Rising Star Award Photos and Nomination Letters
Jennifer Ertel (from UW Hospitial) and Kate Bussmann (from Aurora St. Luke’s) won the Rising Star award.
Jennifer Ertel receives her Rising Star Award.
"I feel privileged to nominate Jennifer Ertel for the rising star in rehabilitation award. Jenny entered our nurse residency program in July 2009. She had a great background in health care already. She was a nurse intern at a summer camp for cognitively and physically disabled individuals in 2008. She also worked as a nursing assistant at Oakridge nursing home from 2005–2009 and provided respite care for cognitively disabled individuals from 2004-2009 all while attending nursing school. I don’t know how she did it. That is a true accomplishment all on its own.
As one of her preceptors I always ask why rehab? She explained that while in nursing school her mother became ill. Jenny became her caretaker while also attending classes fulltime and working 2 part-time jobs. Her mother had surgery and was hospitalized for about 2 months. Jenny was impressed by the surgeons, doctors, and nurses. They kept her updated on her mother’s condition, went over the plan of care thoroughly and explained every procedure. Jenny thought that she wanted to be a part of all of this. She wanted to be able to help others the way others helped her mother. Jenny researched different departments within in the hospital and knew that she fit into the mold of a rehab nurse.
As Jenny started her patient care on the rehabilitation unit, I could tell that she so enjoyed working on their goals for discharge. She is sure her patients understand the plan for each day. She explains what she aims to accomplish with them on a daily basis. She has a calming approach about her. She wears a bright smile that is infectious to all. She is organized with her patient assignment. It was so easy teaching Jenny because she just has that common sense about her. She is comfortable in the rehab setting. She enjoys teaching the patients and their families. She is happy to share her knowledge with them. She shows a sense of achievement when her patient is ready for discharge. She knows that she has done all that is needed for this patient and family to function and succeed at home on their own. The patients and their families enjoy having Jenny as their nurse. They ask for her when she is not there.
Jenny has also volunteered to work on several hospital wide projects. One of those projects helped provide insight into how our patients perceive the computer as part of the health care team. She conducted a survey along with another nurse resident. She presented this information at nursing grand rounds. Most new nurses would shy away from such a task. Not Jenny. She was so excited to be a part of teaching other nurses what they had found in the survey. Jenny is currently working on her residency project. She is researching pain management post amputation and plans to integrate it into everyone’s work with these patients in the future. Jenny along with another nurse has submitted an abstract for consideration for the 2010 ARN conference in Florida on this subject. She is excited to have done the research and would love the opportunity to share with others. Currently Jenny is not eligible to take the CRRN exam. She has started to study for it and plans to apply for the exam after 2 years on our unit.
When thinking of Jenny’s impact on her patients, I can come up with so many examples. She is truly dedicated to providing the best care to each of her patients. Jenny was asked to be the primary nurse for an anxious patient with MS. Jenny’s calming approach fit the style of what this patient required. The patient was dizzy a lot and refused most of his therapy sessions. Jenny was able to establish a rapport with him and his wife by providing a lengthy explanation of the rationale, pre-medicating to help prevent the vertigo, and allowing and spending extra time with him to perform needed tasks. Jenny spent that extra time to develop a plan of care that worked for him. As a result, his participation in therapy improved. He felt comfortable because someone took the time to develop a plan that worked for him. Jenny showed that teaching has so much power because it puts the control back in the hands of the patient.
