In the last year, our high acuity Cardiothoracic ICU celebrated many accomplishments. This CTICU had over 800 days without a CLABSI, we were awarded the FY22-23 Inpatient Unit Top Performer for Patient Experience and were awarded Extraordinary Experience Pillar Aware from the Patient and Family Advisory Council. These achievements would not have been possible without the commitment of our unit nurse Educator, Catherine Mickey. Catherine began her career here on our unit, seventeen years ago as a new Grad RN. She has been in patient-facing roles, a part of the charge nurse group, and is now an essential member of the leadership team. Her keen lens for the complexity of learner needs, paired with her passion for this patient population, make her a powerful asset to our team. Catherine has organized the onboarding of over 60 staff members over the past year and is relentless in assuring all staff have the educational resources they need to be successful, teaching classes, assuring competencies, and building and sustaining relationships with staff.

Catherine is a mentor to other educators and leaders. She has developed certification study courses, facilitated hands-on learning based on staff requests, and maintains a focus on patient-centered care and professionalism. Catherine takes great pride in her work, and shares her enthusiasm for ongoing education on local and national platforms. At NTI 2023, Catherine was a podium presenter. She is proud of her collaboration with other Educators to ease the burden of transition to practice for new grad RNs and preceptors. Catherine is an active participant in a multidisciplinary workgroup, SOAR (Sedation Off Awake Rehabilitate) focused on the benefits of limiting sedation and emphasizing mobility for mechanically ventilated patients in the ICU. She represented this work group at Rocky Mountain Evidence Based Practice Research Symposium in 2023, winning the Exemplary Poster Award. In the coming months, our unit will gain seven beds and upwards of 20 more staff members. Catherine has not batted an eye in her preparation for this challenge. Instead, she has leaned into her passion - preparing day in the life trainings for over 100 staff members and making thoughtful preceptor pairings. She does all of this while continuing to support tenured staff and being a resource to unit and system leaders.

Catherine embodies a love for the nursing profession that is inspirational and transformative. She is an asset to our team and to our profession and deserves to be celebrated.