PSNA kicked off its 2016 Star Leadership Institute with a banquet on April 27, 2016 at The Gettysburg Hotel. PSNA was pleased to welcome Institute graduate James Ballinghoff, Chief Nursing Officer/Associate Executive Director at Penn Presbyterian Medical Center. James brought a leadership presentation to the banquet, addressing the 2016 Class: “You’ve been identified as a nurse with star quality. Be proud. You are sitting in a room filled with stars of the nursing profession. I can’t wait to hear how your careers impact our world.”
During the banquet, PSNA also recognized its 2015 Emerging Nurse Leader Award recipient, Paula Pearson Watkins, MSN, RN, NEA-BC. Watkins is a nurse manager with the Rhoads 7 Oncology/Bone Marrow Transplant Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania. The PSNA Emerging Nurse Leader Award recognizes an RN who has completed the PSNA Star Leadership Institute program and demonstrates innovative thinking, a commitment to the advancement of nursing and transformational leadership. In late 2013, Paula led her unit team in achieving the Beacon Award for Excellence through the American Association for Critical Care Nurses. Her group has consistently achieved high patient satisfaction and nurse satisfaction scores. She is a team leader for an interdisciplinary performance improvement project aimed at improving inpatient safety and readiness for transport to radiology. In addition, she is a member of a team focused on reducing cancer patient falls. In summer 2015, Paula successfully launched the Susan D. Flynn Oncology Nursing Fellowship Program, intended to stimulate the career interest and foster the professional development of potential oncology nurses. With her guidance, the Pennsylvania program supported three nurses from two different universities with the opportunity to shadow nurses in various roles in a comprehensive cancer program. Paula embodies the Star Leadership Institute’s goal of embracing change and accepting positions to design an improved healthcare system.
The Institute held two educational days on April 28 and April 29. Sessions included: “Inter-Professional Collaboration” (Kathy Chappell, VP, ANCC Accreditation Program), “Finance 101” (Paul Tarves, CNO, Evangelical Community Hospital), “What Could You Do with $600,000” (Melanie Duffy, clinical nurse specialist, PinnacleHealth System), “Hiring, Firing and Everything In Between” (Lucretia Clemons, Partner, Ballard Spahr, LLC), “Crucial Conversations: Tools for Talking when Stakes are High” (Kevin Brown, Master Trainer, VitalSmarts) and “Problem-Based Learning” (Betsy Snook, CEO, PSNA).
Between April and November 2016, the Institute participants will be matched with a mentor to complete individual projects focusing on an issue within their unit or department. Day 3 of the Institute will be held on November 4, 2016, where participants will share their projects and explain how they have applied evidence-based practice within their organizations.
The PSNA Star Leadership Institute is designed to assist nurses achieve their leadership goals. Participants engage in interactive leadership competency sessions and apply their new skills through quality change project within their organizations. The Institute has worked with 119 graduates since 2007.
PSNA thanks our event Diamond Sponsor – Thomas Jefferson University College of Nursing.