Jenny also worked with a young new spinal cord injury (SCI) patient named Adam. Adam had a car accident through no fault of his own which left him paralyzed on his lower extremities. This accident left Adam with a deep feeling of loss. Jenny believed that maintaining the patient’s identity is essential to recovery. Jenny respected Adam’s normal home routine (sleeping in) by going to assess him last in the morning. She was able to spend extra time with Adam at that time of day. Adam would share how he so loved sports and school. He quietly was trying to tell Jenny that he didn’t know how he was going to live like this. Jenny helped him to focus on what he could do rather than what he couldn’t do. They talked about how he has changed physically, but the rest is still the true Adam as he always was. Jenny encouraged Adam to talk about short and long term goals. Adam wanted to go home and finish his last year of college. It was difficult for Adam to see how he could do that. Jenny helped him look at what he needed to learn and do to be able to meet that goal. Gaining independence with his ADL’s was a major task. He also needed to learn how to self catheterize. This required Jenny to motivate Adam to do something that he was not comfortable with. Jenny allowed Adam to slowly take over his cathing duties and did not push him too hard. This enabled Adam to come to grips with this part of his care that he was so uncomfortable with. Jenny praised his accomplishments and did not focus on the challenges he met. Adam called Jenny into his room one day and was so excited to show Jenny that he was able to move his toe. That day he also showed Jenny that he could completely dress himself and slide board transfer himself into the wheelchair. You truly could see the rapport that Jenny had gained with Adam. Jenny was so excited to come and tell me about Adam. She loves to help patients to help themselves. She said when Adam was discouraged she reminded him that success is gained by trying and independence comes from practice. Before his discharge Adam and his mother, who also is a nurse, told Jenny how much she impacted his recovery. Jenny felt so rewarded by their words of thanks. She replied “You were the one that did all the hard work!”
I could tell you so many more stories of how Jenny made an impact on her patients. Jenny listened to her nursing intuition and helped a patient get the care he needed in the middle of the night and be treated for a pulmonary embolism. The patient later returned to us and she helped him recover and return to his home. The care and compassion Jenny shares is truly remarkable as a young novice nurse. Her questions truly make me look at things so differently.
Jenny states that her favorite part of nursing on our unit is that it is so much more than just physical healing. Patients state she helps them feel like themselves again. To play a role in their spiritual transformation is so powerful and rewarding. Jenny is truly a rising star on our unit and to the rehab nursing profession."
Kate Bussmann (from Aurora St. Luke’s) holds her Rising Star Award.
Kate is a May 2009 Graduate of Marquette University, and joined our team in June ’09. She rapidly progressed through her orientation, and quickly showed her innate calm ability to see “the big picture”
Kate’s sweet, calm personality shines through everything that she does. She demonstrates excellent clinical skills, both in action and observation. Her documentation is impeccable, providing accurate information for the entire rehab team to remain aware of the medical status of the patient. Above all, her patients are the central focus of the day.
Kate is already actively involved in shared governance for the rehab unit.Working with a peer, she heads the unit’s quality workgroup. In this capacity she is responsible for the gathering and analysis of all quality indicators for the nursing unit.
As an example of her outstanding clinical skills, calm demeanor and team commitment, I would like to share an example of her skills:
A patient with a recent below knee amputation was working with therapy, and lost balance during a transfer. He landed on his stump on the floor, and the incision dehisced. Kate remained calm, and directed the ensuing events with a level head that many experienced nurses cannot exhibit. She assisted the return of the patient to bed, applied a pressure bandage and facilitated the first of many phone calls to physicians. The patient required emergent suturing of bleeders by a wound care MD, and was subsequently transferred back to surgery later in the day. Throughout all of this, Kate was able to coordinate the medical and emotional needs of this patient and the many MD’s involved, while continuing to provide care for the remainder of her patient team.
While Kate is not going to be eligible for certification in her chosen field for more than a year, she consistently practices at a level far above her years. She demonstrates exemplary patient care, and teamwork, and supports the rehab philosophy to the fullest.
We feel that Kate is the perfect example of a rising star in our field.
Excellence in Rehabilitation Nursing
Meaghan Ward
Aurora St. Luke’s Medical Center
Staff RN: Inpatient Rehab
(photo unavailable)
2North IRP would like to nominate Meaghan Ward, BSN, RN, CRRN as our excellence in rehabilitation nursing nominee for 2010.
Meaghan, while still considered a “new” nurse (only 3 years post graduation), has embraced her role as a rehab nurse and leader.
