Natalie consistently demonstrates professionalism and integrity while serving in her leadership role. She appreciates the importance of diversity and conveys that to others. She is an effective and well-respected leader within the organization and continues to strive to be the best she can be. She is a member of the ENA, ANA/TNA and is certified in emergency nursing (CEN). She volunteered to enhance her leadership skills by dedicating herself to attending the first PLEDGE program offered and successfully completed it. This nurse leader is an impressive educator and strives to be thought of as approachable by all staff. She is continuously educating, coaching and recognizing staff for a job well done when deserved or mentoring when the need arises. This leader is the direct supervisor for the unlicensed personnel on the floor. She does serve as their voice for the unit as well as the hospital, she gives recognition where deserved and when warranted does not hesitate in holding staff accountable. She is persistently searching for ways to improve processes with the ultimate goal of enhancing patient care, not only specific to the unit but throughout the organization. Staff will call on her help to complete skills they have not been successful at or never done before, such as hard blood draw, PIV, medi-port access, wound vacs, etc. or if they have questions about certain processes. She loves to help the staff perform these things but ensures she takes the opportunity to educate as well; this type of leadership style has enhanced the knowledge and confidence of the staff on the unit. She can be counted on at all times to be an exceptional role model regardless of the situation. She leads by example and will not ask anyone to do anything she has not done or would not do herself.
Natalie has the uncanny ability to display a cheerful, positive and can-do attitude daily. I cannot remember ever seeing her have a bad day; she just does not show it and has the exceptional ability to handle tough issues with sincere compassion and empathy. She is the one that often gets customer complaints after an attempt of de-escalation at the bedside fails and she tirelessly works at finding a solution that the patient and family are happy and satisfied with. This could be something as simple as another meal tray to more pressing concerns such as being dissatisfied with the care they are receiving. She is unfailingly sensitive to and respectful of all individuals. She is so gentle and soft-spoken with everyone and exhibits extraordinary communication and listening skills with patients, families, and staff. She does this by being genuinely interested in what others have to say and being absolutely blinded to others' differences. She immediately put patients' needs above her duties. She is highly committed to delivering safe quality care and is a significant driving force not only in her unit but within the organization to encourage excellence and compassion from all caregivers.
She clearly understands leading as "facilitating the success of team and company". She is excellent at guiding and motivating staff. She is a leader by example and promotes teamwork, excellence, and safe quality care. Staff will often come to her with their personal concerns or when they need advice, she is known for her gentle, caring and compassionate personality. She truly tries to put herself in someone's position, so she can better understand their issues prior to making difficult decisions. She is not afraid to speak up to her leadership and provide the employee's side and because of this empathy, she is able to offer solutions to tough issues while keeping the employee in the forefront. I am so appreciative of this quality she exhibits; it has helped me make a decision that truly does take the individual employee's situation in mind while following the organization's expectations. She will not make decisions that will affect staff without interacting with the staff first such as surveys, meetings or one to one; she is unequivocally dedicated to shared governance. She can be counted on by this organization and those employed here to make trustworthy, ethical and sound decisions that follow the organization's vision and mission.
Natalie serves or has served on several committees: Employee Engagement, Task Force, PEER Review, Telemetry Workgroup, Surgery Medicine Workgroup and Renal Transplant QAPI. She is one of the first to volunteer to serve on a hospital committee even though she has a lot on her plate. She will come in on her day off to attend a committee. She has helped research, prepare and present posters for all to learn from within the organization. She has been crucial in the development of unit specific processes and has worked with others to develop a more streamlined and user-friendly electronic medical record. She uses chart audit data to trend and identify educational needs as well as an opportunity for recognition. She is an irreplaceable mentor and leader and through her compassion, eagerness, and drive she has cultivated scores of excellent nurses. I am so very proud of her and her accomplishments and of the many contributions she has made in the nursing profession just by her actions and dedication to excellence. I honestly cannot imagine doing my job without her by my side; she has helped make this unit what it is today.
She enriches our community's well-being by educating the patients and families on their disease process, medications, plan of care and preventive measures. She believes that nurses are the key to a successful hospital discharge by ensuring the patient and family know and have what they need to continue the healing at home. She promotes discharging upon admission to all staff and energetically works with the team to see that this happens. She advocates to others the importance of listening to the patient's concerns and addressing them prior to discharge whether it is something as simple as medication questions to difficult social issues. By being a passionate educator to other caregivers she contributes to our community the gift of education, knowledge, and control of their own health. She participates in her church and church projects, she is without fail accessible to her children's school and takes part in the "MARCH" for respect annually honoring citizens with disabilities. She is also a faithful and unwavering wife and mother of two. She is always available after hours and is unselfishly flexible, such as volunteering to pick up someone's call, work longer hours or different hours to help the hospital and the unit. For all of these reasons and many more that go unrecognized, Natalie is a true DAISY Nurse Leader.