GWAC Critical Care Chronicle

Transcription

1 GWAC Critical Care Chronicle Volume 13, Issue 1 September 2012 The President s Message Kelly McNeil Jones, RN, MBA, RCIS Membership Report Carolee Beckford, RN, CCRN Memory lane and a new charge! I am honored to begin service as the President of the Greater Washington Area Chapter of the American Association of Critical Care Nurses. It is with much pride and passion for our profession that I enter this term. I graciously thank my GWAC colleagues and friends for inspiring me to pursue a leadership position; and I humbly recognize the measure of leadership is based on the success of the entire team. With that in mind, I would like to recall past themes and incorporate the latest version and move forward with a charge for our Chapter: Act with Intention In all that we do, we must act with a great sense of urgency, with full knowledge and competence in our care delivery and patient advocacy Stand Tall Remember the Stans that we committed to in an effort to be empowered and full of passion for a nursing profession that saves lives and creates positive changes in patient care Together, Stronger, Bolder with a united voice, we are strengthened and more visible as a positive force representing patient care And now we must Dare to..: Be Different create new partnerships with student and graduate nurses in an effort to usher our new colleagues in clinically and professionally as our future leaders and caregivers Be Diligent in our efforts to reinvigorate and expand chapter membership Be Dreamers dream of a chapter that goes beyond the education benefits and expands into advocacy for student and graduate nurses; be practice changers and policy shapers. Let s decide to move past our normal roll call and lets DARE To be different, diligent, Critical Care Nurse Dreamers who can and will reform our local nursing practice and serve as a Beacon to all those we encounter. As a result, nurses will decide this GWAC member is the Magnet to follow for membership and outstanding opportunities thereafter! Dare to be the LINK to change! GWAC Critical Care Chronicle 1

2 Fiscal Year GWAC Board President: Kelly McNeil-Jones, RN, MBA, RCIS President Elect: Brett Dodd, RN, CEN, CCRN, CFRN Immediate Past President: Helen Hughes, RN, BSN, CCRN Treasurer: Laura Fedge, MHSA, BSN, RN, CCRN Treasurer-Elect: Minnie Raju, RN, MS Secretary: Maureen Edwards, RN, MSN, CCRN Corresponding Secretary: Dorothy Belkoski, RN, BSN, CCRN Education Director: Marianne Hess, RN, MSN, CCRN Membership Director: Carolee Beckford, RN, CCRN Newsletter Editor: Vicki Lindgren, RN, MSN, CNS, CCRN, CCNS Spotlight Chair: Minnie Raju, RN, MS Spring Spotlight Chair: Karen Mack, RN, MS, MBA, ACNP Northern Consortium: vacant Military Liaison: vacant Region IV Advisor: Helen Hughes, RN, BSN, CCRN KUDOS Vicki Lindgren, RN, MSN, CNS, CCRN, CCNS New CCRN & PCCN o Alexandra Bambrick RN, BSN ICU Staff Nurse, George Washington University Hospital o Casey Eisenberg RN, BSN ICU Staff Nurse, George Washington University Hospital o Anneli Escalante, RN, BSN, CCRN-E en/vision eicu, Inova Health System o Heather Grinde RN, BSN ICU Staff Staff Nurse, George Washington University Hospital o Stacy Grant RN, BSN; RN ICU Team Staff Nurse, George Washington University Hospital o Kristin Higgins RN, BSN; RN ICU Team Leader, George Washington University Hospital o Jennifer McEachin, RN, PCCN Clinical Shift Manager, Progressive Care Unit, Prince William Hospital o Chris O Neill, RN, BSN, CCRN CVICU, Inova Alexandria Hospital o Karen R. Peck, RN, MSN, CCRN-E en/vision eicu, Inova Health System o Tammy Rogers, RN, CCRN Clinical Shift Manger, Critical Care Unit, Prince William Hospital o Heather Schultz RN, BSN ICU Staff Nurse, George Washington University Hospital o Kelly Sponagle, RN, CCRN CardioThoracic Unit, Suburban Hospital AACN Certification Corporation Board GWAC would like to congratulate Sonia Astle, RN, MS, CCRN, CNRN, CCNS for beginning her 3 year term on AACN Certification Corporation board! Jennifer McEachin, RN, PCCN GWAC Critical Care Chronicle 2

