Jeffrey Schulz
January 2023
Jeffrey
Schulz
,
SN, APRN, ANP-BC, CCNS, CCRN
ShandsCair
UF Health Shands Hospital
Gainesville
,
FL
United States
As a flight nurse, Jeffrey provides emergent care to critical pre-hospital patients during air transport, requiring him to function at the full scope of his practice in some of the most stressful situations.
As the Vice President of Patient Services and Chief Nursing Officer for UF Health Shands Hospital, I am honored to submit this letter of support for Jeffrey Schultz. Jeffrey is a flight nurse for the organization’s ShandsCair Critical Care Transport Team and consistently demonstrates his unwavering commitment to providing safe, compassionate care. Jeffrey fully embraces the Vision of Shands Nursing for “setting new standards of excellence in autonomous, accountable nursing practice, committed to patient advocacy and innovative patient care in a climate of trust and collaboration.” His commitment to quality nursing care, patient safety, and achieving optimal patient outcomes is evident in the way he cares for his patients and our community.
As a flight nurse, Jeffrey provides emergent care to critical pre-hospital patients during air transport, requiring him to function at the full scope of his practice in some of the most stressful situations. In addition to Jeffrey’s exemplary clinical practice, he is instrumental in providing community outreach and interprofessional education. His effective communication, advanced clinical skills, and excellent interpersonal skills make him a role model for his peers and interprofessional colleagues. Jeffrey illustrates his dedication to continuous learning and professional practice through his attainment of multiple specialty certifications, further reflecting his dedication to excellence in caring for acute and critically ill patients. Our nursing mission of “Experienced Care, Expert Caring to our patients, families, and community” supports a high-quality, evidence-based, individualized practice delivered with kindness, respect, and caring. Jeffrey embodies our nursing mission in his delivery of exceptional service to every patient at every encounter, and it is my honor to provide this letter of support for this award.
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I would wholeheartedly like to submit a letter of support for Jeffrey Schultz for the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses in Patient Safety. Jeff has been a flight nurse for the ShandsCair Critical Care Transport program for over twelve years and is an excellent clinician. He received the DAISY Award in April 2021 for his efforts as the lead nurse involved in saving the life of a critically ill pediatric burn patient. Jeff and his paramedic partner performed a life-saving cricothyrotomy and retrograde intubation, as well as an escharotomy to the child’s chest. While these advanced procedures are part of our protocols, flight personnel are rarely faced with this challenge, especially involving a pediatric patient. Jeff visited the child while they were in the intensive care unit, which was very much appreciated by their family. He even brought them a ShandsCair t-shirt. Not only did the patient survive, but weeks later, they were flown to a burn rehab by fixed wing, and the family requested Jeff and his paramedic partner to do the flight. Since this incredibly stressful day, Jeff has presented this case study (with permission from the family) on multiple occasions. He used this situation as an opportunity to provide education to our flight teams. He has also presented at two critical care interprofessional conferences for paramedics, nurses, advanced practice providers, and physicians.
As part of a helicopter EMS program, patient safety is our top priority. Jeff has an exemplary safety record and helps the program maintain optimal patient outcomes. In addition to Jeff’s role as a direct care flight nurse for ShandsCair, he also practices as an acute care nurse practitioner, specializing in critical care management of cardiovascular ICU patients. Jeff played an instrumental role in caring for the most critical patients on ECMO, especially during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jeff has taught multiple lectures on hemodynamics and ECMO to interprofessional care teams. He would love nothing more than to advance emergency response practice to allow for ECMO to be performed in the field (like a couple of other advanced European countries are currently doing successfully). Jeff holds many professional memberships, including the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the American College of Chest Physicians, Extracorporeal Life Support, and the American Critical Care Nurses Association. He has also been a member of our Shandscair Unit Practice Council. Jeff has authored chapters for two books - Pharmacology Made Ridiculously Easy and Emergency Nursing Made Ridiculously Easy. As you can see, everything Jeff does is centered around evidence-based education, increasing patient safety, and advancing compassionate nursing practice.
As a flight nurse, Jeffrey provides emergent care to critical pre-hospital patients during air transport, requiring him to function at the full scope of his practice in some of the most stressful situations. In addition to Jeffrey’s exemplary clinical practice, he is instrumental in providing community outreach and interprofessional education. His effective communication, advanced clinical skills, and excellent interpersonal skills make him a role model for his peers and interprofessional colleagues. Jeffrey illustrates his dedication to continuous learning and professional practice through his attainment of multiple specialty certifications, further reflecting his dedication to excellence in caring for acute and critically ill patients. Our nursing mission of “Experienced Care, Expert Caring to our patients, families, and community” supports a high-quality, evidence-based, individualized practice delivered with kindness, respect, and caring. Jeffrey embodies our nursing mission in his delivery of exceptional service to every patient at every encounter, and it is my honor to provide this letter of support for this award.
***
I would wholeheartedly like to submit a letter of support for Jeffrey Schultz for the DAISY Award for Extraordinary Nurses in Patient Safety. Jeff has been a flight nurse for the ShandsCair Critical Care Transport program for over twelve years and is an excellent clinician. He received the DAISY Award in April 2021 for his efforts as the lead nurse involved in saving the life of a critically ill pediatric burn patient. Jeff and his paramedic partner performed a life-saving cricothyrotomy and retrograde intubation, as well as an escharotomy to the child’s chest. While these advanced procedures are part of our protocols, flight personnel are rarely faced with this challenge, especially involving a pediatric patient. Jeff visited the child while they were in the intensive care unit, which was very much appreciated by their family. He even brought them a ShandsCair t-shirt. Not only did the patient survive, but weeks later, they were flown to a burn rehab by fixed wing, and the family requested Jeff and his paramedic partner to do the flight. Since this incredibly stressful day, Jeff has presented this case study (with permission from the family) on multiple occasions. He used this situation as an opportunity to provide education to our flight teams. He has also presented at two critical care interprofessional conferences for paramedics, nurses, advanced practice providers, and physicians.
As part of a helicopter EMS program, patient safety is our top priority. Jeff has an exemplary safety record and helps the program maintain optimal patient outcomes. In addition to Jeff’s role as a direct care flight nurse for ShandsCair, he also practices as an acute care nurse practitioner, specializing in critical care management of cardiovascular ICU patients. Jeff played an instrumental role in caring for the most critical patients on ECMO, especially during the peak of the COVID-19 pandemic. Jeff has taught multiple lectures on hemodynamics and ECMO to interprofessional care teams. He would love nothing more than to advance emergency response practice to allow for ECMO to be performed in the field (like a couple of other advanced European countries are currently doing successfully). Jeff holds many professional memberships, including the Society of Critical Care Medicine, the American College of Chest Physicians, Extracorporeal Life Support, and the American Critical Care Nurses Association. He has also been a member of our Shandscair Unit Practice Council. Jeff has authored chapters for two books - Pharmacology Made Ridiculously Easy and Emergency Nursing Made Ridiculously Easy. As you can see, everything Jeff does is centered around evidence-based education, increasing patient safety, and advancing compassionate nursing practice.