Ms. Walters exemplifies the characteristics of a professional nurse. She provides care that encompasses a holistic plan of care in a compassionate and empathetic manner.
Ms. Walters recently took care of a Veteran ensuring that he received home health services by interceding with his provider. The Veteran presented with a skin tear to his forearm and his general appearance of poor hygiene. He was checking with his team prior to going home to see if he needed to do anything else after completing his CT scans that had been ordered for him. She immediately had the Veteran placed in her PACT RN Care Manager Clinic and performed an assessment. She was concerned that the Veteran had driven himself to the VA. She then contacted the Veteran's provider and a home health consult was placed for the Veteran to receive home health care. She had the provider address his skin tear as well. The Veteran is also having hypertensive issues, and Ms. Walters is continuing to follow him in the RN PACT Clinic. There has been success in lowering the Veteran's Blood Pressure. She is able to communicate her education to the Veteran in methods to lower his Blood Pressure based on his individual learning needs and evidence based care. This is only one of multiple examples of the nursing care provided by Ms. Walters.
Ms. Walters continues to be an asset regarding PACT. She is the first preceptor to orient new staff RN's to the Ambulatory Health Care Nursing Unit and the PACT model. Her documentation, completion of reminders, and patient education notes are thorough and address the Veteran's issues and concerns. She has been the preceptor for the majority of nursing staff in Ambulatory Care Nursing, as well as CBOC nursing staff. She is admired by her colleagues for being a continued resource for them, as well as a resource to her Head Nurse. Ms. Walters exhibits the ICARE principles daily in her provision of care for our nation's Veterans. She is willing to assist Veterans and her colleagues as she has volunteered to serve on several committees and teams to improve Veteran care and processes. Ms. Walters has received numerous compliments from her colleagues throughout her career at the medical center. Her current provider has stated that Ms. Walters is a good nurse, and she is glad to have her on her team.
A former provider expressed the following sentiment regarding Ms. Walters's commitment to the mission of the Department of Veterans Affairs, which has not wavered since it was written by him. "I want to express how much we appreciate Mrs. Judy Walters. There is not a day that goes by that at least one of our Veterans comes into my office and tells me how impressed they are of Mrs. Walters. They tell me that she listens well, speaks to them as "family", and shows genuine concern for their well-being. Her daily assessments of our patients are very accurate. Her charting is commendable and thorough. As you know we try to stay very busy in this clinic to take care of the needs of our Veterans and to promote "Health" in each of their lives. Mrs. Walters seems eager to maintain the pace that is set here in Team D. She works very diligently; the passion she has for Nursing is very obvious. She maintains a great attitude throughout her day, and the empathy that she shows with the Veterans does not go unnoticed. I do not know when her evaluation comes up but I hope you will let her know of how great of a job she is doing, and how much she is appreciated here at the VA. She has been in the clinic for over one year and I have yet to hear of a complaint that was directed at her. I can only hope that one day the veterans can say the same about me. In the Navy, we would say "Bravo Zulu" to Mrs. Walters."