Nurse Practice Council

Goals for 2024-2025

• Nursing Recruitment
  The Nurse Practice Council would like to play a role in recruitment of nursing staff to NCH.  This would include outreach at the high school and college levels and attending job fairs alongside Human Resources.
• Self-Care & Wellness
  The Nurse Practice Council recognizes how important it is for our nurses to take care of themselves so that they can give the best care to their patients.  During Nurses Week this year a variety of wellness classes were offered during the day, in every department, directly in the units.  This gave staff the best possible chance at participating in the wellness activities.  A lot of positive feedback was received, so much so that we would like to explore how to incorporate more wellness and self-care activities into our day and week.
• Preceptorship
  Currently, NPC is working to help preceptors within our organization. We are gathering information from current preceptors and brainstorming ways to offload some of the burden they may feel. We acknowledge how challenging it can be to precept one nurse after another and our goal is to alleviate some of that challenge, thus helping with nurse satisfaction and retention here at North Country.
• Aligning NPC Goals with the Nursing Strategic Plan
  The Nurse Practice Council’s purpose is to empower and inspire nursing professionals while providing quality care through evidence-based practices.  The Nursing Strategic Plan’s 4 pillars support this initiative. Aligning the Nurse Practice goals with the Nursing Strategic Plan will ensure everyone is on the same page, working towards the same goals. As part of the Employee pillar, the Nurse Practice Council will once again deliver cookie platters to all units and practices throughout the organization!  You can look forward to that in February/March, after the holidays.  This activity gets the word out about the Nurse Practice Council, bringing awareness to the group, and a special treat for the week!

The NCH Nurse Practice Council empowers clinical nurses to implement and maintain standards of nursing practice and patient care consistent with evidence-based practice and requirements of regulatory agencies.

Meet the NCH Nurse Practice Council

NCH Nurse Practice Council Mission:

The Nurse Practice Council empowers clinical nurses to implement and maintain standards of nursing practice and patient care consistent with evidence-based practice and requirements of regulatory agencies.

The NPC is comprised of nurse representatives from all areas where nursing care is practiced, including inpatient units, ambulatory settings, and family clinics. There are members from across the campus in a variety of roles. Most members are self-nominated because of their interest in helping Nurses through North Country Hospital.

The purpose of the Nursing Practice Council is to:

• Empower and inspire nurses to establish parameters of nursing practice.
• Encourage and inspire nurses as a collaborative body
• Implement improvements to ensure high nursing standards
• Deliver quality care
• Review and revise policies, procedures and standards of care.
• Incorporate evidence-based research findings into clinical practice.
• Consult on interdepartmental issues that impact patient care.
• Support peer review and quality improvement.
• Provide a forum to exchange ideas, news and find solutions to workplace challenges.
• Recognize achievements in nursing practice.