Chris Workosky has been a nurse in the Post-Anesthesia Care Unit (PACU) for the past 15 years. Chris has 30 years of total experiences as a nurse. She works steady evening shifts; at times this can be daunting and difficult. Many of the evening cases that come from the OR are ICU cases, although patients from earlier in the day might still be in the PACU waiting to be transferred to the inpatient units. Often the volume of patients in the unit exceeds what the nurse-patient ratio should be. Chris takes this in stride. She not only gives excellent patient care, but she becomes an ambassador for the unit and the hospital when the census exceeds bed capacity. This has been demonstrated numerous times over the course of Chris’s tenure as a PACU nurse.
Recently a patient wrote a letter to administration telling them we truly have angels working at our hospital. She wanted to commend on in particular – Chris Workosky. This patient (an RN herself for 20 years) had been required to wait in the PACU until 1:30am until a bed became available on a surgical floor. The patient explains that even though Chris had many pressures and stresses in the PACU, she continued to provide excellent care to her. Chris made sure the patient’s husband was informed and allowed to enter the PACU to visit with her. The patient wrote she was aware Chris was required to stay several hours beyond her shift while she waited for PACU patients to be assigned beds. She goes on to explain how compassionate and caring Chris remained even when her shift became extended.
This story exemplifies Chris’s daily nursing practice. She is often required to stay beyond her shift and does so without complaint – always with compassion, caring, kindness, and skill. When asked, she will tell you it’s just part of her job. Her detail-oriented personality and organizational abilities have made her the go-to person on the unit. She keeps a book with pertinent information including phone numbers, resources, or policies. She can be counted on to know where to find things or how to solve issues. New and old staff members alike quickly recognize that she can be counted on to be their best resource on a shift when resources are often scarce. Chris is an incredible source of information and knowledge. She is often described by her peers as being “just awesome.”