Jeroen Hendriks: first professor of Nursing Sciences at MUMC+ in a long time

Let's go back to where his career began. After completing his higher professional education in nursing in Sittard, Hendriks ended up in Maastricht in the surgery department, because here he could also study Health Sciences part-time. He then supervised the development of care pathways and the role of nurses at the MUMC+ Heart+Vascular Centre. There he met cardiologist Robert Tieleman, with whom he developed the idea of deploying nurses in outpatient care. “Together, we came up with a plan to redesign the care for patients with atrial fibrillation, also known as AF. Under Tieleman's supervision, I saw patients independently during consultation hours. This was a truly new and revolutionary form of collaboration for this patient category. Patient education and guidance were crucial, and this was made possible by an interdisciplinary team of doctors and nurses. For me, it was really training on the job. This is how the pilot for an atrial fibrillation outpatient clinic (AF clinic) started in Maastricht, run by an interdisciplinary team of doctors and nurses."

“Providing care as a nurse in an interdisciplinary team is effective. Especially if you also speak the patient's dialect, as I have experienced many times. People feel more at ease and you can take the time for them”.  And it worked: patients in Jeroen's pilot group followed the guidelines for treatment and lifestyle improvement better than those in regular care who only saw a cardiologist. “Intensive collaboration between cardiologists, nurses and patients really makes a difference. To demonstrate this scientifically, I conducted a randomised study with more than 700 patients for my PhD research. This showed a significant reduction in cardiovascular hospital admissions and mortality. My research so clearly demonstrated the added value of the integrated care approach that I was invited to present the results in the United States in 2011. The presentation was done entirely in the style of integrated care and therefore of the AF clinic: by the cardiologist and nurse together. They found such a duo presentation very remarkable there. But giving this presentation together was, of course, the ultimate example of our integrated care."

Jeroen enjoys a bit of adventure. For his postdoc, he moved to Sweden for a year. During that time, he was invited to give a keynote lecture in Brisbane, Australia. During this presentation, an Australian cardiologist became interested in Jeroen's PhD research. There were similarities with his own research, which led to a collaboration. “The plan was to go to Adelaide for a year, but it ended up being ten”. Jeroen worked there as a clinical researcher and later as a professor of Cardiovascular Nursing. “Australia is beautiful and I had a wonderful time there, but Limburg still held a special place in my heart. When I saw images of the opening of the carnival season in Limburg or of the Venlo Zoepkoel, something tugged at my heartstrings.” He laughs: “On 11-11-2024, I started in this new position in Maastricht. Symbolic, isn't it?”

Jeroen has a clear mission. “After COVID-19, we saw many nurses leaving the profession. By focusing on further professionalisation, we can make the work more interesting and versatile. This may enable us to retain more colleagues and utilise their talents more broadly. I am thinking of opportunities for nursing and interdisciplinary research, leadership and developing policy together with other healthcare professionals. That way, we can truly harness the full potential of nurses. Within the AF clinic, for example, care is being reorganised step by step. This is important because we are seeing more and more elderly patients with complex care needs. Performing an ablation or other treatment without paying attention to the patient's lifestyle is asking for new problems. If nurses take more time to connect with patients, they will see what patients really need and can respond accordingly."

“The redesign of care processes is an ongoing process. Patients receive intensive care in hospital, but the transfer to home care must be organised just as well. Heart failure care, for example, has been doing this very well for a long time: they make home visits to patients. Together, we can achieve even more. Many small improvements can bring us closer to the big idea of truly integrated care. That is why I have mainly invested in getting to know people in Maastricht over the past year. Shadowing nurses at the bedside was very valuable. In my conversations with fellow nurses, they shared their ideas with me and I also heard about patients' experiences."

During his time in Australia, Jeroen led a kind of double life: one in Limburg and one in Adelaide. For the period after his inaugural lecture, Jeroen promises himself more creativity and relaxation in his life. “Despite my absence, I remained a member of the drum and whistle corps in my native village of Swalmen for 33 years. At the time, I played the flute. I would like to take up music again. I am also a wine lover, because Adelaide is located in South Australia, which has the most beautiful wine regions... and the most delicious wine. I also enjoy cycling. In Adelaide, I liked to cycle to the beach and take long walks there. It was relaxing, but at the same time it gave me the opportunity to think about my work”. Then, laughing: “Yes, indeed, I work a lot, but that also gives me energy! I still travel a lot for my work and for my extensive global network. And I regularly attend conferences. My partner and I like to add a few days of private time to these trips. But to be honest, I'm more likely to forget my credit card than my laptop."

• Redesigning the healthcare system.
• Academising healthcare professionals to become more than 'just nurses'.
• Digital innovation to support this.
• International engagement: using his own international network to enable people to learn from each other and bring them together across borders.

This article was previously published on the Maastricht UMC+ website.

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