Andrea is a consummate professional who serves as an exemplary role model within the organization. She has astute listening skills, and is consistently compassionate in all her interactions with colleagues, staff, leadership and physicians. Through her responsibilities as an ambulatory care educator she daily demonstrates unbridled humor within the context of teaching new clinical concepts, and reinforcing existing clinical knowledge of staff participants with passionate repose centered around the promotion of patient care delivery and service excellence. Recently she was involved in assisting a department administrator in evaluating the competency of several inpatients, LVN staff that had been riffed and hired into an ambulatory department. The manager became concerned regarding the LVN's competency and immediately consulted with Andrea.

Andrea rose to the priority of the occasion by designing an education and competency process which included development of a medication exam based upon the medication primarily dispensed in the ambulatory specialty department. Both LVN's failed the exam. Andrea contracted with the LVN's for a repeat exam and also provided them with remedial resources to promote their success. During this time period she maintained ongoing communication updates with the hiring manager including recommendations to not have the LVN's pass meds to safeguard patient safety. Both LVN's repeated the med exam with one failing a second time.

The failing LVN demonstrated and vocalized significant anger with Andrea and reported Andrea to the hiring manager. Through all of this Andrea maintained her professional dignity and compassion yet resolved with the LVN through continuing coaching and defined expectations. The LVN passed the third with 100% score (it is to be noted that Andrea developed 3 different med exams). Upon passing, the LVN thanked Andrea for her continuing coaching and confidence in her ability to be successful and her ability to maintain her new job. As Andrea's supervisor I continue to receive positive communication from DA's regarding Andrea's professionalism, clinical excellence, problem solving skills and commitment to patient care.

Andrea is very creative in the education and training she delivers to assure the needs of varied learners are captured. She includes relaxation exercises in her programs and strategies central to successfully working with adult learners. Her education program evaluations consistently are rated between 3.8 and 4.0 with 4.0 being superior. Andrea is also an active member of the BPK Ethics and Code Blue Committee. She has contributed to the research and development of several poster presentations which have been shown at BPK and the annual quality improvement and ambulatory care symposiums. One of the posters demonstrated significant department and facility cost savings. Andrea's exuberant commitment to ambulatory nursing is infectious. She is an outstanding example of the attributes of why the DAISY Award was created.