Nursing Annual Report 2022
Nursing Annual Report 2022
It’s been another year of incredible achievements for the UAB Medicine nursing team! This report highlights some of the accomplishments in 2022 by UAB Medicine nursing services staff and our academic nursing partners. UAB Medicine nurses not only implemented evidence-based best practices, but we also developed new best practices of our own. Our successes are a direct result of the special environment we create, which promotes shared governance and empowers those at the bedside to advocate, collaborate, and innovate to provide the highest-quality of patient-centered care.
UAB Medicine nursing services encompasses approximately 4,200 nurses and 1,200 technical and support staff. Together, we take pride in our five consecutive Magnet designations, and we continue to strive for quality and excellence to maintain this designation. We focus on collaboration – within the hospital, across our ambulatory clinics, with the UAB School of Nursing, and with our patients and their families – to deliver on our mission of making UAB nursing the national leader in the practice of professional nursing.
Awards & Recognition
Nursing awards & recognition
At UAB Medicine, we hire talented, caring people who are committed to our mission. Our nursing staff make a positive impact across the Birmingham area and beyond, as reflected by our national recognitions and certifications. We have also created internal honors that reinforce our core values and spotlight staff who raise the bar for nursing care at UAB Medicine.
New nursing scholarships support students and promote diversity
Three UAB Medicine nursing professionals created two endowed scholarships for underrepresented students seeking careers in nursing. They hope these UAB School of Nursing scholarships will help eliminate obstacles for deserving students and increase diversity within the nursing profession.
New Knowledge, Innovation, & Improvement
The COVID-19 pandemic changed our nursing communication in many ways. Nursing leaders established creative and innovative ways to turn challenging times into positive information-sharing sessions across the organization.
Nursing at UAB Medicine has made greater use of telehealth with approaches that are here to stay – at the bedside, in clinics, and in patients’ homes. These new approaches help nurses provide more flexible patient care and make better use of the knowledge that experienced nurses have.
This nursing council was created to organize the diverse input of individual nurses and create actionable, data-driven solutions. This council laid a foundation in 2022 to improve nursing practice, care quality, and patient safety.
Nurses In Action
The WE CARE program was created to promote resiliency in UAB Medicine’s nursing workforce, in part by implementing evidence-based training to address burnout, suicide, mental health conditions, and substance use disorders.
UAB Medicine nursing leadership redoubled our efforts to maintain an inclusive workplace where all employees feel safe and encouraged to express themselves.
When patients are admitted to the hospital through the Emergency Department, they often have to wait there until a room is available. UAB Medicine nursing leadership designed and implemented a solution to reduce boarding times and improve patient care.
Community Involvement
UAB using Magnet4Europe research to improve nurse well-being
UAB Medicine maintains its Magnet designation through the American Nurses Credentialing Center (ANCC), which recognizes organizations for excellence in nursing and improved patient outcomes. Through a new initiative called Magnet4Europe, we began working with the University Hospital of Düsseldorf, a German hospital “twinning partner”, to make similar research-driven improvements.
UAB nurses provided medical support to World Games and USFL events
The 11th edition of The World Games (TWG) was held in Birmingham, Ala., July 7-17, 2022, and the inaugural season of the United States Football League (USFL) kicked off on April 16, 2022, with UAB Medicine serving as the official medical sponsor or provider. UAB Medicine supplied clinical volunteers to oversee the health and medical safety of individuals associated with the events.
Career Growth & Engagement Opportunities
The UAB Medicine/Wallace State Community College (UAB/WSCC) Nursing Workforce Initiative (NWI) creates a pathway for full-time UAB Medicine employees to advance their career by earning a licensed practical nurse (LPN) certificate or associate degree in nursing (ADN), effective in 2023.
At UAB Medicine, we design programs and opportunities for our nursing team members to develop their personal and professional skills. We empower nurses to be more autonomous – to advocate, collaborate, and innovate with the goal of providing the highest quality, evidence-based care. Learn more about our 2022 career growth and engagement opportunities and their impact