April Humphrey
May 2024
April
Humphrey
,
MSN, RN, ONC, CMSRN
Orthopaedics and Brain & Spine
The University of Tennessee Medical Center
Knoxville
,
TN
United States
She has a servant’s heart and constantly searches for ways to elevate those around her while also maintaining an innovative focus in the areas she oversees. She brings out the best in those around her by encouraging, supporting, and challenging all of us on a professional and personal level.
We have had the privilege of working alongside her for many years. I could write a novel if I listed all the reasons why she deserves this award, but I will do my best to summarize. She is currently the Executive Sponsor for the Nursing Research Council, the Falls Committee, HICS Operations Leader and serves on Senior Leadership Team. She is highly respected by our Executive Leadership, her peers, and most importantly, her team.
She has a servant's heart and always places her team and patients before herself. During the years of the COVID Crisis 2020-2021, one of her acute care floors was converted into a COVID unit several times. Each time, her team adjusted quickly, with grace, to provide the best care for their new patient population. This reflected her leadership. She went into staffing many times during this period, as did many other Nursing Directors. However, she did it to support her team and allow her team some relief. One week, when staffing was at its worst, she stepped in for her team in a way I have not seen others do. She had a manager out for an unplanned procedure and the other manager was already working in staffing on nights. She came right alongside that manager in staffing and took care of patients in both units. The house could not cover either unit holes this week, and she and the manager worked five shifts. As one of those managers she worked with then, I was never more grateful to have a leader who was not going to stay home during challenging times. She helped right alongside the orthopaedic teams during some of their most trying times.
From the fall of 2022-2023, she filled in as interim Clinical Nurse Director for Brain and Spine while never missing a step in her role as Clinical Nurse Director for the Orthopaedic Institute. She did not just maintain the status quo during this time; she excelled. They completely turned over and rebuilt the leadership of two nursing units and fully exited out of agency on all four acute care floors. During this time, she also led initiatives with the Orthopaedic Institute and Brain and Spine Institute that improved patient safety, operational efficiency and flow, and financial stability. Because of these successes, she was promoted to Executive Director of Nursing Orthopaedics and Brain and Spine.
The nursing units within Brain and Spine needed a strong nursing leader to kickstart their looming reconstruction of leadership – and she stepped up. Although not officially in the position, she took a lot of ownership in the moving pieces to ensure we were on the right track for success. She would never want anyone to know this, and likely not admit this, but these newly acquired responsibilities stacked up on top of an already overflowing plate. This is a feat that not just anyone could have accomplished with such grace, stewardship, leadership, and overwhelming success. She did all this, not for the recognition, but for the people and population that she could positively impact, and because it was simply the right thing to do. For over a year, she stood tall in this role, she advocated for the patients and staff, and she made a palpable impact on the units.
Her leadership style is one that should be mimicked by all—a well-balanced mixture of servant and transformational leadership. She has a servant’s heart and constantly searches for ways to elevate those around her while also maintaining an innovative focus in the areas she oversees. She brings out the best in those around her by encouraging, supporting, and challenging all of us on a professional and personal level.
Most recently, she led the organization as Operations Leader in a successful response to Snowmageddon 2024. What she would not want you to know is that she did not see her family for days, she slept in her office and sacrificed herself for the greater good of supporting her team and leading the organization to function at full capacity. Even with the demand that was placed on her shoulders during this unforeseen event, totaling 2.5 hours of sleep over a three-day period, she still found time to check in on her team to be sure they were taking care of themselves.
One of her closest colleagues said this: For eight years, I have been one of few who have witnessed the many personal sacrifices that she has made to not only lead her teams, but to encourage them and hold them accountable to providing the highest quality of care, and to be the best versions of themselves. I have seen the many hours of early mornings and late nights that she has diligently worked that she does not want you to be aware of. That is just it – she is not the leader that wants to be in the spotlight. She would rather her team be in the spotlight, and for this reason alone, she is the most deserving of the DAISY Nurse Leader Award.
She has a servant's heart and always places her team and patients before herself. During the years of the COVID Crisis 2020-2021, one of her acute care floors was converted into a COVID unit several times. Each time, her team adjusted quickly, with grace, to provide the best care for their new patient population. This reflected her leadership. She went into staffing many times during this period, as did many other Nursing Directors. However, she did it to support her team and allow her team some relief. One week, when staffing was at its worst, she stepped in for her team in a way I have not seen others do. She had a manager out for an unplanned procedure and the other manager was already working in staffing on nights. She came right alongside that manager in staffing and took care of patients in both units. The house could not cover either unit holes this week, and she and the manager worked five shifts. As one of those managers she worked with then, I was never more grateful to have a leader who was not going to stay home during challenging times. She helped right alongside the orthopaedic teams during some of their most trying times.
From the fall of 2022-2023, she filled in as interim Clinical Nurse Director for Brain and Spine while never missing a step in her role as Clinical Nurse Director for the Orthopaedic Institute. She did not just maintain the status quo during this time; she excelled. They completely turned over and rebuilt the leadership of two nursing units and fully exited out of agency on all four acute care floors. During this time, she also led initiatives with the Orthopaedic Institute and Brain and Spine Institute that improved patient safety, operational efficiency and flow, and financial stability. Because of these successes, she was promoted to Executive Director of Nursing Orthopaedics and Brain and Spine.
The nursing units within Brain and Spine needed a strong nursing leader to kickstart their looming reconstruction of leadership – and she stepped up. Although not officially in the position, she took a lot of ownership in the moving pieces to ensure we were on the right track for success. She would never want anyone to know this, and likely not admit this, but these newly acquired responsibilities stacked up on top of an already overflowing plate. This is a feat that not just anyone could have accomplished with such grace, stewardship, leadership, and overwhelming success. She did all this, not for the recognition, but for the people and population that she could positively impact, and because it was simply the right thing to do. For over a year, she stood tall in this role, she advocated for the patients and staff, and she made a palpable impact on the units.
Her leadership style is one that should be mimicked by all—a well-balanced mixture of servant and transformational leadership. She has a servant’s heart and constantly searches for ways to elevate those around her while also maintaining an innovative focus in the areas she oversees. She brings out the best in those around her by encouraging, supporting, and challenging all of us on a professional and personal level.
Most recently, she led the organization as Operations Leader in a successful response to Snowmageddon 2024. What she would not want you to know is that she did not see her family for days, she slept in her office and sacrificed herself for the greater good of supporting her team and leading the organization to function at full capacity. Even with the demand that was placed on her shoulders during this unforeseen event, totaling 2.5 hours of sleep over a three-day period, she still found time to check in on her team to be sure they were taking care of themselves.
One of her closest colleagues said this: For eight years, I have been one of few who have witnessed the many personal sacrifices that she has made to not only lead her teams, but to encourage them and hold them accountable to providing the highest quality of care, and to be the best versions of themselves. I have seen the many hours of early mornings and late nights that she has diligently worked that she does not want you to be aware of. That is just it – she is not the leader that wants to be in the spotlight. She would rather her team be in the spotlight, and for this reason alone, she is the most deserving of the DAISY Nurse Leader Award.