Kassaundra is an IT Nurse and a staff nurse at TMC. She can't walk through the halls of the hospital without running into a patient or colleague and give them a hug. She is my mentor at KC One and makes sure I'm included in all projects and communications and introducing me to all the TMC staff. As a reference site and in town we are also a solution partner and Kassaundra will be the face of the projects for end users to ask questions. She developed the superuser training program here at TMC, she holds the super users accountable and they enjoy being one, they don't see it as a plus one, they genuinely want to be the Cerner leader in their area because of the way she makes them feel. Kassaundra always wants to learn, whether it be to build power forms, reports or starting grad school this winter. She keeps the clinical aspect of workflow (staff, patients, safety, quality, etc.) in mind when design decisions are being discussed and challenges those around her to continue to do the same.
Informaticist at Truman Medical Centers focused on the patients they serve. In addition to being an integral part of the ITworks team at TMC, Kassaundra takes her talents and passion to the bedside working several shifts per month. I will illustrate just a few of the ways Kassaundra exemplifies excellence in her work as a nurse and Cerner Associate delivering value to her organization.
Kassaundra has really become the "face of Nursing Informatics" at Truman, she is easily recognized throughout the hospital as the "Go To" person for all things Cerner by all clinicians, not only nursing. She provides support to any clinicians caring for patients. Last fall, I saw her spend extra hours working through a difficult new workflow change for Respiratory Therapy when they implemented Care Admin scanning with new hardware and processes, develop new and improved documentation for Diabetic Educators and come on a day off to meet with Rehabilitation Services to address their unique needs and changes.
When there are Regulatory visits to the hospital, the first person they look to is Kassaundra to help guide the survey team through the electronic record or to provide the sound translation between clinical care and technical or system questions, process, and workflow. She brings the type of confidence and credibility we all want at the table with surveyors.
As a local Cerner ITworks site, Truman Medical Center is a busy Reference site and partners with many development teams across the company. This past year, they have been working with the Connect 3.0 and Nurse Connect team implementing new technology and smartphones. This effort would have been hampered without the knowledge and expertise Kassaundra brings to the team. She actively drives the clinical perspective of the project and believes in it because this emerging solution will put the newest and best technology in the hands of nurses to improve efficiency and support the important goals of Improved Patient Safety and Quality Care. You will find her out on the units talking to the staff, soliciting their input, troubleshooting issues and supporting their adoption of new workflows. She understands the work they do because she works alongside them in her role and when she works shifts on the units. There's no one better suited to advocate for nursing at TMC.
Kassaundra is a perpetual educator at the bedside and in the classroom. You'll rarely find a nurse who can teach a class about Interdisciplinary Plans of Care while demonstrating functionality interspersed with sound nursing practice and the "why" and top it off with a rousing cheer that gets the nurses on their feet!
Let me get back to Nursing. Kassaundra is held in high regard as a clinician and would be welcomed on any unit at the hospital. You can rest assured that her patients receive the kind of compassionate and excellent care that we all hope for, complete with a loving touch, a bright smile, and the patient's needs as the #1 priority. When she finally ends her shift, all the details can be found in the electronic record.