Denn issued a proclamation declaring Med-Surg Nurses Week in Delaware and acknowledging the nurses’ lifesaving work. Bayhealth President and CEO Terry Murphy, FACHE, applauded the med-surg nurses for their clinical excellence and their key role in delivering outstanding patient care.

“These nurses sacrifice each day to save lives and help patients during their most difficult hour. For that, we are grateful,” said Murphy.

More than 20 percent of the nurses are serving patients in the Med-Surg Unit, said Bayhealth Medical-Surgical Nurse Manager Kathleen Boyer, RN, BSN. “Even if you begin your hospital stay in another unit, there’s a good chance you will receive care from a med-surg nurse at some point later during your hospitalization,” said Boyer. Med-surg nurses are highly trained in a wide variety of areas, since the patients they care for may suffer from a diverse range of different illnesses.

“A med-surg nurse may sometimes treat a patient who has diabetes, cancer and a cardiac issue all at the same time, so these nurses must demonstrate clinical excellence in a wide range of areas,” said Boyer.

Boyer says med-surg nurses have taken a lead role in developing innovative new nursing protocols at Bayhealth. The med-surg nurses spearheaded the development of a new team-nursing approach, in which an entire team of nurses takes care of a single patient, making the department more efficient and patient care more effective.

Med-surg nurses also created the Transforming Care at the Bedside program, which is a bottom-up rather than top-down management model. The program gives rank-and-file nurses the opportunity to develop ideas for improving patient care. The med-surg nurses have also taken a leadership role with their professional organization.

“Our [med-surg] nurses have started the Diamond Bay chapter of the Medical-Surgical Nurses Association and are to be commended for the work they have done to create such a successful chapter,” said Bayhealth Senior Vice President and Chief Nursing Officer Bonnie Perratto, CNE, MSN, RN, MBA, NEA-BC, FACHE.