Lynn Szczepinski has been a dedicated employee of this hospital for 28 years. She oriented me to the unit that I now call home. I have been here for less than a year to watch and learn from her, but it only took me days to realize what a wonderful nurse to the patients, employee to the hospital and leader on the unit that she is. Lynn absolutely displays the "patients first" attitude with each and every patient that she encounters.
Lynn is always courteous and compassionate and takes care to attend to her patients' needs and concerns. The following is just one example of the sort of care that Lynn offers her patients every day. A patient came into our unit with her husband for a biopsy. She was in tears, clearly was frightened, and did not want to be here. Lynn first tried some herbal therapy of lavender on a piece of gauze and set it at the bedside. That was not working so she called the doctor to request some anxiety medication for the patient.
While giving the medication time to work, Lynn proceeded to massage the patient's shoulders and back and talk to her and her husband as another distractive method. The patient began to calm down and took off her shoes and decided she was able to go through with the test. The patient was able to relax, and the test was done successfully, giving the doctors the information they needed to help her with treatment. Lynn went above and beyond to comfort the patient and her husband. She is always there to meet the needs of the patient and their family.
Active participation in nursing shared governance and performance improvement projects are very important to Lynn. She currently serves on several hospital committees as well as the nursing congress. She is also very willing to share the expertise she has gained over the years with her peers. In addition to regularly serving as a mentor to new nurses hired to our unit, she has taught classes on cardiovascular topics to new critical care nurses.
Lynn is always smiling, enthusiastic and ready to lend a helping hand to the staff, even during the most stressful days. She goes out of her way to make fellow employees feel special such as bringing in cake on a birthday or a small, but thoughtful gift to those who are sick or having a hard time. Not only is Lynn an outstanding nurse, she has been able to juggle working while raising four children and maintaining a busy home life. She exemplifies the true meaning of what the DAISY Award was meant to be. Thank you, Lynn, for inspiring others to be the best they can be and for exhibiting such a genuine passion for nursing.