The Best Staff

BWH is proud of nurses’ many achievements. Each month, BWH Nurse recognizes some of these achievements here. If you or your nurse colleague gains a promotion, earns a new degree or certification or receives an award, please let us know at bwhnurse@partners.org

Degrees and Professional Certifications

Heather Beane, MSN, RN, staff nurse in the OB Float Pool in CWN, in May graduated from Boston College with her masters of science in Nursing with a specialty in family practice.

Donna Cook, RN, a staff nurse on Tower 15AB, in June received initiation and training as a Reiki Level One Practitioner.

Rachel Knott, RN, PCCN, of Tower 14CD, has become the first nurse on her unit to obtain the Progressive Care Nurse certification from the American Association of Critical Care Nurses organization. This designation denotes practitioners who possess a distinct and clearly defined body of knowledge for progressive care.

Bill Poirier, MSN, RN, of Tower 9CD, graduated with his master’s degree from the University of Phoenix. He will be a clinical instructor at Boston College this fall.

Clare True Weissman, MSN, RN, of Tower 4B, who has worked at BWH for 27 years, completed her master of science in Nursing with a specialty in Education from Walden University in December.

Patricia Ide, MS, RN, CNOR, perioperative staff nurse in the Operating Room, coauthored with David Lautz, MD, and Elliott Farber, MD, “Perioperative Nursing Care of the Bariatric Surgical Patient” in the July 2008 AORN Journal.

Virginia Silva, MSN, RNC, FNP-C, coordinator of Fetal Therapy and Clinical Educator in the Center for Labor & Birth, coauthored with physicians from the Fetal Cardiac Intervention team from both BWH and Children’s Hospital “Results of In Utero Atrial Septoplasty in Fetuses with Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome,” which has been accepted for publication in the Journal of Prenatal Diagnostics. She also coauthored “In Utero Aortic Valvuloplasty for Aortic Stenosis with Evolving Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome: Testing the Theory of Flow-Mediated Cardiovascular Growth in the Human Fetus” for Journal of Pediatrcis, which is due to be published at a later date.

Vincent M. Vacca, Jr., MSN, RN, CCRN, nurse educator of the Neuroscience ICU on Tower 9 CD, wrote “Hyperkalemia - Action Stat” in the July issue of Nursing 2008.

Ilene Fleischer, MS, RN, CWOCN, volunteered at the Youth Rally camp in July at San Diego State University for children ages 11 - 17 with ostomies and bowel and/or bladder dysfunction. The camp provides a non-threatening environment where adolescents with alterations of bladder and/or bowel function receive education and psychosocial support that encourages independent living.

Ronna Zaremski, MSN, RN, CCRN, nurse educator of Tower 14CD, was one of six nurses from across the country to serve as an item reviewer for the National Council of State Boards of Nursing (NCSBN) Licensure Examination July 2008 in Chicago. She was selected by the Massachusetts State Board of Nursing and by the NCSBN. Gersh was nominated on the basis of her clinical specialty and clinical expertise.

Two BWH nurses were elected to positions of leadership by their colleagues in the Association of Perioperative Registered Nurses Massachusetts Chapter One. Pearl Cunningham, MBA, BSN, RN, CNOR, nurse manager of the Operating Room, was elected treasurer, and Carole Kubiak, BSN, RN, CNOR, OR assistant nurse manager, was elected president.

At left, Mary Kennedy, MS, RN, CCRN, of the Weiner Center, traveled to Monrovia, Liberia with Project Hope in April. The group consisted of 15 nurse practitioners, educators, midwives and pharmacists selected from all over the US. Project Hope was invited by the president of Liberia to evaluate the health care and staff education needs at JFK Memorial Hospital in Monrovia.