This candidate once told me:  “Integrity means taking accountability and admitting mistakes. At work, I am always honest about any mistakes or if there is something I don’t understand.  For example, if an order just doesn’t make sense or I don’t understand it, I will always clarify it with the provider.”  A colleague shared:  “I admire her courage and self-confidence to question anything in her patients’ chart which does not make sense to her.  When she says loudly, ‘What on earth?’ we know she just found something she will follow up with the providers about until all her questions are answered.”  A peer shared:  “We had a particular instance where a patient had developed a catheter-associated infection, and this candidate was extremely diligent in her chart audit.  After she completed her audit, she performed one-on-one education with multiple staff members, including myself, which was very helpful for my practice.”  And from an Infection Prevention colleague:  “As a CAUTI/CLABSI Unit Champion since 2019, she takes pride in her work, knowledge, and contributions to her nursing team. She has developed an Education Board on the unit that is visible and easy for staff to view.  In addition, she keeps it up to date.  Hence, the team is aware of current policies, procedures, and protocols to keep our patients safe and prevent harm.”

This well-deserved candidate joined Duke Regional Hospital 21 years ago on 6/18/2001 and continues to be a dedicated member of our unit and the hospital family!  Throughout the years of working together, I have seen this nurse grow in many aspects.  She has advanced to a CNIII on our Career Ladder.  She has  maintained certification in Medical-Surgical Nursing through American Nurses Credentialing Center since 2010.  She is current with BLS and ACLS.  She is an active Charge Nurse for the unit and exemplifies excellent leadership skills.  She is an active Preceptor for the unit for new staff members and nursing students completing their senior partnership.  In addition, she embraces being a mentor for students.  She is an active member of the CAUTI/CLABSI hospital-based committee and continues to educate staff regarding issues or concerns.  She has offered staff education regarding CLABSI and differences in central lines.  She has also investigated hospital-acquired CLABSI and CAUTI on the unit to be prepared for “Learning From Defects.”  She reaches out to the VAST and Infection Prevention teams for guidance on up-to-date literature on preventing CAUTI/CLABSI infection to ensure we are utilizing evidence-based practice.  She provides excellent care to her patients and their families.

This candidate is passionate about her champion role on the CAUTI/CLABSI hospital-based committee.  She is an active committee member and contributes to educating staff on best practices to prevent CLABSIs and CAUTIs on our unit.  In addition, she attends regular meetings with a multidisciplinary team to hammer out proposed changes to current policies to avoid these hospital-acquired infections.

Education is a priority for this candidate, and she is very innovative with education rollouts.  For example, she has provided the following education, including policy reviews, for staff on the unit throughout the years:  Central Lines:  Hands-on care of access sites, utilizing a mannequin with all of the vascular access devices we have in the hospital; Daily CHG Bathing Treatment; Foley Catheters:  Indications for use, documentation and insertion procedures; Documentation (for Nursing Assistants):  “Charting your Care.”  And, she developed educational bulletin boards on the following topics:  CLABSI and CAUTI Prevention:  You are the Key; In Preventing CAUTI/CLABSI:  Refocus Actions and Documentation; Dialysis Catheter Care; and Trialysis Catheters.

This professional nurse loves working with her colleagues on the unit to give the best care possible to the patients.  She has always been a team player and does her best to help her co-workers and be supportive.  She models Teamwork with qualities such as respect, helpfulness and cooperation.  As a Charge Nurse, she leads our daily multidisciplinary rounds regarding patient care.  She collaborates with a Physician, Pharmacist, bedside nurses and Case Management.

This nurse was recognized for Teamwork through our Living Our Values program:  She has been a constant person of stability and dependable leadership on the unit.  She carries out the assigned wound care and is always eager to share what she knows with others.  She is known for working as a team with our Nursing Assistants, primary care nurses, the Wound Team and other units.

She leads by example and takes a keen interest in mentoring new nurses and nursing students, so they understand how important it is to carry out the job with compassion and kindness.  Of course, she teaches them about how to administer medications, what to look for in a decompensating patient, and how to get an IV line in or place an NG tube, but she always emphasizes compassionate care.

A colleague shared:  “I have worked with this nurse for 17 years in the same department.  When I first met her, I was a new grad nurse in this unit, and there were almost ten new grads in orientation simultaneously.  She quickly became one of my “go-to” nurses… because of her years of experience as a med-surg nurse … . She was always available for just-in-time education when she saw me or any other new grads struggling with technical skills.  She would walk to us with a big smile, saying, ‘Let me show you an easier way to do this,” – never making us feel incompetent or bad about our newly developing bedside skills.  … I always sensed that she loved teaching; she took pride in having so much to offer as an experienced nurse with excellent technical skills.”

Wow, this candidate deserves this award, not only for her dedication as a nurse for 21 years, but also for the overwhelming exceptional examples of her “Living Our Values” and “Exemplifying Swanson’s Theory of Caring.”