3 I Am a Critical Care Nurse Shannon Behnke, RN, BSN Charge Nurse for ICU, Telemetry, and Observation Unit, MedStar Montgomery Medical Center Why did you become a nurse? As far back as I can remember I knew I wanted to be in the medical profession. I had thought about medical school and then decided against it because I thought the schooling was too long. I have an aunt who is a nurse and many friends who were in nursing and decided that it was the best fit for me. I wanted to become a nurse mostly to help people and try to make them well again. If you think about the fact that complete strangers come into hospitals and then put there trust in you, a person they have never met, it is an incredible privilege and responsibility. I don t take for granted the trust and dependence my patients place in me and try to be the best advocate for them that I can. What about your job as a nurse makes you happy? There are many things that make me happy about nursing. I love the nurses I work with. Every nurse is an integral part of the team and I consider the nurses I work with to be my extended family. I also love using the knowledge I have to help people and problem solve. I love that you have variety and that you learn something new everyday. I love going to codes and Rapid Response Team calls; I think they make me a better nurse and critical thinker. I love being presented with a patient situation and working with the team to figure out what is going on and what is the best treatment/intervention for that patient. I love the fact that I can make a significant difference in a patient s treatment/outcome by speaking up or intervening in a patient care situation. It is very rewarding to see a positive outcome in your patients and know that you played a big role in that outcome. What are the challenges you encounter and how do you overcome them? All of us have many challenges in our careers. I feel like one of the challenges is time. There are so many tasks to complete in our daily routine and being able to prioritize is a big part of it. One of the biggest challenges for me is when you know your patient is not doing well or receiving the care they need. I find it can be a challenge communicating with the other disciplines involved so that the patient has timely and appropriate interventions. I have had many difficult, sometimes heated, discussions with other disciplines and even had to elevate the concerns up the chain of command to get the patient s the care they need. In the end it is about patients receiving effective and timely care so they can get better. The positive outcome is what makes the challenge always worth fighting for. Have you experienced anything extraordinary in your nursing career? I think that the incredible gift of knowledge and skill we are able to share with each patient everyday is extraordinary. The fact that we can use critical thinking and make decisions that can save a patient s life is very extraordinary to me. I think it s the simple things in life sometimes that make the biggest impact on others. What has been the most amazing experience you've ever had as a critical care nurse? I had a patient that was transferred to my unit that was very sick. He had been in the hospital for over a week with no concrete diagnoses to treat. I spoke to the physician about the options for treatment and possible interventions. Over the next few days that I worked the patient progressively got sicker. I moved him to the ICU and then decided that I needed to take my concerns up the chain of command. I got the head of the physicians involved and asked him to the review the case. Due to decline in condition, I recommended transfer to another facility. The head physician agreed and assisted me in getting this patient to a higher level of care. The wife of the patient was extremely grateful to me and kept in touch with me over the course of his hospital stay. At the other facility they did arrive at a diagnosis and were able to offer the patient some treatment. I was actually able to visit the patient and his wife in the hospital which they really appreciated. In the end the patient ended up passing away, the wife contacted me through to let me know. My husband and I went to the funeral and had an opportunity to pay our condolences to the patient s family and his wife. When his wife saw me after the funeral she started to cry. She hugged me and then turned to her family and told them who I was. They had all been told by the wife that I had advocated for them while he was a patient in my hospital and that I was the reason he had gone to a higher level of care. She also told them that she felt she was given several more weeks to spend with her husband because of my efforts. Although ultimately the outcome for this patient was not good, I will never forget this patient and his family and the kind things his wife said to me and about me. I still keep in touch with her to this day. GWAC Critical Care Chronicle 3

