171 Ashley Ave.
Charleston, SC 29425
843-792-1414
800-424-MUSC
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March 2006
Feature Story
Taking Care of Our Community's Children: Nursing at the Children's Hospital
Kimberly Harris-Eaton, RN, MSN, wants to be frank and admit something in the simplest way: "I am honored to be able to take care
of the nurses who take care of the babies of our community," she says.
As the nurse manager of the 8D infant toddler unit, Harris-Eaton oversees a staff of nurses, student technicians, secretaries,
clinical associates and volunteers. She voices her satisfaction with her staff - indeed, with the entire pediatric nursing body --
effortlessly and vociferously.
"I am very proud of the nurses at the Children's Hospital and what they do everyday," says Harris-Eaton. "Our nurses have to be so
proficient and aware of all aspects of our patients' care. They are the frontline eyes and ears for all members of the interdisciplinary team."
With children, things can happen fast, she notes, and that makes a nurse's role in a child's care all the more vital. "A child can
become sick so quickly. A nurse has to be aware of what's going on with the patient to be able to communicate effectively and assess
the patient quickly. While doing all this, a pediatric nurse still has to maintain a family-centered environment. That means paying
attention to not only the needs of the small patient, but also of the family--including parents who might be going through the most
stressful event of their lives."
And yet, says Harris-Eaton, there is no match for taking care of children. "No matter how rough of a day you've had, a child can always
make you smile. And pediatric nurses get the opportunity to experience that every day. My job is to make sure they have all the tools
and skills they need to provide the best care for the children of our region."
She and her colleagues are enthusiastic about being on a journey of excellence. That means demonstrating excellence in nursing services
and high performance in the attraction and retention of high quality registered nurses. "We're created a working environment that supports
the staff nurse and superior nursing practice to achieve optimal patient outcomes," says Harris-Eaton.
"We are looking at what we're doing excellently," continues Harris-Eaton. "Nurses are asking questions, and we want to support translation
of their clinical experiences into research questions. This translation will support evidence-based practice through out our organization.
"In collaboration with the systems available throughout the organization, we are actively working with those nurses who are asking about
patient-related care and activities, then taking those questions and putting them into a research component."
Leadership support for nursing at the hospital is strong, with acknowledged expertise of nurse leaders who have gone through the Nursing
Partnership Advancement Program (NPAP) clinical advancement, as well as nurse educators and nurse managers "We're providing forums so
pediatric nurses can ask questions and ask for what they need," says Harris-Eaton.
The education component is also excellent, with nurse educators throughout the Children's Hospital assisting with orientation, competencies,
updates, practice issues and more. "We're also providing staff the tools they need to conduct evidence-based practice at the bedside."
Harris-Eaton also feels very strongly about developing the research role for nurses at the hospital. "We wish to develop nurses involved in
research in 'bringing the bench to the bedside,'" she says. She's eager to increase the collaboration between pediatric nurses and researchers
throughout the hospital. "I'm excited that nurses all over the campus are interested in different capacities of conducting research --my interest
is to make sure they have the tools to conduct research and that they understand the process."
One of the first steps in doing this, she explains, is alerting nurses to the research that's being conducted, and who's doing it. "Involved
nurses are able to integrate research with patient care," she explains. This has become even more important as the NIH charges the research
community to advance nursing practices through research and the application of evidence-based innovations in care. Harris-Eaton points out that
Jean Rhodes, RN, PhD, is facilitating on a donor milk study; Pam Smith, RN, BSN Nurse Alliance Chair elect, is developing research addressing
issues in the pediatric emergency arena; and Robin Bissinger, RN, MSN, NNP, is studying secondary surfactant deficiency. All are nurses at
different academic levels involved in research as well as patient care.
There are lots of changes going on within the Children's Hospital, points out Harris-Eaton - "growth and moving forward," she enthuses. "It's an
interdisciplinary environment in which we all work together as a team - we know we can't achieve excellence without each other. All of this
combines to make the Children's Hospital a great place for nurses to work."
She is biased, she admits: "I love pediatric nurses. We are happy nurses because we have the opportunity to be with kids who are smiling and
laughing even when they're getting the toughest treatment."
She credits her coworkers with much of the hospital's success. "The Children's Hospital is becoming THE place that families throughout the
region bring their children for the best care, and a lot of that is because of the exceptional nursing care provided I am proud to be part
of such a remarkable team!"
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