Education Shines at Shriners Children's Boston

Education is a pillar of the Shriners Children’s mission. Staff members throughout the healthcare system are encouraged to take advantage of ongoing learning opportunities, and many locations offer educational lectures to medical professionals in the community. The educational offerings from Shriners Children’s Boston teach physicians, emergency medical services personnel and other medical staff about best practices associated with burn care, plastic surgery, laser surgery, reconstructive surgery, and cleft lip and cleft palate care. Shriners Children’s is committed to providing quality educational opportunities for participants to discover new knowledge that improves the care and quality of life for children and families.

Each fall, Shriners Children’s Boston welcomes healthcare professionals from across the globe to the Abraham Thall & Sadye Stone Thall Educational Symposium. The symposium was established by the Thalls’ daughter, Mrs. Diane Rothstein, as a living legacy of her parents’ passion for furthering education, specifically around burn care. The Thall Symposium is the result of a year-round planning process involving multiple departments. “We look for topic recommendations about what the audience would like to see, focusing on interesting or important subjects in burn care,” explained Melissa Gorman, MSN, RN, CPNP-PC, NPD-BC, CCRN. As a nursing professional development specialist, Melissa started her career in nursing before moving into an educational role at Shriners Children’s Boston. “We try to change up the topics and speakers year to year, so we offer varied content to attract new and different audiences.”

Since the COVID-19 pandemic, the Thall Symposium has switched from an in-person model to virtual, a format Melissa has seen improve both attendance and outcomes. The virtual event gives healthcare professionals from hospitals, urgent care clinics, pediatric practices and even fire stations from across the country access to the Thall Symposium. “As an educator, I love being able to share what we do with a wider audience,” Melissa said. “We try to pick topics that won’t just attract nurses or physical therapists. We try to pick topics that speak to many different levels in healthcare.”

Kerri Staffier, BSN, RN, works as a physician liaison for Shriners Children’s Boston, and promotes the Thall Symposium to various healthcare facilities and physician practices across Boston and New England. “The Thall Symposium helps us spread the word about a wonderful educational opportunity aligned with the Shriners Children’s mission,” Kerri noted.

Kerri plans lectures and community outreach to regional hospitals, healthcare offices and emergency departments. “Doctors I meet with don’t see a lot of cleft, craniofacial or even burn patients, so Shriners Children’s Boston is a great resource for them in receiving education from our medical staff,” explained Kerri. “When we get a physician in the community who expresses interest, I’ll have a Shriners Children’s Boston physician give an educational lecture.”