HMC and sick kids hold leadership symposium for 83 pediatric nurses

More than 80 Pediatric Nurses from across Hamad Medical Corporation (HMC) recently attended the Second Symposium for Pediatric Nurse Leaders, with the theme “Leadership Skills for Success.” The initiative is supported by the partnership between HMC and The Hospital for Sick Children (SickKids) in Toronto, Canada.

HMC and SickKids entered a five-year partnership in 2010 with the aim of transforming pediatric healthcare in Qatar. The first such symposium for nurses was held last year and focused on leadership principles, while this year’s two-day symposium, held at the Renaissance Hotel Doha, aimed to provide practical tools to further develop leadership competencies that contribute to a best practice environment.

Mentoring the 83 nurses were 10 Senior Nurse Leaders from HMC and five from SidraMedical & ResearchCenter. The symposium also featured speakers from both HMC, SickKids, including Dr Ann Marie Cannaby, Executive Director of Nursing at HMC and Ms. Pam Hubley, Chief of Professional Practice and Nursing at SickKids.

The international keynote speaker was Dr. Irmajean Bajnok, Director, Registered Nurses Association of Ontario, International Affairs and Best Practice Guidelines Center.

Dr. Cannaby explained that “Leaders attending the symposium will reflect on their strengths, challenges and the impact they have on their team. They will focus on collaborative practices, communication strategies, effective role modeling, building capacity within teams, empowerment of staff, enhancing staff performance, conflict management, and alignment of staff values with the needs of our patients.”

Dr Cannaby went on to say that as HMC continues to grow and develop as a diverse and multifaceted healthcare organization, it is essential that Nurse Leaders drive excellence in practice through an inter-professional approach with a focus on family-centered care.

In his welcome remarks on the first day of the symposium, Dr. Abdulla Al Kaabi, Project Director of the HMC/SickKids Partnership said he strongly believes that investing in and developing HMC’s Pediatric Nurse Leaders is essential to ensure they are prepared to take on their roles in developing world-class nursing teams in line with the HMC Nursing Strategy.

“Nurse leaders are responsible for creating healthy and healing environments that allow their staff to provide the very best, safe and compassionate care possible to children and families,” said Ms. Pam Hubley, Chief of Professional Practice and Nursing at SickKids.

A series of facilitated leadership exercises engaged participants in promoting conversations that relate to a shared vision, coaching others and recognizing performance in order to positively influence a best practice environment. They were also designed to support practical strategies that relate to managing difficult encounters, fostering teamwork members and communicating proactively to avoid conflict.