Welcome from Mairead Hickey, PhD, RN, FAHA, Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Vice President Patient Care Services:

Ongoing learning, focus on knowing the patient and their family, and a willingness to grow and expand professionally exemplify nursing at BWH. We believe our responsibility as nurses is to ensure patients receive excellent care from the very best staff, while developing and expanding the science of our discipline to improve patient care. In today’s complex clinical world, we believe nursing practice is more than performing technical tasks. It is a blend of knowledge, skill, and comportment that is carefully channeled to result in the best care and optimal outcomes for patients and families.

With over 3,000 nurses, practicing across the hospital campus, several ambulatory sites, 11 community health centers, and a new ambulatory facility in Foxborough, our turnover is less than 2% for nursing staff, a remarkable statistic even in these challenging economic times. We believe part of the reason for this is our emphasis on the work environment for BWH nurses, offering them the tools they need to provide the best care possible. Our focus is to keep the practice environment rich and robust so that BWH nurses, who are the very best of their profession, can continue to develop—and in turn provide excellent care to their patients and families.

The quality of nursing care at BWH isn’t merely anecdotal. In patient satisfaction, BWH nurses rank at the very top of all the ninety teaching hospitals of similar size.* During the last two surveys, BWH nurses placed in the 99th percentile both times.

In short, nursing practice at BWH is state-of-the-art, with new opportunities for learning, and the ability to share that learning with colleagues everywhere. At the same time, nursing is evolving as we constantly strive for more growth and development opportunities for our nurses – so they can continue to push the boundaries of knowledge and care for our patients.

Mairead Hickey, PhD, RN, FAHA, Chief Nursing Officer and Senior Vice President Patient Care Services.

* Per the company Press Ganey, which surveys hospital patient satisfaction.