Sangyoung Yu-Choi
May 2024
Sangyoung
Yu-Choi
,
MSN-Ed, RN, PCCN-K, NPD-BC
Center for Nursing Excellence
UCLA Health
Santa Monica
,
CA
United States
In addition to implementing this orientation program, she also developed an education program for the new staff members. She involved staff nurses to develop the educational topics and educate the new staff. Staff nurses became transferors of knowledge and trained new staff on the UCLA way and practice.
This nurse leader has made an incredible impact on our unit with her knowledge and expertise. During the onset of COVID, she constantly updated staff on isolation precautions and testing procedures to ensure we were safe and practicing safely. She would send us e-mails with new changes and update the whiteboard at our nursing station with new information so it was easier for the charge nurses to make unit decisions regarding patient assignments. When anyone had any questions regarding COVID, she was one of the first people we would turn to. Having the information readily available and written clearly helped alleviate our fears since we were one of the first units exposed to COVID in 2020.
One of her passions is educating staff members. She spearheaded an orientation program, the tier-skilled acquisition model (TSAM), on the unit for our new graduate nurses and new experienced nurses. The tier-skilled acquisition model separates clinical skills into three different levels (simple to complex) so that the nurse can progressively build their skills. When new nurses start on the unit, she e-mails and posts their TSAM schedule so that the charge nurses can make appropriate assignments. In addition to implementing this orientation program, she also developed an education program for the new staff members. She involved staff nurses to develop the educational topics and educate the new staff. Staff nurses became transferors of knowledge and trained new staff on the UCLA way and practice. This also promoted consistency in the unit practice since new staff members were being taught the same information.
Her passion for education also spread to other units; she assists in educating other units on our unit-specific education and is a resource for their leadership teams. She always encourages us to attend classes to expand our knowledge thus resulting in better care for our patients. She shares upcoming classes and new evidence-based knowledge during our mid-shift huddle so that everyone has the information available.
A few years ago, our unit started caring for normal-pressure hydrocephalus patients. When we started caring for these patients, patients arrived at random times and due to high census, we did not always have an empty bed available. This resulted in the patients waiting in the cafeteria for a bed to be available, resulting in their being dissatisfied. Our nurse leader took the initiative, collaborated with the necessary teams, and created a standard operation procedure. On the day of admission, she coordinates with the charge nurse to determine how many beds are available. She will then call the patients each morning to give them a time to come to the hospital so that their beds are ready when they arrive to increase patient satisfaction. She also meets the patients when they arrive to explain what to expect for the week and answer any concerns.
In conclusion, this nurse leader has made an incredible difference to our unit and how our unit functions. She is a resource staff can refer to if we have any questions. Her passion for knowledge and education encourages the staff to be better practitioners.
One of her passions is educating staff members. She spearheaded an orientation program, the tier-skilled acquisition model (TSAM), on the unit for our new graduate nurses and new experienced nurses. The tier-skilled acquisition model separates clinical skills into three different levels (simple to complex) so that the nurse can progressively build their skills. When new nurses start on the unit, she e-mails and posts their TSAM schedule so that the charge nurses can make appropriate assignments. In addition to implementing this orientation program, she also developed an education program for the new staff members. She involved staff nurses to develop the educational topics and educate the new staff. Staff nurses became transferors of knowledge and trained new staff on the UCLA way and practice. This also promoted consistency in the unit practice since new staff members were being taught the same information.
Her passion for education also spread to other units; she assists in educating other units on our unit-specific education and is a resource for their leadership teams. She always encourages us to attend classes to expand our knowledge thus resulting in better care for our patients. She shares upcoming classes and new evidence-based knowledge during our mid-shift huddle so that everyone has the information available.
A few years ago, our unit started caring for normal-pressure hydrocephalus patients. When we started caring for these patients, patients arrived at random times and due to high census, we did not always have an empty bed available. This resulted in the patients waiting in the cafeteria for a bed to be available, resulting in their being dissatisfied. Our nurse leader took the initiative, collaborated with the necessary teams, and created a standard operation procedure. On the day of admission, she coordinates with the charge nurse to determine how many beds are available. She will then call the patients each morning to give them a time to come to the hospital so that their beds are ready when they arrive to increase patient satisfaction. She also meets the patients when they arrive to explain what to expect for the week and answer any concerns.
In conclusion, this nurse leader has made an incredible difference to our unit and how our unit functions. She is a resource staff can refer to if we have any questions. Her passion for knowledge and education encourages the staff to be better practitioners.