Sals Star of the Week: Kwabena Osei-Bonsu (introduced by Sarah Gilchrist)
Kwabena joined St. Boniface Hospital in the summer of 2019 as a Respiratory Clinical Lead in the Respiratory Therapy department. He has been a valuable team member with a passion for advancing the profession and scope of Respiratory Therapy.
But today I want to celebrate Kwabena for his leadership as a Manager of the Respiratory Therapy and Perfusion Program. It goes without saying, anyone who takes on their first formal leadership role during a global, long, and demanding pandemic is a person with drive. Never afraid to reach out for resources, Kwabena has been able to take momentum and go for it. He often starts a conversation with “I have this idea” or “what about this”– willing to put his ideas into action and carve his path forward. Balancing clinical needs and the demands of being a leader is a tricky balance at the best of times, but he has shown great ability to quickly identify where he needs to be and when.
We are appreciative and thankful he has taken this leap and joined this team!
Cardiac Surgery Inpatient Unit: Program Highlight of the Month
The primary focus of the Cardiac Surgery Inpatient Unit (CSIU) is the care and recovery of post-operative cardiac surgery patients. The CSIU team consists of both a large allied health presence including junior and senior nurses, health care aides, unit clerks, unit attendants, and a group of physician assistants that act as the first medical contact and provide the day to day care in consult with the cardiac surgeons.
All patients are monitored with cardiac telemetry. All CSIU nurses take the Advanced Assessment Course. receiving additional training on rhythm analysis and caring for these complex patients. Staff develop expertise in rehabilitation, temporary pacing, and caring for long-term ventricular assist device (VAD) patients. CSIU nurses administer some medications and perform skills not done on other wards, which facilitates patient flow and prevents some readmissions to the ICU. CSIU staff support the continuous improvement of the care of cardiac patients through participation in research and through t5he development of unit processes such as the Pre-op Walking Program.
CSIU has a long history of being ‘a team player’ and being flexible in adapting to meet the changing needs of the program, of the hospital and of cardiac patients throughout Manitoba. Examples include caring for pre-op patients from other facilities or from the cardiology units, which assists in the flow of cardiac patients from the emergency department to receive the care they require. This was also demonstrated during COVID with the re-location of the Patient Recovery Unit (PRU) to CSIU—resulting in staff having to learn a whole new set of patients skills. The TAVI program has evolved significantly since its inception, as there is increased experience of the TAVI team with doing the procedure. CSIU has adapted along with the TAVI team, with patients now coming directly to CSIU from Y2 after their TAVI instead of spending a night in an ICU setting. In keeping with our culture of adaptation and supporting change, CSIU is currently reviewing and investigating other potential patient care opportunities. Stayed tuned to see what we can accomplish next!
Shout out!
A special congratulations to Clarence Khoo who was the recipient of the Med I and Med II Innovation awards presented by the Manitoba Medical Student’s Association (MMSA) on March 7 in conjunction with the Max Rady College of Medicine’s annual Teacher Recognition and Teaching Awards session. The Innovation Award recognizes an outstanding teacher for their leading improvement, creativity and development of engaging and flexible learning experiences.
This award is another well-deserved recognition to Clarence who also received the Med II Innovation Award last year!
Congratulations!
This week Jamie Chalmers and her husband had a beautiful baby girl.
We are very pleased to welcome Rose Penelope Paul into the CSMB family!
This Week’s Faculty Publications
Scott Donald, Michael P Love, Basem Elbarouni Drill and blast: acute stent regret treated with roto-tripsy Coron Artery Dis. 2022 Mar 1;33(2):157-158. doi: 10.1097/MCA.0000000000001102.
Kevin R Bainey, Alexandra Bastiany, Eric Cohen, Janine Eckstein, Basem Elbarouni, Michelle M Graham, Bakhtiar Kidwai, Andrea Lavoie, Shuangbo Liu, Samer Mansour, Alexis Matteau, Blair O’Neill, Janarthanan Sathananthan, Mathew Sibbald, Robert C Welsh, Mina Madan 2022 CCS/CAIC Guidelines for Training and Retraining in Adult Interventional Cardiology 2022 Mar 4;S0828-282X(22)00154-4. doi: 10.1016/j.cjca.2022.02.027. Online ahead of print.
Ross