Meaghan has rapidly risen to a leadership position on the inpatient unit, and functions as a staffing/bed placement resource, as well as seeking out opportunities to be a preceptor to new employees and nursing students. She has also participated in local community events for stroke awareness and blood pressure screenings.
Meaghan has been active with the unit shared governance, and is currently a member of the Metro (5 area hospitals) nursing practice council. She also sits on the Aurora system rehab cluster, which is the governing body for all of the systems inpatient rehabilitation units, and is the pressure ulcer “champion” for the rehab unit, assisting with routine audits of patients and nursing documentation, and data collection and assessment related to this. In addition, she is an instructor for the quarterly rehab orientation day offered to all new rehab staff across the Aurora system, teaching the segment on bowel and bladder management.
Meaghan is active at both the state and national level, as a member of both ARN and WARN. She has attended both local and national conferences, and encourages her peers to strive for excellence and increased education and awareness of rehab.
She has coordinated the major annual fund raiser (silent auction) for WARN for the past two years, and last December, tested for and received her national certification as a rehab nurse.
The nurses, therapists and physicians that work with her appreciate her good clinical sense and excellent communication skills as a patient advocate and valued member of the rehab team.
Terry Gion
UW Hospital
(photo unavailable)
Terry is dedicated to the role of the Clinical Nurse Specialist and often goes out of her way to meet the needs of the staff and the unit. She is a wonderful resource for the staff and a mentor to both novice and experienced staff. She has a special love for the traumatic brain injuries and the management of agitation and has been very involved in assisting staff to become more proficient in managing this patient population. Her approachable manner makes staff comfortable to bring practice issues to her attention. Everyone knows that she has high standards for patient care and that she is there to help them be successful. Terry’s number one priority is and always will be the patient. I often find her helping out on the unit during busy times. She also enjoys rounding on each patient to see how he/she is adjusting and progressing in their therapy.
This past year, Terry took on an additional responsibility to initiate a new role of Rehab Consult Coordinator. She took on the challenge without any qualms, even though it required a considerable time commitment. Once Terry commits to a project, she doesn’t look back and gives it all her attention. Terry was an active participant in the development of the Practice Guidelines for Delirium and devoted many hours to presenting the guidelines to staff. She has also been actively involved in developing guidelines for the use of Patient Safety Attendants (PSAs) and currently devotes several hours a week to rounding on acute care units evaluating the needs for PSAs and educating staff on strategies to keep patients safe without the use of PSAs.
Terry puts a strong emphasis on growth and development of staff. She has been working with staff members to develop monthly educational in-services. She has also participated in Nursing Grand Rounds and mentored other staff members to participate as well. Terry also has helped to mentor new CNS and Nurse Education Specialists by assisting them to navigate our complex environment. In her role as co-chair with the Advancement Council, she is championing an advancement model for nurses at UWHC and has spent numerous hours creating this program with other nurses. She has led a number of work groups involved in unit improvement projects, such as revising our interdisciplinary team meeting and the implementation and refinement of primary nursing. She is a warm and welcoming person and staff feels very comfortable bringing issues to her. She makes you feel good about yourself because she freely shares compliments –she is a very positive person.
Terry is a member of Association of Rehabilitation Nurses and Wisconsin Association of Rehabilitation Nurses and has been a certified Rehab Nurse (CRRN) for many years. She is the co-chair of the UWHC Advancement Council and a recent scholar in the Clinical Leadership Institute. She is an active member of the B4/4 Unit Council and Rehab Executive Council.
Terry’s main focus of each day is patient care. Each day, she spends a portion of her time meeting with patients and families to make sure that their needs are being met. She spends much of her time addressing practice issues to ensure that the patients are receiving the best care possible and patient satisfaction is at an all time high. Her presence on the unit has helped families feel that their needs and goals are being addressed. She has been a blessing for the staff because she brings a new level of expertise to the unit. Terry promotes excellence and leadership every day she is on the unit and is truly deserving of this award.