By Karen Haller, PhD, RN
VP of Nursing and Patient Care Services,
Johns Hopkins Hospital
Building a new tradition at an institution steeped in history takes months of careful planning. So it is with the photographic exhibits that grace the Nutting Hallway, and change biennially to reflect another face of Hopkins Nursing.
This year, a new exhibit demonstrates how nurses, through collaboration and teamwork, have discovered new ways to improve patient care.
You are invited to meet Sharon Thompson, RN, and Amy Horne, RN who worked with physician colleagues Deborah Armstrong and Rob Bristow to promote the results of a Johns Hopkins clinical trial published in the New England Journal of Medicine in January 2006. The trial led the National Cancer Institute to recommend a new chemotherapy method that can prolong survival for ovarian cancer patients. Our nurses spearheaded the production of a DVD to teach other nurses this new technique and have distributed more than 1,000 copies worldwide.
In another photo-collage, you will meet Martha Kennedy, PhD, RN, an acute-care nurse practitioner who collaborated with Ed Horn, Pharm D, and Amy Campbell, respiratory therapist, to promote a team-based approach to improving patient outcomes in the surgical intensive care units. Patient care and safety were enhanced by developing protocols that are discussed and coordinated among team members and specialists from multiple areas. Many of this team’s innovative treatment plans have been adopted nationwide and worldwide.
The photo collection is located in the corridor that extends to the right just beyond the hospital’s Wolfe Street entrance. Thanks are given to photographer William Gray who coaxed the personality from our professionals, and created an aesthetically pleasing tribute to Hopkins nurses.