Shriners Children’s Recognizes the Importance of Nurses During National Nurses Week

During National Nurses Week, Shriners Children’s celebrates the importance of over 650 registered nurses throughout the nonprofit healthcare system who make a tremendous impact in the lives of thousands of patients every single year. National Nurses Week is celebrated from May 6 through 12 and provides an opportunity to recognize the differences nurses make in their communities.

Shriners Children’s Chief Nursing Officer Beverly Bokovitz, D.N.P., RN, NEA-BC, FAAN, said nurses at Shriners Children’s have both knowledge and compassion, two essential skills for working with children throughout their hospitals and clinics.

“Shriners Children’s nurses have a role that is all-encompassing, which is different from what you see in other organizations,” Bokovitz said. “Nurses at Shriners Children’s practice ‘wrap-around care’ which means better outcomes for the patients and their families. Our facilities are all-inclusive and may include imaging, therapy, orthotics, telehealth and other specialties – all in one easy location! And, as the largest pediatric subspecialty provider in the world, our nurses combine both specialized knowledge and caring to make a difference in the lives of Shriner Children’s kids. The art and science of nursing are so important, and our nurses excel at both.”

Bokovitz said Shriners Children’s has a very high nursing retention rate; Shriners Children’s national turnover average is significantly lower at many of its facilities, and she attributes that to the focus the nonprofit healthcare system places on empowering their nurses to make a difference.

“Some of our nurses have been with us over 35 years and have been here since some Shriners Children’s locations first opened,” Bokovitz said. “I think our retention rate is so high because of the amount of pride and satisfaction nurses have within their role here. We are proud that our nurses are so engaged with the care they provide and the collaborative work environment with their colleagues. Our nurses are in unique situations because many of our patients stay longer than the typical patient, and that lends itself to a very unique relationship between the patient and nurse.”

That unique relationship has led to Shriners Children’s establishing a program to help their patients age out of Shriners Children’s care system when they turn 18, and ensure they get connected with the right medical support as adults. Bokovitz said Shriners Children’s nurses often act as patient liaisons and advocates for families, providing a valuable support system that often lasts even after the child is no longer being cared for at Shriners Children’s.

“Nurses are the backbone of our healthcare system and that’s especially the case at Shriners Children’s,” Bokovitz said. “We have some patients who we treat throughout their entire childhood, and it's incredible to see the close bonds that form between those families and our nursing staff. They become lifelong healthcare advocates for them and on quite a few occasions, have inspired those patients to also pursue a career in nursing.”