Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre achieved the Best Practice Spotlight Organization Designation (BPSO) with the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) in May 2013.
Committed to Excellence in Nursing Practice
“Things don’t have to change the world to be important” -Steve Jobs
This quote from tech giant Steve Jobs, an innovator who championed changes that continue to shape the world we live in, emphasizes how even small changes can be important.
Even before Thunder Bay Regional Health Sciences Centre TBRHSC moved into our new hospital in 2004, we began working with the Registered Nurses Association of Ontario (RNAO) Best Practices Guidelines (BPGs) Institute with the goal of reviewing the practice of nursing at our hospital and to make positive changes to the nursing care we provide. We were looking to support the transition from community hospital to a teaching hospital, linked to what eventually became the Northern Ontario School of Medicine (NOSM). The BPG Institute was just beginning to look at nursing practice from an evidence based, research focused approach. The goal being to separate nursing practices from the “we have always done it this way” rationale for how nursing care is delivered to patients and instead, identifying nursing practices that provides the most positive benefits to patients and their families.
When you commit to looking at nursing practice through an evidence based, research supported lens, you also commit to making changes when change means better patient outcomes. You also commit to measuring the impact of those changes by collecting evidence and tracking patient outcomes.
Jumping forward to 2022, TBRHSC is a RNAO Best Practice Spotlight Organization (BPSO). We are part of an international network of over 1000 other BPSOs, committed to evidence based nursing practice. We have implemented changes in practice and developed policies and procedures designed to reduce the incidence of pressure injuries and patient falls. BPGs have been introduced in every patient care unit and department and have been critically important to establishing standards of patient care. For example: initiatives that help our most frail patients, support a safer work environment and that expedite patient access to chemotherapy via nurse inserted PICC lines.
The TBRHSC Nursing Practice Council will also support this evidence based review of nursing practice as it identifies practice priorities and promotes professional excellence.
For more information on our BPSO or the Nursing Practice Council, please email nurses@tbh.net
RNAO Best Practice Guidelines Implemented at TBRHSC
Foundational Best Practice Guidelines
- Establishing Therapeutic Relationships
- Developing and Sustaining Nursing Leadership
- Developing and Sustaining Safe, Effective Staffing and Workload Practices
Addictions and Mental Health Best Practice Guidelines
- Integrating Tobacco Interventions into Daily Practice
Chronic Diseases Best Practice Guidelines
- Assessment and Management of Foot Ulcers for People with Diabetes
Clinical Management Best Practice Guidelines
- Risk Assessment and Prevention of Pressure Injuries
- Promoting Safety Alternative Approaches to Restraints
- Assessment and Management of Pain
- Care and Maintenance to Reduce Vascular Access Complications
Healthy Work Environment Best Practice Guidelines
- Preventing and Managing Violence in the Workplace
- Collaborative Practice Among Nursing teams
Older Persons Best Practice Guidelines
- Delirium, Dementia, and Depression in Older Adults: Assessment and Care
- Oral Health: Supporting Adults Who Require Assistance
- Preventing Falls and Reducing Injury from Falls
- Promoting Continence Using Prompted Voiding
- Screening for Delirium, Dementia and Depression in Older Adults
