Lois Przywojski demonstrates her clinical expertise every time she steps into Mayo Clinic Health System - Franciscan Healthcare (MCHS-FH). Her leadership and knowledge of nursing practice is evidenced by her participation on the unit, hospital, and system wide initiatives.

Lois is devoted to inspiring quality care for our critically ill patients by serving as preceptor and mentor for RN's that have chosen to practice at MCHS-FH. Lois has precepted RN's in ICU as a primary and secondary preceptor. She is equally welcoming to new graduates, as she is to those with med/surg and critical care experience. What sets Lois apart is her ability to meet the needs of nurses no matter where they fall on the novice to expert continuum. Her experience has taught her to know how to ask the what, when, and why questions that keep an orientee engaged in the critical thinking process. A specific example of Lois's ability to tailor the orientation to the individual is a comment that she made about a past new grad. "It is okay to quantify that they don't know what they don't know. It is okay to take the burden off of them potentially feeling like they should know everything fresh out of school. After all, none of us know everything!"

Lois's longevity at MCHS-FH has molded her to be a natural resource and role model for anyone who has the opportunity to work with her. She emulates the Franciscan Healthcare mission-vision and values by respecting the dignity, diversity and God-given worth of every human being, providing compassionate care by being present and personal with her patients. She contributes on committees and councils at all levels of the organization attempting to improve the quality of care provided at MCHS-FH, uses research and continued education, in conjunction with her desire to promote positive change, to enhance the experience of those that we serve - - all while maintaining the overall best interest of our wonderful institution.

Lois is the reason that ICU nurses know how to assess for ST elevation. There was a brief period of time when she moved to Minneapolis and worked at Fairview. When she returned in the mid 1990's, she picked up a change on a patient's monitored heart rhythm, and called the physician for an order for a 12-Lead EKG. Shift change occurred and the physician did not learn of the EKG interpretation until the following morning. [In those days the only in-house physicians were residents and ER physicians]. I decided that it was time for the nurses to be able to recognize ST elevation, and know what Lois knew!

Lois is a quiet leader who understands the value of persistence. There is not a person in our department that does not have the utmost respect for Lois. It is her calm and spiritually driven nature that has earned her this respect. When there is a needed change in our department she can usually connect the need to other areas of the organization, and is willing to speak to the need. Lois avoids gossip and supports the need for positive reinforcement among her colleagues. It is all of these things and more that Lois does to promote harmony and cooperation within our department and throughout the organization. It is a keen awareness of evidence-based practice in combination with her command of the nursing process that guides Lois's ability to embrace change and be a champion for it at the bedside. A most recent example of this is of course the implementation of our electronic medical record. Lois strives to be a champion in terms of refining our processes for data entry during an admission by helping to create a 2 person admission template to be used in our department.

When there is a need for change, whether it's equipment or process, Lois is part of the solution. Her innovation and creativity have been apparent in RN, HUC, and PCT department orientation forms that she has revised, and with Doppler equipment that was purchased for our unit to replace previous devices that were neither user-friendly nor provided a quality signal. On a system level Lois provided her expertise in the revision of two standards related to nasogastric/enteral tube placement and blood transfusion administration.

Lois is a professional who defines the "art of nursing" everyday in her practice. She is nonjudgmental, forgiving, holistic, and real. When she speaks to her patients, or visitors, you get the feeling that she could be speaking to her best friend. When she lays her hands on someone, it is almost like she's touching her own loved one. It is a gift that Lois has, not something that is learned in a class room, but instead a sense of humility and compassion that one is born with and nurtures over time.

The many different councils, project teams, and committees that Lois has been involved with demonstrate her commitment to quality at MCHS-FH. Examples of these include: Chairperson for ICU's preceptor council, member of ICU's Practice Council, a member of ICU's Balloon Pump Team, a member of the Code Blue/RRT/Trauma team, a Wound and Skin expert/resource, a content expert on the Sepsis project team which is a system wide initiative, a member of the Hospital Practice Council, a member of the nursing orientation committee, and a recent member of the Nursing Executive Council.

Outside of MCHS-FH Lois is also a member of American Association of Critical Care Nurses which keeps her up to date on current practice within her specialty. She attended the National Teaching Institute and Critical Care Exposition in 2009 and brought back several ideas that she has implemented through the unit's Solution/Suggestion process. The passion Lois has for continuous growth has inspired her to actively pursue her critical care certification which she successfully achieved in 2010.

The past year has been a journey for Lois, along with her immediate family and work families. Her cancer diagnosis was a surprise, and the treatment left her weak and vulnerable. Despite how hard this year has been, Lois continued to come in and work on policies, procedures, and orientation calendars - on her good days and bad days! Her strength and grace in the midst of pain and uncertainty continue to be shining examples of her resilience as a person and as a nurse!

For all of the aforementioned reasons, we have been honored to know and work with Lois, and feel that she is more than deserving of a DAISY Award, she is a DAISY Nurse!