Theresa was nominated by two of her colleagues!
Nomination #1
Theresa Smith is an exceptional nurse. She recently moved to Alaska and first began working in PACU. In PACU, she did a phenomenal job. She not only exceeded in her own department, but during slower times, she would go to other areas in Outpatient Surgery (Pre-Op and Stage II) and ask where she could help. Her patient care skills are beyond compare. She loves people and truly cares about all of her patients. Theresa then transferred into Pre-Op Education where she flourished. Theresa has gone above and beyond the call of duty. She has transformed that area and made it better than I’ve ever seen. One of the greatest changes Theresa has made is to make the surgery process easier and “less scary” for children. She took pictures of each place/room that the child will encounter during his/her stay (Pre-Op, OR, PACU, Phase II Recovery), including all equipment that will be used and people they may see, and put them in a large book. The children are given this picture book when they come in to pre-register and she explains each step with them while showing them the pictures. She has made her pre-op room into a fun time for children. She has coloring books and crayons for them to use while they are waiting (and their parents are talking). She has decorated her prep room to make it very kid-friendly. She obtained some old tables/chairs from another department and scrubs them so well in between patients that you could eat off of them. The children have their own “work station” where they are given a packet complete with their own stickers, band aids, surgical mask, and surgical cap to go home and “practice” with. These are only a few of the things Theresa has incorporated since starting here at FMH. She has so many ideas to make the patient’s experience better. She is a very kind-hearted person whom all her co-workers enjoy being around.
Nomination #2
Theresa, who is an experienced nurse, came to FMH originally to fill the Recovery Nurse position. She has recently changed her focus at FMH to the Prep Nurse position. She meets with patients before their day of surgery to prepare them for their upcoming surgery. I believe this is her niche. She especially seems drawn to children as she has brought to bare so many ideas to make the prepatory experience fun and yet instructional. She has used her free time to decorate our prep rooms (tables, chairs, flower, and animal pictures) with the young children in mind. She has made little grab bags containing things related to being a patient at the hospital for them to play with. She has developed an instructional book for them to read and color. She has created a binder with actual pictures so the children will be able to recognize people and parts of the hospital on the patient to surgery and post-op. Theresa is extremely self motivated/inspirational/thinking of the good of the patient and assisting staff (a team player) making her area a blue ribbon winner.
Respectively and with great joy submitted, Pat Rynshoven, RN Outpatient Surgery