Pat has advanced the profession of nursing in the practice setting as the Director of Surgical Services since September 2016. Since assuming the role of Director, Pat has consistently advanced the profession of nursing in the Surgical Services area by ensuring that evidence-based guidelines (EBG) are being used to provide safe patient care. She achieved an increase in 10 of 11 indicators for Employee Satisfaction on the May 2017 HealthStream Employee Insights survey for GI Lab with notables including conflict management, hiring best qualified, fairness of promotions, competence of her department. She achieved an increase in 11 of 11 indicators for Employee Satisfaction on the May 2017 HealthStream Employee Insights survey for OR/PACU/Sterile Processing with notables including an increase of score in communication, constructive feedback, and manager trust. The OR physicians and staff utilize the World Health Organization (WHO) Surgical Safety Checklist with great success. Pat has supported and promoted the OR's involvement in the South Carolina Surgical Quality Collaborative to focus on decreased returns to the OR in 30 days. She has also achieved a decrease in OR turnaround times and it continues to work to decrease that time even more.
Pat's leadership in KH organization is evident in her accomplishment of achieving her BSN in the past year and then assuming the Director of Surgical Services role. Pat is a member of Sigma Theta Tau. She also demonstrates leadership by serving on the SC Hospital Association Deans and Directors Clinical Capacity Task Force and as a member of AORN. Pat has made a significant impression on the surgeons who serve KershawHealth and on her staff. She has been publicly recognized and appreciated by the surgeons during the Department of Surgery meetings as making a positive impact in the department.
Pat goes above and beyond to demonstrate a commitment to growing the profession of nursing by mentoring, teaching and role-modeling professional practice to colleagues or students. She is actively working to grow the profession of nursing by serving as a role-model for her staff by joining AORN and challenged her staff and set goals to become certified in their respective areas.
Pat's philosophy is "I believe I should make a difference." This philosophy not only extends to her interactions with her staff but with her patients and her organization. She serves as teacher and mentor to others by:
Providing explanations and rationale to staff for decisions and practice changes and not just issuing directives.
Encouraging her staff to participate in Nursing Professional Shared Governance.
Encouraging and promoting nursing students to shadow in her departments as allowed by policy.
Accepting surgical tech students for clinical rotations.
Serving as a mentor for staff who are working to advance their degrees.
Pat is visible in the promotion of the nursing profession by serving in the community by participating, leading, organizing or volunteering. As a member of Trinity Baptist Church, she supports mission work through the SC Baptist Disaster Relief with her church. Her focus is mission relief efforts, promotion of church health/wellness activities, health education, and nursing consultation.
She has three sons one of which was born with the genetic condition of Coffin-Siris Syndrome which little was known about 36 years ago. Her nursing assessment, care, and persistent interventions have helped her son achieve a 36-year milestone. Her goal as a member of the National Organization for Rare Disorders is to provide mentoring and support for parents of children with this condition. Through sharing her experiences with her son, she wants to give back to this small, specialized community by offering more hope and encouragement than she received when so little was known at the time.
Pat also enjoys theatre. Her roles in theater productions help those in the community understand that nurses have many talents and can be community participants in unsuspecting roles. Had any health issues happened on set, Pat, the nurse, would have been ready and waiting to help!
Pat demonstrates excellence in nursing and promotes nursing as a parent, a mentor, a leader, and a community member.