4 What has your journey as a nurse been like? I feel like my journey has been somewhat of a whirlwind. I got my first job at the hospital I still work for. I worked evenings in a telemetry unit. A couple months later I was offered a day shift position in the telemetry unit. Six months later I accepted a position in the ICU and one year later I was asked to apply for the charge nurse position over the ICU and Telemetry units. I have been the charge nurse for a little over 5 years and since then have had our observation unit added to my responsibilities. I love the team that I work with and that there are opportunities to learn everyday. I have learned many lessons and gained valuable knowledge from my coworkers and owe them for any success I have had in nursing. The Amazing Chase In May, we lost one of our beloved nurses, Sue Chase, to ovarian cancer. o honor her memory, we are recruiting associates to the Run/walk to Break the Silence on Ovarian Cancer, Sunday, September 30 th, at Westfield Annapolis Mall, sponsored by the National Ovarian Cancer Coalition of Central Maryland. Register at the following link and join The Amazing Chase, led by her husband Dave, who is an analyst with Medstar Health ( At the end of a busy/grueling day, how do you find balance in your life? I try to have a very balanced life. I make sure, especially before a shift, that I go to bed early and get enough sleep so that my mind is clear. I spend a lot of time hanging out with family. My husband and I are very close with our families and make spending time with them a priority. My husband and I also stay active. We love working out together, biking, kayaking, and doing lots of activities outdoors. My husband and I also love to travel together and take trips frequently. It helps me to get away and kind of clear my mind and recharge my battery. I also have an excellent support system at home. My husband is a wonderful man and has many times listened to the long version rehash of my day. He is always available to me for emotional and spiritual support to deal with the rigorous schedule and emotional situations involved in being a nurse. How has AACN played a role in your career? I have benefitted from conferences that AACN and GWAC have produced such as Spotlight on Critical Care. At the Spotlight conference I was able to make some good contacts with professionals from other facilities and speak to them about practices in their hospitals. After going to the Spotlight conference I was able to bring the information I had learned back to my facility and to the staff I work with. AACN also has a lot of helpful educational material, including their website. The website is helpful in obtaining information on evidence based practice and how to implement it in our everyday nursing practice. It is helpful to have a reliable resource to depend on to support our nursing practice. GWAC Critical Care Chronicle 4

5 Spotlight on Critical Care Minnie Raju, RN, MS Please make plans to attend GWAC s Annual Conference for Nursing Professionals. October 24 th & 25 th 2012 Waterford Receptions Springfield, VA duplication between shelters). Approximately 85% of past participants were at least employed part-time but due to extenuating circumstances were unable to afford and/or find affordable housing. The requested donations for 2012 are: socks and undershirts, for men, women and children. Donations will be accepted at our annual conference, Spotlight 2012, October 24th and 25th. We greatly appreciate the giving spirit of our membership and thank you in advance for your continued support! Please go to to see the Spotlight on Critical Care 2012 brochure for conference and registration details. Sunset Session Learning Event on October 24 th after Spotlight Conference Event Sponsored by Janssen Pharmaceuticals Event is free for Spotlight attendees, but seating is limited. Register on line for Sunset Session Learning Event when registering for Spotlight. Schedule: Meet & Greet: 5:00pm-5:30pm, Presentation: 5:30pm-6:30pm, Closing: 6:30 pm-7:00 pm. Event Location: Houlihans, 6550 Loisdale Rd, Springfield, VA Non-alcoholic beverages (iced tea, lemonade, soda), and a buffet style variety of healthy appetizers and dessert, coffee, and tea will be available. *No contact hours/ceus given for this presentation due to FDA requirements. Safe Night Initiative at Spotlight on Critical 2012 As a continued effort to serve our local community, we will again solicit for donations at Spotlight on Critical Care 2012 for the Safe Night initiative. The Safe Nights program provides temporary shelter for homeless residents of Charles County, Maryland. Safe Nights is a united and compassionate response to homelessness in Charles County, working cooperatively with the community to provide housing to individuals and families during the cold winter months. Started in 2005, Safe Nights operates from November 1 st through March 31 st of each year. The program provides a safe refuge, offering temporary shelter, meals, bathroom facilities, and transportation at no cost to the program participants. Paid overnight coordinators are provided to ensure the safety of participants and volunteers. For the past two years, Safe Nights has served 325 unduplicated persons from ages one week to seventy-one years old and provided 5,130 bed nights (a bed night is each night a shelter bed is filled by a person; because the bed night is unduplicated, it is a more accurate measure of the provision of shelter service than the number of people served, which may include GWAC Critical Care Chronicle 5

6 Check out the Greater Washington Area Chapter s E-STORE! GWAC Critical Care Chronicle 6

7 Educational opportunity: Critical Care Seminar by the Greater Fredericksburg Chapter on October 2 nd in Fredericksburg, VA. GWAC Critical Care Chronicle 7

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