Nurses play an integral role in ensuring successful transitions across settings of care, stages of health, and seasons of life. Their essential contributions extend far beyond direct patient care, with nurse researchers and policy experts leading critical advances in knowledge and practice.

Recently, this research has helped ensure the inclusion of a family caregiver’s name in the medical record of every hospital inpatient upon admission, highlighted the contributors of burnout associated with working in a stressful environment, and produced many other findings and innovations that have translated into better care for patients.

These important contributions to research were highlighted during the Mount Sinai Health System’s Nursing Research Day, organized by the Center for Nursing Research and Innovation (CNRI) at Mount Sinai. Hundreds of nurses participated in the program, which featured nationally renowned experts in research and policy, and 30 poster presentations representing the work of 127 Mount Sinai nurses and colleagues across the greater New York region.

The full-day symposium was held at the Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai and streamed throughout the Health System on Friday, November 10, 2023. The theme was “Crossing the Divide: The Role of Nursing in Navigating Transitions of Care.”

“Thanks to our wonderful planning committee made up of colleagues from across the Health System, Nursing Research Day highlighted research that is shaping nursing practice and policy across the United States at the intersection of community resources and support,” says Bevin Cohen, PhD, MPH, MS, RN, Associate Professor of Geriatric and Palliative Medicine at Icahn Mount Sinai and Director of the CNRI. “It was especially inspiring to see research conducted by our own nursing staff colleagues, who are dedicated to advancing patient care and making a difference in the lives of patients and their families.”

Attendees were welcomed by leaders from across the Health System, including Beth Oliver, DNP, RN, FAAN, Senior Vice President and Chief Nurse Executive, every Chief Nursing Officer, and David Reich, MD, President, Mount Sinai Hospital and Mount Sinai Queens. Dr. Reich shared that one of the highlights of his career has been working with an academic Department of Nursing committed to research that immediately translates into better care for patients. Linda Valentino, DNP, RN, Chief Nursing Officer, Mount Sinai Hospital, and Jill Goldstein, MA, MS, RN, Vice President Patient Services and Deputy Chief Nurse Officer, Mount Sinai Queens, were on site for much of the day to welcome nurses and thank them for their dedication to taking on challenging projects that advance practice.

Kicking off the formal agenda, keynote speaker Susan Reinhard, PhD, RN, FAAN, Senior Vice President and Director, AARP Public Policy Institute and Chief Strategist, Center to Champion Nursing in America and Family Caregiving Initiatives, presented “Health Care Transitions: Translating Research into Policy and Practice.” Dr. Reinhard’s extensive work focuses on advocating for the more than 50 million family caregivers in the United States. Her research contributed to the enactment of the Caregiver Advised Record and Enable (CARE) Act in 46 U.S. states and territories, ensuring the inclusion of a family caregiver’s name in the medical record of every hospital inpatient upon admission. Beyond data collection, Dr. Reinhard emphasized what it takes to be successful in research, including humanizing the data, engaging stakeholders, garnering media attention, and delving deeper into findings. Her research produced an evidence-based video series available online and for free to caregivers.

Shifting from a focus on caregiving to caring for caregivers, clinical psychologist Jonathan DePierro, PhD, Associate Professor of Psychiatry, Icahn Mount Sinai, and Associate Director, Center for Stress, Resilience, and Personal Growth, presented “Research-Driven Insights into Nursing Resilience, Mental Health, and Retention.” Dr. DePierro shared his team’s research on the individual and systematic contributors of burnout associated with working in a very high-stress, high-demand environment. He also outlined innovative programming offered through the Center and the Office of Well-Being and Resilience, which has the most comprehensive services to support clinician wellbeing in the nation.

The morning’s program also included presentations by the Evidenced-Based Practice Fellows at the Mount Sinai Phillips School of Nursing, which featured ABSN student Caroline Quinn’s findings on screening and intervening for postpartum depression and ABSN student Batsheva Weinberger’s findings on pediatric preoperative anxiety. This was followed by a robust poster session highlighting findings from nurses across the Health System, which can be found here. Select abstracts presented during the poster sessions will be published in a special issue of Practical Implementation of Nursing Science (PINS). Published by Mount Sinai’s Levy Library Press, PINS is an open access, peer-reviewed journal designed specifically for clinical nurses and nurse leaders to disseminate findings from the practice setting.

Dora Clayton-Jones, PhD, RN, CPNP-PC, FAAN

The afternoon programming began with a keynote address titled “Utilizing Community Assets to Support Self-Management in Health Care Transitions,” given by Dora Clayton-Jones, PhD, RN, CPNP-PC, FAAN, Associate Professor, Marquette University College of Nursing, and Immediate Past President, International Association of Sickle Cell Nurses and Professional Associates.

An accomplished clinician and nurse researcher, Dr. Clayton-Jones shared lessons learned from growing up on the West Side of Chicago, where she was influenced by a grandmother who involved her in community service activities to address food insecurity. “One thing that I learned was how to make it easy for people to ask for assistance,” said Dr. Clayton-Jones. “How easy are we making it for individuals to reach out for help when they need help?”

She encouraged participants to translate any lessons or approaches they could learn from her work in sickle cell disease—which effects millions worldwide—into their own practices and specialties. Following a general overview of sickle cell disease and the importance of a gradual and uninterrupted transition from pediatric to adult care, Dr. Clayton-Jones addressed her deep passion for community engagement, with a focus on leveraging community assets, translating community engagement activities into interventions, and the impact of community driven self-management interventions.

A panel discussion followed between Dr. Clayton-Jones and the Mount Sinai Comprehensive Sickle Cell Program leadership, including Director Jeffrey Glassberg, MD, MA, and nurse practitioners Charleen Jacobs, PhD, RN, ANP-BC, and Brittany McCrary, MS, AGPCNP-BC, RN-BC. This conversation touched upon Dr. Clayton-Jones’ career path and approaches to surmounting challenges, community involvement, lifelong learning, research, and funding.

Shifting the focus to innovations at Mount Sinai’s own Transitions of Care Center, Carl Jin, MSN, MPA, RN-BC, CCM, Director of Clinical Services, and Arzellra Walters, MA, CPNP, RN, Nurse Manager, presented “A Comprehensive Approach to Transitions of Care: The Expansion of the Transitions of Care Center’s Intervention.”

The Transitions of Care Center is a centralized discharge program staffed by Mount Sinai nurses trained in hospital discharge protocols to promote smooth transitions across levels of care. The ultimate goal is to prevent avoidable readmissions, with a focus on key diagnoses including acute myocardial infarction, chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, heart failure, pneumonia, coronary artery bypass grafting, and major joint replacement surgery. Transitioning between levels of care can be stressful, burdensome, and expensive for patients, caregivers, insurers, and hospitals. Mount Sinai’s Transitions of Care Center is testing the effects of a new model that eases the transition from hospital to home and reduces the risk of readmission.

The day concluded with a presentation about Mount Sinai’s exciting new national research training program for Doctor of Nursing Practice (DNP) students, Translational Research and Implementation Science for Nurses (TRAIN). Kimberly Souffront, PhD, RN, FNP-BC, FAAN, Associate Professor of Emergency Medicine at Icahn Mount Sinai and Associate Director of the CNRI, who is Principal Investigator of TRAIN along with Dr. Cohen, provided an overview of this first-of-its-kind program.

TRAIN supports DNP students from underrepresented minority communities and disadvantaged backgrounds to become experts in translating research into clinical practice. The program is funded by a five-year grant from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (NHLBI) of the National Institutes of Health, and its first annual cohort will begin this summer.