I would like to commend Katie on her stellar nursing assessment skills and exceptional nursing care she provides to her patients on a daily basis. Moreover, I recently had the opportunity to discuss a particular patient's clinical presentation and plan of care with Katie. Katie had concerns, looked beyond the obvious, followed her nursing intuition, and advocated for her patient.
She successfully employed TeamSTEPPS strategies and SBAR communication to obtain orders for additional lab work that ultimately led to the patient being transferred to AICU to receive a higher level of care necessitated. This patient was critically ill and remained hospitalized in AICU for 14 days.
If Katie had not communicated and advocated so effectively for this patient, this patient's outcome would have likely been quite devastating. Instead, as a result of her actions, this patient's baby will now have his/her mother.
It is an honor and a privilege to work amongst nurses such as Katie who compassionately exemplify the art, skill, and science of nursing.