Nurses Leading Meaningful Change

About this event

Nurses play a critical role in identifying gaps in care and leading meaningful, system-level improvements that enhance safety, equity, and trust across health-care settings. This session showcases three nurse-led initiatives from Ontario that demonstrate how thoughtful changes to everyday practice can improve experiences for patients, families, learners, and health-care teams.

The first initiative, from The Hospital for Sick Children, addresses perioperative position-related injuries in pediatric surgical care. Following a Serious Safety Event, an interdisciplinary team developed a standardized pressure injury prevention bundle and the P.A.R.L.E.R. framework to guide scheduled intraoperative position checks. Designed with an equity lens, this work promotes assessment beyond visual inspection and has resulted in improved compliance and no reported perioperative position-related injuries when fully implemented.

The second initiative, from Kemptville District Hospital, focuses on privacy in clinical education. By eliminating advance sharing of patient information and introducing real-time student assignments, the project reduced privacy risks while aligning student learning with real-world nursing workflows. Early feedback highlights improved student adaptability and readiness for practice.

The third initiative, from Toronto General Hospital, centers inclusion and visibility in the ICU. Through inclusive signage and pronoun education, this nurse-led work supports more affirming and respectful environments for staff, patients, and families.

Together, these initiatives highlight how nurses lead meaningful change by embedding safety, dignity, and equity into everyday care.

Presenters:

Erin Hempel, RN, BScN, MN(c)
Chloe Prentice, RN, BScN 
Aline Bourgoin, RN, BScN 
Leo Macawile, RN, BScN, CCRN