By Harry Glazer
Reading a textbook or current medical journal is good. Classroom lectures are fine. Online professional education is useful. But nothing compares to hands-on training, in a real-life scenario, to hone the skills of an active-duty nurse.
The nursing leaders at Parker at McCarrick (PMC) in Somerset, New Jersey understand this fact and have made arrangements to upgrade the professional development opportunities for nursing staff at the home.
Over the summer and early fall Director of Nursing Janet Patullo, Assistant Director of Nursing Nancy Purcell Holmes, and Parker’s Director of Professional Education Lisa Slater investigated local opportunities for PMC nurses to use SIM labs to keep their skills fresh. SIMS labs, often located at medical centers and universities, house high-tech mannequins that can convincingly mimic the various symptoms of a patient in medical distress – eye rolling and uncontrolled shaking indicating a seizure, excessive sweating and high blood pressure to show the signs of a heart attack, and a dozen other medical crisis conditions as well.
After reviewing different options, the group decided to forge a relationship with the SIM Lab at St. Peter’s University Hospital in New Brunswick. The St. Peter’s SIM Lab, led by Dr. Nayan Kothari and the Clinical Education, Nursing Research Team, responded enthusiastically to the PMC inquiry and a partnership was born.
In mid-October, a group of eight nurses from PMC came to St. Peter’s for the first encounter with the SIM Lab. Jim Spaulding, BSN, RN, CCRN, presented a one-hour refresher on head-to-toe physical assessment, congestive heart failure, and the most effective interventions. Then the group were introduced to the two SIM mannequins, one male and one female, and practiced the interventions.
The PMC nurses marveled at the life-like qualities of the mannequins. And the nurse leaders were delighted with the effectiveness of the training.
In the weeks ahead, Parker at McCarrick nursing staff will visit the St. Peter’s SIM Lab, in small groups, so that all of the homes’ RNs and LPNs will have participated in the one-hour congestive heart failure course and practiced with the SIM mannequins. Subsequent classes and practice sessions are already planned for the months ahead, to provide hands-on training in Sepsis and Chronic Obstructive Pulmonary Disease (COPD) management.
“This partnership is a tremendous benefit to our nurses,” says Janet Patullo, Director of Nursing at Parker at McCarrick. “You can see, at the end of each class, how their familiarity with the ‘right’ procedures grows and their confidence in a crisis situation increases as well. We are grateful to St. Peter’s for partnering with us for this state-of-the-art training.”
By Daniel Carr
While we are thankful every year for our many blessings, 2017 stands out among the rest. This year, Parker’s 110th anniversary falls on Thanksgiving Day. We feel proud of all our accomplishments since Henrietta Parker opened Parker at Landing Lane in 1907. We are especially thankful for such a monumental year – we are serving more people than ever, emboldened by our new mission of making aging part of life.
The uplifting sense of gratitude is tangible during this time of the year, and it results in the desire to help out others who are not as fortunate. Parker at Stonegate has been working to raise funds for Susan G. Komen and create toys for Marty’s Place Senior Dog Sanctuary. Parker at River Road has been collecting clothing donations for Elijah’s Promise, and Parker at McCarrick has been accepting non-perishable food for the Franklin Park Food Bank, as well as fundraising for St. Jude’s Children’s Hospital.
This week, all of our residences are proudly displaying “Thanks for Giving” trees, where everyone is encouraged to write a small message on a leaf describing what they are thankful for, and then placing it on the tree like an ornament. In only a few days, the trees are sprinkled with positive messages. You can often find either an Elder or one of our care partners stopping in their tracks to read some of the positive words placed on the tree. It’s a small way we try to express both gratitude for and unity with those around us.
We’re also thankful to have entered the national conversation on aging as a “thought leader” in the industry. We’re happy to be of service to so many people and are grateful for our residents, program participants, employees, care partners, and others who help us fulfill our mission of making aging manageable, relatable and enriching for all of society.