Kara Harris, BSN, RN        KH

2106 Montrose Street Philadelphia, Pennsylvania 19146
T: 717-887-4186 

E: [[email protected]]

Education

University of Pittsburgh

Bachelor’s of Science in Nursing

Graduation Date: April 25, 2009

Magna Cum Laude

Licensure & Certification                                        

Registered Nurse/Pennsylvania State Board of Nursing                               

Basic Life Support Provider/American Heart Association                                     

Neonatal Resuscitation Provider/American Academy of Pediatrics                  

ECMO Certified/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

PIV Certified/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Breastfeeding Resource RN/Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

Member/American Public Health Association

Clinical Experience

Clinical Nurse, Newborn/Infant Intensive Care Unit              08/09-present

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

●         Provide direct patient care to infants in a critical care setting. Coordinate all daily tasks for 1-2 assigned patients in level IV NICU with very high acuity. Care includes assisting with bedside procedures or surgeries, recovering of post-operative patients, and traveling to any required tests with patients. Manage central lines, arterial lines, externalized ventriculostomies, artificial airways and both conventional and high frequency ventilation.

●         Promote family centered care for all patients and advocate for family and patient needs within multidisciplinary teams.

●         Serve as a preceptor to new nurses completing 10-16 week orientation, developing core competencies and fluency in CHOP policy.

●         Delivered lecture on nursing care at National Chronic Lung Disease Conference (Mar 2017).

●         Received NRN Excellence Award for Leadership (Sep 2018).

Community Nurse Advocacy Fellowship                     08/14-07/15

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

●                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Completed 12 month nursing fellowship to explore community setting via CHOP community partners. Visited multiple community sites and completed tasks to understand the role of nurse in various community settings, including homeless shelters, child and family court, and schools.

●                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                                        Developed and implemented a breastfeeding initiative for shelters through CHOP’s Homeless Health Initiative to promote infant health in the homeless setting.

Leadership Experience

Interim Dayshift Clinical Supervisor                                                                        12/18-2/19

Northeast N/IICU, Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

●         Provided support for staff, both clinically and personally. Coached nurses through difficult situations with other nurses and families. Diffused complex social situations with families as a member of the leadership team, setting boundaries and appeasing the family while supporting nursing staff. Participated in monthly leadership meetings, offering constructive feedback around engaging and supporting staff.

Co-chair/Hospital Community Service Committee                                        09/17-present

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

●         Coordinate meetings every other month to keep committee members informed of all volunteer opportunities and collaborate to forge new opportunities. Design and maintain @CHOP site to promote information sharing and streamline involvement from bedside nurses. Identify needs in the community and partner with site to create volunteer opportunities for nurses. Connect community partners to resources at CHOP within our nursing staff to meet the needs of partners. Champion all community outreach for the NICU so that nurses at bedside can be involved with our community partners. 

Charge Nurse/Newborn/Infant Intensive Care Unit                                        06/17-present

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

●         Coordinate admissions, discharges, and transfers for one of the five individual NICUs. Serve as a resource to nurses for all clinical questions and support them through any challenging situations. Partner with medical teams to advocate for patients as a leader for the unit. De-escalate social situations that arise with staff or families during shift. Oversee ancillary staff during shift. Collaborate with four other NICU charge nurses to allocate personnel and resources among units, including covering the Special Delivery Unit. Assign nurses for next shift, ensuring the unit is safe and supported.

●         Intermittently serve as main charge of entire NICU, which includes communicating with medical command to coordinate all movement for five NICUs, totalling 98 beds and deliveries from our Special Delivery Unit, in addition to the responsibility of regular charge duties for individual NICU assigned that day.

Member/Homeless Health Initiative                                                                08/15-present

Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia

●         Promote health in infant population experiencing homelessness in Philadelphia. Collaborate with doctors, social workers, researchers, and city officials to create policies around breastfeeding in shelters.

●         Conducted research to identify barriers to breastfeeding in shelter as well as develop mitigating factors. Contributed to the publication of an article detailing the findings.

●         Coordinated and instructed mother support group in shelter Oct 2015-Sep 2016. Created and delivered in-services for staff regarding breastfeeding practices and supporting mothers.