Lauren is an exceptional nurse leader and manager of the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) and Cardiac Care Unit (CCU) at SBMC. She continuously motivates, inspires, and encourages the staff and herself to reach their fullest potential. She has a strong knowledge base and she is an expert clinician who serves as a resource for the team. She urges everyone to join a professional organization, obtain their certifications to validate their knowledge base and encourages people to attend nursing conferences and share their experiences with the rest of the staff. She often poses the question, "Is this your job or your career?" By doing so, she prompts staff to self-reflect and promotes continuous growth and improvement.
Her door is always open and she will take the time to sit down and give advice and encouragement on how to advance for their professional development. She is transparent with her expectations of the staff and she strives to treat everyone with respect and fairness. During huddles, she shares "wins" and comments that patients or family members have made during her rounds and she ensures people feel important and appreciated. She continuously promotes safety and teamwork and she never hesitates to jump into the fray when chaos ensues. During a code or medical emergency, she is one of the first people in the room to help with the code cart, help the newer nurses with a combative patient, and ensure that the best practices are followed. She will debrief with the nurses and hold an open discussion as to what could have been done differently and she takes the time to speak with a distraught family member to help them cope with what has occurred. For instance, there was a patient who was on the ventilator and he had coded due to a flare up of his illness. His wife was very upset at the events and Lauren took the time to sit with her and explain exactly what happened and why it happened.
Lauren leads with the mission and values of our organization. She articulated Nursing's Professional Practice Model (PPM) in a relatable and simplified way so that the ICU and CCU staff was able to understand it and incorporate it in their everyday practice. She often brings everything back to purpose, closing the loop and summarizing topics brought forth in huddle to show how it all relates to the PPM. She is an exceptional role model for future nurse leaders.