Bedside Matters
A Forum for Frontline Health Care Specialists
Contact Hours Offered
About Our Program
Frontline workers deal with difficult personal and emotional issues alongside administrative constraints that may impact time spent with patients.
Bedside Matters is a safe forum to openly discuss thought-provoking topical events and the social and emotional issues that often arise in caring for patients and families. The goals of the forum are to strengthen relationships between patients and caregivers and help preserve the human connection in health care.
We begin with each session with a VUMC patient case. After review, a panel of interdisciplinary health care workers provides their unique perspectives. We then open the discussion to our audience to ask questions and share their experiences.
We ask that all participants have an open mind, share honestly and be respectful when opinions vary from their own.
Virtual events are held the third Wednesday of every month from 12 p.m. to 1 p.m.
We look forward to your participation!
Suggestion for Bedside Matters?
Our programs include discussion of patients and situations arising from all entities across VUMC. If you are interested in suggesting or presenting a topic and/or participating as a panel member, email: Dr. Walter Merrill
Contact Us
Contact Hour or registration questions?
Contact Hour Accreditation Statement If Contact Hours lists TBD: This event is eligible for nursing continuing professional development (NCPD) contact hours; however, the number of hours is yet to be determined. Vanderbilt University Medical Center, Nursing Education and Professional Development, is accredited as a provider of nursing continuing professional development by the American Nurses Credentialing Center’s Commission on Accreditation. |
January Bedside Matters
Bedside Matters presentation January 21, 2026, 12-1 PM
ED Boarding: Moral Distress in an Overburdened System
The session will discuss the impact of Emergency Department boarding and its impact on patients and providers, both in and outside of the Emergency Department. We will review how boarding has progressed since the COVID19 pandemic, dispel some popular myths about ED overcrowding, and provide an opportunity for people to discuss their own experiences in caring for patients under these trying circumstances.
Panelists: Jeremy Boyd, MD, Bree Pfeiffer, RN (Emergency Services Nurse Manager), Frank DeMarco, RN (Emergency Services ANO), and Gabriela Leonard, MD.