April 2017
Sherry
Decoteau
,
RN
PEAT (Rapid Response) Team
Providence Alaska Medical Center
Anchorage
,
AK
United States

 

 

 

Sherry is one of the most consistent, respected and skilled nurse for the PEAT team. She holds herself accountable and tries to maintain a high standard for herself as she recognizes the important role that PEAT represents throughout the facility. She acts as a mentor to many new RN Residents that have shadowed her to understand the PEAT role and continues to offer support and guidance when they are on the floor. She builds collaborative relationships with floor staff, physicians, shift coordinators, patient placement, and management. She has a talent of connecting with patients and staff creating a calming presence and directing care with kindness and thoroughness. During 2016, she received tons of kudos for her service/patient care to the facility from all areas and staff.
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Sherry immediately responded to a code gray and helped with the care of the disruptive patient. Thanks Sherry for always keeping the patients at the heart of your care.
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Sherry, you are an amazing PEAT nurse and I cannot tell you how proud I am to have you on the team. Your dedication to positive patient outcomes and supporting the staff of the facility is evident in all you do. Thank you for all your hard work.
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Sherry does such a great job in her PEAT nurse position. She is always able and willing to help. She is calm in all situations and is very knowledgeable. Thank you, Sherry, for all your work!
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Sherry puts patients and staff safety first and was unafraid to speak out when she saw a physician not following safety protocols, earning a Hero Award nomination. Sherry is able to manage complex patient situations, keeping in mind the needs of the patients and the caregivers while driving care, mentoring, educating and providing lifesaving interventions in an organized and effective manner. Sometimes this can be challenging to balance PEAT responsibilities with mentoring basic nursing duties, especially with the influx of RN Residents in 2016, but Sherry meets this challenge with patience and helpfulness, making sure to balance her workload while still being present for nurses who need assistance.
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Sherry is always willing to help out a nurse or unit, no matter what the request is, she is the ultimate team player. I recall this one time when a patient wanted to see his dog one last time but there was no one available to escort him outside to see his wife and dog. The unit reached out to Sherry and despite this not being a normal job duty for PEAT, she was available and absolutely said she would take him down. She spent over an hour with this family. Later that evening, she went up to check on him and he had passed away. During the afternoon, she had taken pictures of him and the dog which she passed on to his very grateful family. This is the type of nurse I would want to be caring for my family.
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Sherry often picks up additional shifts in ICU or PEAT to help maintain adequate coverage and consistent patient care. She maintains a wonderfully open, communicative relationship with management, sharing her needs, ideas, and issues. She is a wonderful role model for staff and a model employee who encourages mutual respect, is thorough in her work and despite having excellent clinical skills, continues to seek out opportunities to grow both as a nurse and professional. Her kindness and compassion and dedication to excellence embodies the nursing ideal, Core Values, and Mission at PAMC.