unit was initiated due to the recent
CDC guidelines which described the need to provide empiric antibiotics for all
infants born to mothers diagnosed with chorioamnionitis. At that time, infants born
at Prentice required transfer to the NICU for antibiotic therapy and therefore were
separated from Mothers recovering on postpartum floors. With the development of
this new unit, mother/baby pairs may stay together during the infant’s sepsis
evaluation and empiric antibiotic treatment. My role as site leader allowed me to
participate in planning meetings with Dr. Khan, Dr. Steinhorn and various Nursing
coordinators. I also worked closely with the hospitalist staff who now provide
24hour/365 days per year medical evaluation and treatment for these at risk
patients.
Proposed and revised models of hospitalist coverage of various medical units at
Prentice. The resident involvement with the medical teams at prentice is dynamic,
and changes frequently with work hour restrictions and with changes in hospital
affiliation. This results in significant alterations in need for hospitalist coverage. As
site leader, I provided feedback to various Resident work hour teams on how to best
utilize the hospitalist workforce during these transitions to fill gaps in coverage.
Proposed and participated in quality initiatives for the NICU. I have worked closely
in conjunction with Dr. Steinhorn and Dr. Khan to improve parent satisfaction and
ensure patient safety for NICU, mother/baby unit patients during high census
months.
Teaching/Education:
Resident Teaching: During the past 7 years I have provided bedside and didactic
teaching to residents. As a member of the Code Team, I provide guidance and
instruction in the delivery room. I also present simulated delivery room/newborn
nursery code situations for the residents during overnight calls.
Resident Education:
As a laison between the NICU group and the CMH residency program I help establish
ways to improve the educational experience at Prentice. I work with chief residents,
Dr. Unti and Dr. Collins to address concerns regarding particular areas of resident
education and workflow issues of the unit. I have also worked diligently in the
development of the Hospitalist workforce to provide additional teaching during
rounds and on-call.
I have also participated in the initiative to encourage residents to be the firstresponders (active participants in resuscitation) of infants in the delivery room. I
have developed plans to provide Hospitalist guidance and real time teaching for the
residents in the delivery room.
Hospitalist Education:
Prentice NICU is now participating in providing additional post-residency
experience in delivery room management. I have been working on ways to provide
appropriate supervision, guidance and support for hospitalists in this program. This
effort includes developing a tool to assess delivery room resuscitation competency
and create a Hospitalist education task force. The education task force includes
multiple hospitalists, including myself, with support from faculty members in
Neonatology. The goal of this enhanced delivery room experience is to provide
outstanding hospitalists available to work in a variety of delivery rooms throughout
the CMH system.
Leadership
As Site Leader for Prentice NICU I am responsible for recruitment and retention of
our hospitalist workforce. This currently includes 12 hospitalists dedicated to
Prentice NICU. I work diligently with Dr. Rachel Purdy and Dr. Ruth Deddish to
maintain the complicated Prentice schedule which includes Pediatric and ER
residents, Advanced Nurse Practitioners, Fellows and hospitalists. I head monthly
meetings with the hospitalist group to continue to update staff on changes to
protocols and practice guidelines.
In my leadership role I encourage increased hospitalist involvement in resident
teaching and in quality improvement projects at Prentice
I provide constructive feedback to the hospitalists and opportunities for individual
improvement in clinical acuity. (?competency)
As the hospitalist role at Prentice has evolved over time, I provide encouragement
and support for smooth transitions and act as advocate for hospitalist requests.