Rachel Caiola
September 2015
Rachel
Caiola
,
RN
R6-Ortho/Neuro
Maine Medical Center
Portland
,
ME
United States
We are often asked how we have managed so much success on our unit. The answer comes easily from any staff member you ask: our leadership.
Recently the role of designated charge nurse (DCN) was developed on R6 and the responsibility of development fell on a small group of people. Rachel was one nurse who easily rose to the top as the lead DCN and was instrumental in the development of this role.
She personifies all the key attributes needed for the success of this role. Rachel has a gift of leadership that all staff responds to well. She has special magic that endears her to you and yet she inspires you to excel. She believes in three concepts: "firm, fair and consistent."
Not only is she an excellent nurse as demonstrated by receiving the Nurse Excellence Award but is able to take her skills to a new level and is a powerful advocate for the patient. She is often at the bedside to listen to the patient concerns and is able to resolve many patient issues through experience recovery well before things become irreconcilable. She has been instrumental in the trust that develops between the nurse and the patient/family. She greets everyone with a warm smile and a sincerity that is unmatched by anyone.
Rachel's communication skills are at the heart of her no-nonsense style and yet it is this sense that creates trust in her nursing knowledge and leadership. Staff trust her communication skills and seek her out to help solve a variety of issues from finding schedule solutions for personal challenges to staffing the unit adequately and fairly. She supports the staff with loyalty and listens to their concerns and is resourceful at directing others to be more self-empowered and motivated. She rarely gives the answer to a problem but leads you to a solution that you may never have considered. Often Rachel acts as a mentor and a resource to new staff. She is accessible and open in her communication that is welcoming and deliberate. She makes you feel that your questions are never foolish or undeserving of her attention.
She is a positive, influential nurse. She knows her practice and has developed skills to manage the unit successfully. Her global perspective for patient needs and flow has had an impact not only on the unit but on the hospital itself. Supervisors respond to her expertise and judgement and trust her decisions. Other units including PACU appreciate her skill and efficiency with patient flow. They know she carefully assesses every patient situation when making placement decisions. She is not afraid to think outside the box or to stand up for the patient even if it goes against management. She is also very involved in the committee work being done to improve the transfer process by enhancing the SBAR used in safe patient handoff.
Although Rachel may not care for the patient at the bedside her work as DCN impacts all the patients on the unit. It is her leadership that drives excellence in the care delivery of the bedside nurse on R6/B2. Her work on the Informatics Council also impacts patient care through thorough documentation and safe nurse practice at MMC.
She is a role model that every nurse can aspire to. She adopts every initiative with enthusiasm that is contagious and instills in others the desire to succeed. She has humor and compassion that encourages others to work to their potential. She holds everyone accountable from the Director to the house keeper. Rachel exemplifies every Magnet quality of nurse excellence. One weekend she overslept and arrived to work late. She reported herself to the manager. After all, she was heard saying "I am accountable to the unit just as I hold others accountable". Rachel has an ability to laugh at herself and the humility to realize that she is first and foremost a nurse and is held to the same standards as anyone else on the unit or at MMC. Rachel takes her job very seriously but is able to see her own needs for development and has a talent to see the humor of being Rachel.
It is always a joy to come to work when Rachel is in charge. I know we will have a good day and if we don't she will be there to support us and get us through. Even the weekends can be fun when she sponsors "Sunday Fun-day" and staff bring in treats to share. Rachel is more than deserving of the DAISY Award because we couldn't deliver the care we do without a leader of this caliber.
Recently the role of designated charge nurse (DCN) was developed on R6 and the responsibility of development fell on a small group of people. Rachel was one nurse who easily rose to the top as the lead DCN and was instrumental in the development of this role.
She personifies all the key attributes needed for the success of this role. Rachel has a gift of leadership that all staff responds to well. She has special magic that endears her to you and yet she inspires you to excel. She believes in three concepts: "firm, fair and consistent."
Not only is she an excellent nurse as demonstrated by receiving the Nurse Excellence Award but is able to take her skills to a new level and is a powerful advocate for the patient. She is often at the bedside to listen to the patient concerns and is able to resolve many patient issues through experience recovery well before things become irreconcilable. She has been instrumental in the trust that develops between the nurse and the patient/family. She greets everyone with a warm smile and a sincerity that is unmatched by anyone.
Rachel's communication skills are at the heart of her no-nonsense style and yet it is this sense that creates trust in her nursing knowledge and leadership. Staff trust her communication skills and seek her out to help solve a variety of issues from finding schedule solutions for personal challenges to staffing the unit adequately and fairly. She supports the staff with loyalty and listens to their concerns and is resourceful at directing others to be more self-empowered and motivated. She rarely gives the answer to a problem but leads you to a solution that you may never have considered. Often Rachel acts as a mentor and a resource to new staff. She is accessible and open in her communication that is welcoming and deliberate. She makes you feel that your questions are never foolish or undeserving of her attention.
She is a positive, influential nurse. She knows her practice and has developed skills to manage the unit successfully. Her global perspective for patient needs and flow has had an impact not only on the unit but on the hospital itself. Supervisors respond to her expertise and judgement and trust her decisions. Other units including PACU appreciate her skill and efficiency with patient flow. They know she carefully assesses every patient situation when making placement decisions. She is not afraid to think outside the box or to stand up for the patient even if it goes against management. She is also very involved in the committee work being done to improve the transfer process by enhancing the SBAR used in safe patient handoff.
Although Rachel may not care for the patient at the bedside her work as DCN impacts all the patients on the unit. It is her leadership that drives excellence in the care delivery of the bedside nurse on R6/B2. Her work on the Informatics Council also impacts patient care through thorough documentation and safe nurse practice at MMC.
She is a role model that every nurse can aspire to. She adopts every initiative with enthusiasm that is contagious and instills in others the desire to succeed. She has humor and compassion that encourages others to work to their potential. She holds everyone accountable from the Director to the house keeper. Rachel exemplifies every Magnet quality of nurse excellence. One weekend she overslept and arrived to work late. She reported herself to the manager. After all, she was heard saying "I am accountable to the unit just as I hold others accountable". Rachel has an ability to laugh at herself and the humility to realize that she is first and foremost a nurse and is held to the same standards as anyone else on the unit or at MMC. Rachel takes her job very seriously but is able to see her own needs for development and has a talent to see the humor of being Rachel.
It is always a joy to come to work when Rachel is in charge. I know we will have a good day and if we don't she will be there to support us and get us through. Even the weekends can be fun when she sponsors "Sunday Fun-day" and staff bring in treats to share. Rachel is more than deserving of the DAISY Award because we couldn't deliver the care we do without a leader of this caliber.