Dear Colleagues,

The voices of all Brigham and Women's nurses are essential to our patients' health and well being. In this issue of BWH Nurse, you will see how this theme was brought home in the State of the Department of Nursing address and in the acceptance speech delivered by our amazing Essence of Nursing Award recipient Roger Blanza BSN, RN, at our Nurse Recognition dinner. 

Shared decision-making among nurses through our committee structure is essential to great patient care.

At the State of the Nursing Department address, it was wonderful to hear from the clinical nurse co-chairs of our committees about the work that each committee is doing. Each co-chair spoke about how the knowledge gained through his or her committee work improved outcomes and/or the human experience for patients and their families.  

Our Standards, Policies and Procedures Committee provides a forum to coordinate, review and monitor practice standards based on current evidence. The Quality, Safety and Care Improvement Committee is promoting commitment to continuous improvement, nurse-sensitive outcome measures and a culture of safety for our patients and their families. The Nursing Practice Committee is unbundling our narratives to guide us in understanding the ever-evolving excellence of nursing practice at BWH that our patients and their families have come to know and count on. The Patient Education Committee ensures that we meet the complex and demanding needs of our patients on their journey toward effective self management and wellness. And, last but not least, the Informatics and Clinical Innovation Committee is ensuring that our practice is supported by-and not driven by-technology. The work of these committees will be even more critical as we launch Partners eCare, a single electronic record that will travel with the patient across all Partners entities, in June of 2015. 

I am happy to announce that we will be launching the Nursing Research Committee in the near future. This newest committee will support our efforts to evaluate, diffuse and develop new nursing knowledge in service to our patients and their families. 

It is my sincere hope that each of you finds a forum where you bring your voice and your best thinking, knowledge and passion in service of our patients and their families. Whether as a member of a Department of Nursing committee or unit-based practice council, or through innovations unit work, family meetings, or interdisciplinary rounds, it is our  privilege and obligation to ensure that nursing's unique contribution is brought forward to shape and inform patient care.

As nursing is the most trusted profession in this country, our patients are counting on our nursing voice each and every day!  Thank you for all that you do.  

Jackie Somerville, PhD, RN

Senior Vice President of Patient Care Services and Chief Nurse