I would like to nominate a leader that was instrumental in the success of the "RN Surge Plan", Toni Dally, RN CCRN. She is not only the critical care educator but also a true leader of the critical care areas. She assisted to develop the education plan to bring "old" critical care nurses up to par so they could take on lower level critical care patients during the COVID crisis.
Toni understood our fears and concerns and walked us through this and because of her skills and compassion for nurses, many nurses being pulled back into critical care chose to stand side-by-side with Toni.
Toni not only proved to the staff her ability to educate and calm but also her selflessness by suiting up and caring for the sickest of COVID patients, answering physician questions concerning patients, patient placement, and staffing. I am proud to not only call Toni Dally my leader but also my friend. We have worked side by side for over 30 years. I would follow Toni into any battle at any time. Thank you, Toni, for all that you have done for nursing at Pocono and for me personally.
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Toni is an inspiration for all leaders to follow. Toni leads through influence, rather than authority. She is supportive and makes a huge positive impact in critical care areas. She is patient and extremely knowledgeable. She is a superb teacher. She holds herself accountable for her actions and decision making, and in doing so, she holds me accountable for my actions, which I highly respect her for.
Toni is clear and decisive. She is committed and passionate about Nursing as a profession and the impact that we make on people's lives. She seeks every opportunity to mentor others in an effort to obtain team objectives. She gives all of this with true heart and soul.
"It is better to lead from behind and to put others in front, especially when you celebrate victory when nice things occur. You take the front line when there is danger. This is why people appreciate your leadership." ~ Nelson Mandela. This defines Toni as the best leader we have at LVH-Pocono.
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I have known Toni for the last 12 years. I initially came to the hospital not looking to be a heart nurse and it was Toni that convinced me, and it was the best thing that she did. Toni has been with CVCU staff and me through thick and thin. She has always stood by us. When staffing is short, she never minds lending a helping hand or even picking up an assignment. She is amazing. She does so much whether it was as a manager or now as our educator. She does more than I have ever seen. She has always gone above and beyond. She is a listening shoulder for us. She has been our rock through all the changes we have endured. Toni has poured her heart into all that she does. Toni is a true leader. During our COVID-19 crisis, she came to the front lines to help, educating staff to help us in a time of need.
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Since the day I stepped foot into Pocono Hospital 7 years ago, Toni has been there every step of the way to guide me and everyone around her. Despite that, with the presence of a pandemic, Toni has gone above and beyond to make sure that the nurses and staff are comfortable daily.
If there is a need for help, Toni is there. If there is a question, Toni can get the answer if she does not already know it (which is rare). If we need help in a room, Toni is the first one with a gown on asking what she can do to help. She not only lends a helping hand to her colleagues, but she is a leader to everyone around her. She works on improvements and changes as well as enforcing safety, policy, and teamwork. She listens when we just need her and is empathetic to the patients and people around her, in all forms of the word. When I think of a nurse team leader, I immediately think of Toni Dally.
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I would like to take a moment and tell you about a nurse that I have had the pleasure, and sometimes pain, of not just working with, but learning from in my 20 plus years in nursing. When I think of a true leader several people come to mind, but only one stands out for me. Then I read the criteria for the Nurse Leader DAISY Award and immediately realized this was describing the same person, it was meant for her.
In my much earlier days as a nurse in PCU, I remember people being terrified of "that mean CVU nurse". If I had to transfer a patient to her or be pulled and work with her I felt like "I know I'm gonna get a rash of crap for something from her." But as time went by, I got to know her, learn from her, and realized ... she's not really mean, she's really good and passionate about what she does, and she expected others (me) to put in the effort and be the best that I could. Challenge Accepted!
Several years later I transferred to critical care and guess who was going to be one of my preceptors? Yup, I'm pretty sure I actually said, "Oh crap." Over several more years, I watched her, in her typical fashion, mentor many nurses and guide them to be the best they can be. Studied, read articles, join AACN, take classes, never stop learning. Then Pocono finally decided to start a heart program. Guess who was at the front of the line to become one of our very first open heart nurses? And, in true fashion started to train her fellow nurses in taking care of our very first open-heart patients, but what else would you expect from a true role model?
Then something I thought I would never see happen. When new leadership was needed Toni left the bedside to become the manager of CVCU and helped turn it into an extremely successful program. Recruiting new staff while mentoring her existing staff. Not only demanding the standards she always tried to instill in nurses but always remaining available for her staff and working right alongside them if that was needed without hesitation.
As time went on Toni has now become our critical care educator for LVH-Pocono. Carrying on her tradition of taking the bull by the horns and doing whatever she can to enhance the knowledge of her fellow nurses as she continues to show true leadership every single day. I can truly only speak for myself but I believe you would be hard-pressed to find a nurse who wouldn't agree that, a true leader leads by example, a good teacher can do the job and thus understand what it is she or he are managing and educating about in practice and a respected leader will stand alongside you to bring it all together.