May 2022
Nursing Education
at Gaylord Specialty Healthcare
Gaylord Specialty Healthcare
Wallingford
,
CT
United States
Caitlin Cote MSN, RN, PCCN
Kristen Berg BSN, RN
Rosie Delgado, RN
Kristen Berg BSN, RN
Rosie Delgado, RN
Caitlin, Kris, and Rosie go above and beyond in all that they do when it comes to educating staff and working with other interdisciplinary teams to implement changes.
Led by Caitlin Cote, this team is always thinking outside the box of ways they can support our staff and improve outcomes. One example of this is the BLS marathon- an entire day dedicated to getting our staff’s BLS certification renewed. The nursing department was struggling with compliance in this area each month until this team started the BLS marathon. Now, we are close to 100% compliant with staff keeping their certification up to date. They have also included Ryan Wanat from respiratory to help run the marathon as well as teach ACLS classes. This interdisciplinary approach is only one example of how this team fosters teamwork and includes other departments to educate staff.
Nursing validation day is another example of how this team goes above and beyond. You would not believe the excitement that goes on behind the scenes of this event from this team. Each year, they come up with a theme, and they go all out! From coordinated costumes, themed decorations and collecting fun stamps at each station—they truly have gotten staff excited about attending and teaching at this mandatory event.
The nursing education team has also worked with pharmacy to educate staff and while transitioning to new med Pyxis’s on each unit. The nurse educators made sure to be present on each shift and went out of their way to support staff and help troubleshoot any issues that came up. When we launched our new telesitter program, Caitlin played a huge role in helping to create a policy, orientation checklist, and HealthStream education while the entire team helped provide mobile education again to all shifts. The nursing education team has developed a very thorough clinical orientation program and this has been a priority for them. They go out of their way to accommodate new staff, including extra orientation sessions on top of their already overflowing schedules. They created a new graduate nurse residency program and specific SNT orientation cohort sessions to work around nursing students’ schedules. We now have more partnerships with schools for students to have Gaylord as their clinical site because of the hard work from this team. Speaking of schools…Gaylord will now have its own CNA Academy, which will be led by Kristen Berg! This was a long time in the making but finally has come to fruition!
Caitlin, Kris, and Rosie go out of their way to support our staff. They are each so passionate about teaching and truly get excited when they are interacting with staff- especially teaching and following up with new staff. They are invested in what they do and want to see them grow and succeed. They make it a point to keep in touch with new staff by frequent rounding. The team also ensures they are routinely present on all 3 shifts knowing that nursing staff needs support 24/7—something you don’t typically find in a nursing education department.
The examples of the incredible changes and creativity from this team are too many to mention. The growth of this department is such a short time is proof that they are doing incredible things and the possibilities are endless. This department is instrumental in so many ways- not just for nursing, but for Gaylord as an organization. To say we are fortunate to have such a dynamic and innovative nursing education team at Gaylord is an understatement!!!
Led by Caitlin Cote, this team is always thinking outside the box of ways they can support our staff and improve outcomes. One example of this is the BLS marathon- an entire day dedicated to getting our staff’s BLS certification renewed. The nursing department was struggling with compliance in this area each month until this team started the BLS marathon. Now, we are close to 100% compliant with staff keeping their certification up to date. They have also included Ryan Wanat from respiratory to help run the marathon as well as teach ACLS classes. This interdisciplinary approach is only one example of how this team fosters teamwork and includes other departments to educate staff.
Nursing validation day is another example of how this team goes above and beyond. You would not believe the excitement that goes on behind the scenes of this event from this team. Each year, they come up with a theme, and they go all out! From coordinated costumes, themed decorations and collecting fun stamps at each station—they truly have gotten staff excited about attending and teaching at this mandatory event.
The nursing education team has also worked with pharmacy to educate staff and while transitioning to new med Pyxis’s on each unit. The nurse educators made sure to be present on each shift and went out of their way to support staff and help troubleshoot any issues that came up. When we launched our new telesitter program, Caitlin played a huge role in helping to create a policy, orientation checklist, and HealthStream education while the entire team helped provide mobile education again to all shifts. The nursing education team has developed a very thorough clinical orientation program and this has been a priority for them. They go out of their way to accommodate new staff, including extra orientation sessions on top of their already overflowing schedules. They created a new graduate nurse residency program and specific SNT orientation cohort sessions to work around nursing students’ schedules. We now have more partnerships with schools for students to have Gaylord as their clinical site because of the hard work from this team. Speaking of schools…Gaylord will now have its own CNA Academy, which will be led by Kristen Berg! This was a long time in the making but finally has come to fruition!
Caitlin, Kris, and Rosie go out of their way to support our staff. They are each so passionate about teaching and truly get excited when they are interacting with staff- especially teaching and following up with new staff. They are invested in what they do and want to see them grow and succeed. They make it a point to keep in touch with new staff by frequent rounding. The team also ensures they are routinely present on all 3 shifts knowing that nursing staff needs support 24/7—something you don’t typically find in a nursing education department.
The examples of the incredible changes and creativity from this team are too many to mention. The growth of this department is such a short time is proof that they are doing incredible things and the possibilities are endless. This department is instrumental in so many ways- not just for nursing, but for Gaylord as an organization. To say we are fortunate to have such a dynamic and innovative nursing education team at Gaylord is an understatement!!!