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Stephen Bohan, MD, vice chairman, Emergency Medicine and one of seven 2001 Dennis Thomson Compassionate Care Scholars, shares a view of compassionate care through a physician’s eyes.
The underpinnings of Bohan’s compassionate care project are rooted in a single belief that stems from a mosaic of experiences – from being raised in a medical family, to a career in the Navy and finally a profession in Emergency Medicine. Bohan’s project “Bringing Meaning to Professional Development: Do We Need a Farm Team?” explores the challenges of the nursing shortage and provides creative solutions to reverse national nursing trends. “I believe the heart of compassionate care lies within our nurses,” said Bohan.
Looking both locally and abroad, Bohan has spent his time as a Scholar investigating ways to develop a growing staff of nurses – an area that he sees as integral to the hospital’s mission and Thomson’s ideal of providing compassionate and sympathetic care.
“Compassionate care means being totally open and aware of what the patient is experiencing and creating a link between you and the patient,” described Bohan. “This connection is made not only between the doctor and patient, but is guided by our nurses. In my experiences in the ED, teamwork and collaboration between clinicians working side by side results in the highest level of compassionate care.”
Raised in a family of doctors and nurses, Bohan spent many hours discussing compassionate care at the dinner table when he was a child. His compassionate care project shows that this is an area he continues to reflect upon.
Bohan’s project is centered on providing resources and opening avenues for individuals who may need assistance in their pursuit to become a medical professional. Through structured programs both here in Boston and in underdeveloped nations, he has explored how BWH and Partners HealthCare might be able to identify opportunities for collaboration with different educational institutions. Through work-study programs and educational exchanges and internships, Bohan has identified ways to access potential new nurses to overcome the pending nursing shortage.
“Without skilled and trained nurses, it will be difficult to maintain our standard of service and our commitment to compassionate care,” he said.
While exploring new opportunities, Bohan has also drawn ideas and inspiration from other organizations and past experiences, such as his naval service. “One of the programs I envision is based on the Navy’s Enlisted Nursing Education Program. The basic premise of the program is to identify members of the Navy who express an interest in pursuing a nursing career. The Navy then helps provide a bridge to their education through financial assistance and mentoring, and in return, the newly trained nurses give back to the Navy,” described Bohan.
As a Scholar, Bohan’s research has allowed for a great deal of self-reflection as well. In order to impact change on an organization-wide basis, we must begin with the individual, he noted. “By working on this project I am constantly reminded of the challenge to improve what we do and who we are, because as care providers we can always get better,” he concluded.