Nurse Practice Specialist
Boston Children's Hospital
Christine Rachwal, MSN, RN, CWOCN, CCRN is a Nurse Practice Specialist in the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit at Boston Children's Hospital, Boston Massachusetts, I have 29+ years experience as a critical care nurse with specialized training in pediatric cardiology and neonatal intensive care. I also have advanced practice experience as a child psychiatric clinical specialist and family psychiatric nurse practitioner and served as a clinical instructor for both undergraduate and graduate level nursing courses at Northeastern University. My current advanced practice role as a Nurse Practice Specialist focuses on practice development, mentoring and education of nurses as well as the interdisciplinary team. Additionally, I was a founding board member for the International Pediatric Simulation Society (IPSS) and serve as an instructor within the Boston Children's Hospital simulation program. I have over 15 years experience in the development, implementation and instruction of Crisis Resource Management and Interdisciplinary simulation based educational programs. For over 10 years, I served as faculty for Institute for Professional and Ethical Practice and instructor for the Program to Enhance Relational and Communication Skills (PERCS) workshops and Co-founder / Lead facilitator for PERCS Rounds. In light of my extensive background in critical care, mental health, adult education and communication, my current interests lie in the integration of an infant neurodevelopmental program into the CICU focused on enhancing neurodevelopmental outcomes of our most fragile patients. Furthermore, I am chair for several family centered care initiatives including the CICU Family Advisory Council and Continuity of Care Committee. Finally, in 2019, I obtained certification as a Wound, Ostomy and Continence nurse through Wound, Ostomy and Continence Nursing Certification Board (WOCNCB).