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National acclaim for Dr. Teri Chenot’s nursing safety efforts

A Jacksonville University Nursing professor who has devoted years to helping improve patient care and safety is getting kudos nationally for her work and research.

Dr. Teri Chenot of the JU College of Health Sciences was invited to help plan the 2014 Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) National Forum in Baltimore May 27-29, and was then tapped to present twice at the prestigious event, which is geared toward highlighting and training the most innovative nursing leaders in the country.

Chenot first spoke on her study of efforts to boost the quality of patient health by combining the efforts of QSEN with the national Magnet Recognition Program, which recognizes healthcare organizations for their patient care, nursing excellence and innovation.

Roberta Christopher, left, and Teri Chenot
Roberta Christopher, left, and Teri Chenot

Dr. Chenot and co-presenter Roberta Christopher, Director of Nursing Research and Magnet at UF Health Jacksonville, then presented an overview of their efforts to help create QSEN workshops across the state culminating in a Florida QSEN Summit, which will ensure residents have access to safe, high-quality nursing and healthcare.

That summit, scheduled for 2016, is part of an effort funded by a $45,000 Florida Blue Foundation grant to JU’s College of Health Sciences to help develop training modules that will aid nurses in improving the quality and safety of the health care systems in which they work.

The three-year project, which began Jan. 1 of this year, is titled “A Statewide Initiative Integrating Quality and Safety Education for Nurses (QSEN) Through Academic/Clinical Partnerships to Improve Health Outcomes.” It will be examined as a potential pilot program to be rolled out nationwide.

“The goal of QSEN is to address the challenge of preparing nurses with the knowledge, skills and attitudes necessary to continuously improve the quality and safety of the healthcare systems in which they work,” Dr. Chenot said. “The presentations were selected by a peer-review process at the national level and reflect innovation in quality and safety to improve health outcomes. The JU College of Health Sciences continues to promote innovation, which is evident by its continued growth in programs and scholarly work produced by its faculty.”

Chenot and Christopher continue to build on their current research in quality and safety that exemplifies cutting-edge collaboration between academia and clinical practice. This partnership is enhancing the education of new graduates and practicing nurses to improve health outcomes at the state and national levels.

The annual QSEN National Forum attracts innovators and leading nursing faculty who share their innovations in course design and teaching strategies; research on quality and safety education; and practical implementation of safety programs.

Chenot focuses her research on patient safety and improving health outcomes, and by serving on the national planning committee for the conference for the second year, she is helping to move that initiative ahead. Chenot has now presented at the conference the past five years.

The two presentations by Chenot and Christopher were “Taking It to the Next Level: Integrating QSEN and Magnet to Improve Health Outcomes,” (https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5YGF5c2vqn5UjFEbHdNc2UxalU/edit); and “A Statewide Initiative Integrating QSEN Through Academic/Clinical Partnerships to Improve Health Outcomes,” (https://docs.google.com/file/d/0B5YGF5c2vqn5amRWTHN5TlhQcVU/edit).

For more about JU’s College of Health Sciences and its School of Nursing, visit http://ju.edu/COHS.