Aberdeen LaPlume, BSN, RN

Aberdeen was my preceptor throughout my new hire training at Intermountain Health Flight and Ambulance Services. She provided excellent instruction and adapted to fit my needs as a learner. Aberdeen prepared me to provide the level of clinical excellence expected of an IH employee, and then some. She is knowledgeable beyond her years and sets the bar for quality care above anyone I've worked with at IH FAS. Beyond clinical excellence, she demonstrates the characteristics of a careful and caring nurse through clear explanations of care, attention to patient comfort, and strong logistical decision-making. Aberdeen continually deepens her clinical knowledge by seeking out subject-matter experts in areas she feels she can improve, benefiting her patients' well-being and strengthening her ability to care for the most critical patient demographic. Coming from ground pre-hospital paramedic work myself, I often find myself bogged down by ego and coworkers' unaware incompetence; however, Aberdeen has renewed my excitement to work with new colleagues in this field and grow from them. Flight clinicians often do not get the recognition for patient care, as our patients are often unconscious when we meet them. I would like to recognize Aberdeen for a DAISY Award as a fellow caregiver, but also on behalf of many of the lucky patients who are unknowingly under her watchful eye during transport. Many patients are clinically much better off because Aberdeen tended to them during transport. This organization would be lucky to honor Aberdeen as an award recipient.

As a flight nurse, many of Aberdeen's patients cannot speak for themselves; however, as a fellow caregiver working alongside her, I can see the impact her astute clinical decision-making has on her patients. Aberdeen's expertise in ventilator management provides patients with precision-dialed comfort while maintaining appropriate settings for the underlying pathology. Aberdeen's knowledge of long-term complications, built through years of experience in various ICUs, gives patients the best chance of long-term recovery and quality of life. Aberdeen's understanding of helicopter safety ensures not only that the patient she has is safe to their destination, but also that all crew members return home. Aberdeen's impact on my education as a new flight paramedic will be everlasting and will uphold an elite level of care expertise in myself and other students as well. Most flight teams provide progressive, ICU-level care during transport and often get our very sick patients safely where they need to be; however, Aberdeen does this at a level that improves patient outcomes even when not noticeable in the moment, as patients this sick often do not recover quickly. I implore the DAISY Organization to honor Aberdeen with a DAISY because, even though most of her patients will never understand the impact her actions have had on them, fellow caregivers who see Aberdeen work will most definitely see it.