Highland Hospital Nurse Chosen for National Fellowship Program

Monday, June 22, 2015

Deborah Jo Kummer, BSN, BS, RN, AAS, CGRN, Highland Procedure Center, has been accepted into the National Society of Gastroenterology Nurses and Associates, Inc. (SGNA) Nurse Fellowship Program for 2015.

Only 10-12 fellows per year are chosen from professionals across the country.  Fellows receive in-person training using curriculum developed by SGNA and the Texas Christian University (TCU) Center for Evidence-based Practice and Research: A Collaborating Center of the Joanna Briggs Institute at TCU. Over the next year, each Fellow will focus on developing innovative evidence-based projects designed to address a GI/endoscopy related practice issue in their current practice setting. Their project findings will be shared through SGNA resources, including the Annual Course and the SGNA Gastroenterology Journal.

“This is wonderful for Highland, a Magnet hospital, as we head towards re-designation this year,” said Tommye Hinton, RN, MSN, CPHQ, NEA-BC, Chief Nursing Officer. “This will also enhance the knowledge of our GI team and allow Highland to again be recognized on a national level by the SGNA as Debbie will be leading a project based on nursing practice over the next couple of years.”

Evidence-based practice is a vital part of advancing gastroenterology and endoscopy nursing. The purpose of the SGNA Nurse Fellowship Program is to educate and support GI/endoscopy staff nurses in the area of evidence-based practice that can be then applied to their day-to-day practice.

Nurses that are chosen to be SGNA Fellows are at the point of care and in the best position to determine knowledge gaps in nursing practice and assess what the needs are to improve practice.  These fellows work hand in hand with GI Nurse Scholars (advanced practice, PhD’s, DNP’s) who conduct systematic reviews on topics chosen as a high priority by the GI nurse fellows.