|
|
|
|
Nurses enjoy royal treatment
|
by Dawn Brazell
Public Relations
Sporting a tiara and pink boa given to her by members on her nursing
unit, Bonnie Rab, R.N., enjoyed her time in the limelight May 6 as
nurses packed St. Luke’s Chapel to recognize the accomplishments
of their peers.
 Jessica Stout, R.N.
on 10W, gets a makeover.
Rab, named staff nurse of the year, wore her princess attire as she
enjoyed a reception outside the chapel following the ceremony.
KellyAnne Caraviello, R.N., and nurses week committee co-chair, said
she thought the ceremony came together beautifully. It honored the
hospital's nurses-of-the-year nominees and winners in four categories:
support nurse, resource nurse, nurse manager and staff nurse. It also
honored the Palmetto Gold recipients, Heart of Nursing contributers to
the online compilation of nursing reflections and unit winners.
The Nursing Excellence 2010 Nurses Week Awards Ceremony and the wide
assortment of appreciation activities throughout the week are important
ways to recognize nurses for their accomplishments throughout the year,
she said.
 Alexis Boulton, an
ultrasound technician, enjoys a chair massage from Kate Shepard.
“Nurses have many roles; we are staff nurses, educators, managers and
coordinators to name a few. Nurses week is about bringing us all
together and to celebrate our profession,” she said. “At MUSC, we take
care of some of the sickest patients in the state. It is an honor to
work with such a high caliber of nurses.”
MUSC nurses made it into the top 10 percent judged “best for nursing
care” on listings put out by U.S. News & World Report based on
reported patient satisfaction survey results. The results released in
October 2009 came from rankings where the highest percentages of
patients said their nurses were “always” courteous, listened carefully,
and gave clear explanations.
 Bonnie Rab, who won
Staff Nurse of the Year, enjoys an appreciation reception May 6 at St.
Luke's Chapel.
Caraviello said they were excited to hear the news.
“To be recognized nationally for the high caliber we have is
extraordinary and well-deserved. That’s how our nurses practice on a
daily basis, and it’s nice to get that national validation.”
Nurses win
excellence awards for 2010
 From left are Sarah
Johnson, Mary Elizabeth Fleming, Melissa Martin and
Bonnie Rab
Resource Nurse
Sarah Johnson,
Ph.D., R.N.
Joey Amundsen's,
R.N., reflections:
—Sarah is a dedicated employee, and is always available and flexible
about admitting patients to inpatient settings. She is courteous
and always conscientious of patient rights and privacy. She is
always smiling. I have never heard her enter a room without showing the
utmost respect and kindness to our patients. She makes their transition
to the hospital as care free as possible by explaining the day-to-day
operations, and she makes sure to answer their initial questions.
Finally, her work is thorough and can be counted on to be accurate.
Sarah personifies MUSC Excellence every day and this hospital is
extremely fortunate to have her. I can not think of a better
representative to have initial contact with our patients.
Support Nurse
Mary Elizabeth
Fleming, R.N.
Christine
Wheeler's, R.N., reflections:
—Beth is an energetic, innovative leader. She is continuously positive,
providing excellent leadership to this clinic [Adult Primary Care
Clinic]. She responds immediately to important issues. She has
initiated projects that have been extremely beneficial to the running
of the clinic. One example is the problems with the large amount of
walk-in patients. After documenting walk-in numbers and working through
a process put forward by Beth, our walk-in numbers have dropped
immensely. She is supportive to the staff and to our patients. She
monitors patients’ needs in the clinic, providing service recovery when
needed. She is a wonderful asset to MUSC and certainly deserves support
nurse
of the year.
Nurse Manager
Melissa Martin, R.N.
Becky
Cherrington’s, R.N., reflections:
—Melissa has only been our nurse manager for one year but, in that year
she has improved processes, uplifted moral and employee satisfaction,
been a role model to many of the staff and has been a champion fighting
for the needs of her staff. She values her staff and shows that by
providing time for open discussion and communication about our needs
and concerns. She is a good communicator and provides staff with timely
and pertinent information prior to any changes in policies or
processes. She encourages her staff to continue to grow and develop
their skills as nurses. She provides funding and opportunities for
staff to continue their education through in-service trainings and
outside conferences. She has an open-door policy and is always willing
to help with any situation no matter what the scope or size.
Staff Nurse
Bonnie Rab, R.N.
Johnna Jackson's,
R.N., reflections:
—Her friendliness and work ethic have provided a ‘vertical glue’ to
integrate staff into a cohesive group. She has a strong background in
general pediatrics and has brought a new level of excellence in
clinical knowledge and skill to each of these specialties. Every unit
that she has staffed has called to praise her work and request her
return. Her patient-centered focus was evident last week when a
distraught mother arrived in clinic [Children's Specialty] with no
appointment with her son who felt suicidal. The mother was frantic and
didn’t know what to do. Bonnie demonstrated compassion and customer
service as she went into action. She took them under her wing and
didn’t stop until the family had been completely taken care of.
Bonnie’s extraordinary kindness at a time of crisis was pivotal in the
life of this family.
Friday, May 14, 2010
|
|
|
