Alexandra Bandy, RN, MSN, CNL, ACNP, works tirelessly and consistently goes above and beyond the daily expectations of her job description to ensure patients receive whole-person care that mitigates any gaps in the delivery of today's sometimes fragmented healthcare delivery system. In the ICU, she has saved innumerable lives during bouts of critical illness, going above and beyond to coordinate care to the highest extent in the most severe of circumstances.
I first met Alex as my preceptor in my new career as a nurse practitioner in the East Campus ICU (ECICU). I had years of training as a bedside ICU RN, but still unsure of my abilities and knowledge as I pursued a new endeavor working as a nurse practitioner in the ICU.
In addition to embracing new challenges as a provider of medical care, I also had to confront the challenges associated with shifting from the medical system where I previously worked as an RN to a new healthcare system and Loma Linda University Medical Center (LLUMC). From the beginning, Alex provided ongoing support and education to support my development. I was awestruck by her vast knowledge base, ability to synthesize data effectively, formulate a personalized plan of care, and communicate the plan to patients, family members, and other staff. I was awestruck to witness an individual embody the spirit of nursing so effectively: Alex is compassionate, knowledgeable, and devoted to her patients. She consistently arranges outpatient follow-up appointments, communicates to consultants, and clearly articulates the plan of care to patients to mitigate the likelihood of oversights that are detrimental to the patient's health and well-being.
Alex has also embraced the challenges of being an invaluable resource for Family Medicine residents who rotate through ECICU. She developed an ICU curriculum of PowerPoint presentations using the latest guidelines adopted by professional organizations to help novice physicians understand the concepts related to frequent ICU diagnoses, including management of diabetic ketoacidosis (DKA), congestive heart failure (CHF) exacerbations, and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) exacerbations, among others. Throughout their month-long rotation in the ECICU, the residents are able to manage patients at an ICU level for diseases chronically treated in the outpatient clinic and general medicine wards. Undoubtedly, this experience serves their medical training greatly, as it enhances the scope and breadth of their knowledge base and likely allows the residents to more completely convey the sequelae of failure to manage chronic conditions, and allows them to more accurately depict changes in patient's clinical condition to the interdisciplinary team within the hospital. Alex has taken ownership of this training and ensures that all residents rotating through ECICU are able to provide high-quality care to patients in the ICU safely.
Alex also serves on various committees that serve to benefit the many populations LLUMC serves. An example is her role in expanding the Community Resiliency Model (CRM) training to individuals with type 1 diabetes mellitus (T1DM) and sickle cell patients. A study conducted at LLUMC hypothesized that perhaps non-compliance with T1DM is associated with decreased emotional resilience as a result of ongoing cumulative stressors that overwhelm an individual's coping mechanisms. Through CRM training, an individual can "refocus" their emotional grounding through an array of techniques, and hopefully thereby lessen the sensation of feeling overwhelmed and will thereby be more likely to comply with their unique treatment regimens. Alex was instrumental in collaborating with the School of Behavioral
Health team in providing training for providers working in the ECICU to help recruit more potential participants for the study. With her leadership, the ECICU was able to collaborate and refer additional patients to the study which is still ongoing.
In sum, Alex is an invaluable resource to have working within the LLU system and is demonstrative of the LLU mission to "make man whole." She is adored and well-loved by her fellow staff and patients alike. Alex is truly a DAISY Nurse.