Celebrating the Essence of Nursing: Hannah Chapman
During National Nurses Week, Brigham and Women’s Hospital celebrates all 3,600 of our nurses, including the Essence of Nursing Award recipient and honorees.
Hannah Chapman, BSN, RN
Cardiac Surgery, Shapiro 6 East/7 East West
Hannah Chapman
For Hannah Chapman, BSN, RN, the COVID-19 pandemic has meant transitioning from caring for cardiac surgery patients to working in the Special Pathogens Intensive Care Unit in support of critical care nurses and COVID-19 patients.
“While the transition has been a learning curve, the teamwork and camaraderie among staff is like nothing I have ever seen,” she said. “We are working with nurses who have been deployed from all areas of the hospital, and we are approaching patient care with a team mentality. While this time in our careers is challenging, we have each other. And that is invaluable.”
Chapman joined the Brigham eight years ago as a newly-licensed nurse and has since been dedicated to continual learning, precepting other new nurses and becoming an expert in the care of cardiac surgery patients with substance use disorder. She has actively been working to create a pathway for safe, consistent nonjudgmental care for these patients in partnership with the Cardiac Surgery Intermediate Surgery Nursing Practice Council and the Brigham psychiatric nurse practitioner group.
“Hannah’s fierce advocacy and relentless compassion for patients and their families who have been marginalized is awe-inspiring to witness,” wrote Julie Mullins, MSN, RN, of the Cardiac Surgery ICU, in Chapman’s Essence of Nursing nomination. “She never ceases to inspire generations of nurses and foster patient-centered care. She cares deeply for her patients and her colleagues.”
Chapman has approached her role in the Special Pathogens ICU as she does in cardiac surgery: with the patient at the center.
Hannah Chapman
“Though family members cannot visit, I talk to them about their loved ones so I can learn about the person we are caring for, as many patients are intubated,” she said. “And while it is unbelievably hard for families to be unable to visit with patients, we try to bridge that gap by using technology, such as iPads, to allow families to communicate with their loved ones.”
“So much of what we are accustomed to has changed amid the COVID-19 pandemic,” Chapman said. “But the level of care that the team continues to provide to patients remains constant. I have had numerous times throughout my career at the Brigham that I have been proud to do my job. But I can say without hesitation that I have never been more honored to be a Brigham nurse.”
Hannah Chapman was nominated for the Essence of Nursing Award by her colleagues, Hilary Quann, BSN, RN, and Karen Morth, MSN, RN, with letters of support from nursing director Maria Bentain-Melanson, MSN, RN, CCRN-CS, and Genina Salvio, PA-C, chief Physician Assistant for Cardiac Surgery.
——–