James Watkins has stepped up to champion a process that most staff try to avoid being scheduled on. He volunteered to be our downtime champion and work as night shift relief charge on Saturdays during scheduled downtimes. He normally works the day shift, but he volunteered to work Saturday nights to help support the unit. He was the leader during our most recently scheduled downtime. I felt confident that the unit would run smoothly and patients would be safe with him in charge.

After the downtime, the doctor called me to do a debrief about the downtime shift. He said James did an incredible job leading the unit. He worked very collaboratively with the unit secretary, techs, and registration staff and was in constant communication with the physician to ensure that patients were well taken care of during our system downtime. The physician praised his professionalism and communication skills. James has grown and developed his nursing practice significantly over the past several years. He continues to take on embrace challenges and maintain a growth mindset even in the face of setbacks.