Since our unit (NCCU) has opened, Danielle has created a positive work environment for her staff. We are a fairly new unit and our staff satisfaction scores have been great each and every year, mainly because of Danielle. Danielle constantly maintains a positive attitude and is the most compassionate leader I have had the pleasure of working for. Around the hospital, our unit is known as "Disney Land", because we are the happiest place on earth. Without Danielle as our manager, this would not be possible. Danielle also has an open door policy and we all feel comfortable going to her with our problems. She listens and responds with the compassion that comes natural to her. She truly genuinely cares about her staff and seeing them become successful is a goal of hers. There has been several times where I have just walked in her office, plopped down and started asking questions about my master's degree, and she always takes the time to guide me in the right direction. Danielle has created an environment of autonomy throughout her staff in the ICU. She genuinely believes in all of us and this shows by her actions. She allows her charge nurses to make decisions as well as bedside nurses. When mistakes are made she uses it as an educational topic to prevent further mistakes. None of our staff are afraid to voice their opinion in fear of being reprimanded. She is a major resource to us and is always available to answer questions. I am not sure if there has ever been a question that I have asked that she was unable to answer. When I think of the perfect manager, Danielle is definitely it! As a bedside nurse that is working towards a career in leadership, I value Danielle as my role model and would love to model my leadership style exactly as hers.
I could honestly talk for hours about how Danielle has impacted her staff in such a positive way but I will try to summarize it. Danielle was a born leader in my opinion. Being a leader in the nursing profession is where she was destined to be. She is extremely compassionate and caring when it comes to her staff. She encourages us all to further our education and make ourselves better. 68% of our nurses are certified, and a majority of the staff are studying or getting ready to test for their certification. She celebrates and recognizes staffs accomplishment and always creates posters on the unit to recognize the positive things we are doing. The majority of our staff is in school for either BSN or MSN programs and she is always willing to work with our school schedules as well as be a mentor for each individual staff member. Danielle genuinely cares about her team. She will always walk around the unit and make sure we are doing okay, ask us about things in our lives un-related to work, and she is always there for us when we need her. You can always go in her office and she will listen whole heartedly whether it's to vent about a difficult day or talk about a personal milestone or major family event. If the unit is blowing up and nobody has had the chance to take a lunch, she will order us lunch and personally cover assignments so her staff can go eat. I have never had a nurse manager do that! Other nurses have expressed interest in working in the NCCU simply to work for Danielle. You can ask around the hospital and I'm sure you will hear nothing but positive things regarding Danielle. She has helped us foster a positive relationship with the ED as well as our step-down unit 6C. Our staff love coming into work and caring for our patients because Danielle has created such a positive, friendly work environment for us.
Danielle, although a nurse manager, is a great team player! She is always willing to jump in and help with patient care. She will assist you with turns, cleaning up your patient, getting your patient out of bed, passing meds if you're busy and answering call bells. She sets an amazing example for her staff which makes us all want to provide the best care possible for our patients. The patients absolutely love her as much as we the staff do! She will go into patient's rooms and chat with them daily and ask them howthere care has been. She is compassionate with the patients and families as well. I have seen her sit in a distressed patient's room and talk to them and their family for over an hour. She has also attended family meetings just to provide support for the loved ones. She truly cares about how the patients are taken care of on our unit and loves seeing them progress and get better. We have received several notes of positive feedback from patients and families and they all seem to mention how they loved Danielle. She is the only nurse manager I have worked for that is involved with patients and families so closely.
Danielle is an advocate as well for us in the community. She supports our volunteer activities in the community such as when we volunteer at The Food Bank. She also encourages us to participate in the Heart Walk and the Brain Aneurysm walk. With her support and encouragement we have had a team for each walk and participated each year. She has also talked about setting up a support group for our stroke patients and families that have been discharged.
Danielle is by far the best leader I have had the pleasure of working for at Christiana Care and she deserves this recognition!