When it comes to being a hands-on manager, Allen is the definition. There have been too many times to count that I've seen him in the OR in scrubs, acting as an SSA to help turn over rooms, scrubbing cases to help get additional patients prepped and people to lunch. He even offers to scrub C-sections for L&D when the OR staffing numbers are too tight to send someone up to help. He leads by example, so it's very easy to follow. He claims that our department's success is because of our team, which is true, but he is the captain of the ship; he helps to bring us all together to provide the highest quality care to our patients which in turn provides excellent service to our surgeons.
He has helped lead the OR through a very rough year. Losing trauma was very hard on our department/staff; it's all we had ever known, and it was a huge change to the way we operate. He helped with morale as down-staffing became more frequent and was honest and upfront about things like cases moving to East for the last 6 months while we prepared for the move. On moving day, he wasn't just a figurehead, he was literally helping move items, tagging them, cleaning them, etc. There is no task too small for him. He gets things done. He does not just talk about finding solutions to problems, he often is the solution to the problem. He escalates not only safety concerns, but all of our concerns quickly. We trust him completely and our department is safer, more efficient, and more reliable than ever.
He is available 24/7. I'm frequently a charge nurse on the weekends and I know that no matter what time of day or the situation, I can call him and he will do anything in his power to help, even if it means coming to scrub a case or mop the floor. We are so excited for him in his new role as interim CNO and to be completely candid, not surprised that others have noticed the exemplary leader that he is.