February 2021
Jill
Gagnon
,
RN, BSN
Town and Country Pediatrics
Ann & Robert H. Lurie Children's Hospital of Chicago
Jill is gifted in her ability to share clinical information accurately and compassionately, even after having to answer 20+ phone calls in one day.
Jill Gagnon deserves to be recognized for her invaluable contribution to our practice. Anyone who has had a busy day full of patients, or a complicated patient, or an acutely ill child that was added to their schedule knows how invaluable a skilled and compassionate nurse is.
What makes Jill stand out is that she is consistently an amazing nurse for any and every provider that is lucky enough to work with her. Her clinical acumen is strong but her ability to anticipate and connect with families in any situation is even stronger. Jill anticipates what potential problems may arise and has already come up with a solution.
For example, I have had 2 separate patients who received bone marrow transplants for their malignancies. Their vaccination records need to be carefully reviewed at every visit to make sure the EPIC records have been reconciled pre and post-BMT, which vaccines need to be repeated, ensuring the appropriate interval between doses, being aware of the timing for live vaccines. Not only is this incredibly helpful for me as the provider to have a second eye on these records, but the parents trust Jill. They know that she has combed over every detail, oncology note, EPIC record to make sure we are doing everything right for this child who has already endured so much.
Jill knows which family needs a call back just to check in because their child was so sick, and the parent was so worried the day before. Jill is gifted in her ability to share clinical information accurately and compassionately, even after having to answer 20+ phone calls in one day. She makes each patient feel like they are the most important patient that day.
As offices get busier and practices become less personalized with electronic records, the demand to see more patients in less time, and MyChart messages, we start to lose the art of true compassionate patient care. After 19 years of private practice, it is obvious that nurses like Jill are a gift. It is one thing to be competent, but it is entirely another to be able to complement a physician with the true teamwork that it takes to care for a patient the way that we would want our own kids to be cared for.
I understand that many times this award goes to an inpatient nurse who might have saved a life or cared for an acutely ill patient on the floor, but our outpatient nurses deal with the demands of high volume and private paying families who often have an unrealistic expectation of their pediatrician's office team. By recognizing Jill, I hope that other young nurses would see what makes her different and have a desire to work harder to emulate Jill's strengths.
What makes Jill stand out is that she is consistently an amazing nurse for any and every provider that is lucky enough to work with her. Her clinical acumen is strong but her ability to anticipate and connect with families in any situation is even stronger. Jill anticipates what potential problems may arise and has already come up with a solution.
For example, I have had 2 separate patients who received bone marrow transplants for their malignancies. Their vaccination records need to be carefully reviewed at every visit to make sure the EPIC records have been reconciled pre and post-BMT, which vaccines need to be repeated, ensuring the appropriate interval between doses, being aware of the timing for live vaccines. Not only is this incredibly helpful for me as the provider to have a second eye on these records, but the parents trust Jill. They know that she has combed over every detail, oncology note, EPIC record to make sure we are doing everything right for this child who has already endured so much.
Jill knows which family needs a call back just to check in because their child was so sick, and the parent was so worried the day before. Jill is gifted in her ability to share clinical information accurately and compassionately, even after having to answer 20+ phone calls in one day. She makes each patient feel like they are the most important patient that day.
As offices get busier and practices become less personalized with electronic records, the demand to see more patients in less time, and MyChart messages, we start to lose the art of true compassionate patient care. After 19 years of private practice, it is obvious that nurses like Jill are a gift. It is one thing to be competent, but it is entirely another to be able to complement a physician with the true teamwork that it takes to care for a patient the way that we would want our own kids to be cared for.
I understand that many times this award goes to an inpatient nurse who might have saved a life or cared for an acutely ill patient on the floor, but our outpatient nurses deal with the demands of high volume and private paying families who often have an unrealistic expectation of their pediatrician's office team. By recognizing Jill, I hope that other young nurses would see what makes her different and have a desire to work harder to emulate Jill's strengths.