AONL Emerging Nurse Leader honoree improves burn care
Writing in the August issue of Nurse Leader, AONL鈥檚 2025 Pamela Austin Thompson Emerging Leader Award recipient Katie Mapula, MSN, RN, her project to improve burn victim care and wait times at Parkland Health in Dallas. Mapula, the director of nursing at the Parkland Burn Center, developed a workflow to enable nurses at the burn center to treat patients with minor burns. Previously, surgical residents treated such patients in the emergency department. During the first nine months, 98 patients were seen in the burn center and discharged, freeing up the emergency department to treat other patients. Patient satisfaction improved as wait times decreased, and burn experts performing wound care improved outcomes, lowering health care costs. In addition, surgical resident stress declined.