She consistently exemplifies superb personal, professional and moral values that guide excellent nursing practice, and projects confidence, authority and enthusiasm!

Consistent with the Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goal to improve the safety of using medications, this inspirational nurse developed a process to assess sample drugs used for patients throughout the organization.  The goal was to strengthen the process, accountability, education and safety.  After, implementing stringent guidelines and educating staff and providers regarding expectations and a new process, this nurse was able to decrease the number of units using sample drugs by approximately 80%, which led to thousands of dollars in savings considering nurse and provider time.  This process also inspired staff to engage more with patients to learn about their needs and coordinate care and resources accordingly!

This nurse is an established leader who maintains professional nurse certification and serves on entity and DUHS leadership teams.

An example of the excellence that she displays is her work to improve obstetric and gynecological (OB-GYN) services.  This nurse has worked diligently with providers, leaders, nurses and other staff across her division to develop an educational program to assist staff in addressing the OB-GYN needs of patients.  She spearheaded an effort, in collaboration with providers, to develop and revise triage protocols to serve as a decision support tool to guide nurses so that they could manage symptoms, address concerns and disposition patients in a uniform manner.  This program has decreased Urgent Care, Emergency Department and clinic visit utilization.  It has also improved patient, provider and staff satisfaction.  Many service line providers have shared that they would not know what to do if this nurse had not intervened to help streamline their processes and protocols!

She is committed to developing new approaches that help improve patient outcomes and experiences … even when the approaches may not conform to popular public opinion or expectations.  The Sample Medication Safety Program that this nurse developed is still in place today.  This stellar achievement continues to enhance the major Joint Commission National Patient Safety Goal for keeping medications safe.  It serves as an evidence-based change in practice that has improved outcomes on many levels.

Additionally, the protocols, guidelines and competencies that she helped develop to improve women’s health serve as major, population-specific milestones that will continue to transform care and outcomes for these patients!

She embraces an organizational culture that fosters teamwork, and she expects all team members to make maximum contributions!  She, in turn, uses the power of the team to achieve results and improve patient outcomes!

This nurse convened a team of providers and nurse colleagues across her service line to develop core unit protocols comprised of clinical guidelines, algorithms and competencies so that staff and providers were consistent with patient priorities and procedures; staff were knowledgeable and competent to perform and provide care; and patients could receive high quality and safe care.  This included standard work that helped improve provider and nurse efficiency, as well as patient satisfaction, maximizing safe and quality practice.

This nurse nurtures and cares about each and every member of the interprofessional health care team. She also enlists the support and input from patients when she is preparing to impart information on their behalf.  She upholds and is receptive to the values, beliefs and cultures of others, and provides reassurance for all!  She is particularly adept with pristine communication skills!  Her “can-do/will do” attitude motivates those around her consistently.  Her energy is awesome and contagious!  She is a major force in maintaining positive work culture among staff.

For holidays and during times that staff achieve specific milestones, this nurse never hesitates to recognize and acknowledge even the smallest “wins” by having celebrations and publicly recognizing staff!

This motivational nurse is the epitome of patient and staff advocacy, and she inspires health professionals to be innovators in advancing patient care for women and others!