January 2010
Richelle
Simandl
,
RN
Outpatient Nephrology/Urology
Cincinnati Children's Hospital Medical Center
Cincinnati
,
OH
United States
NurseName: Richelle Simandl
Department: Nephrology/Urology Outpatient Center
Tell us why this nurse is excellent:
Shelley is an excellent nurse and is very deserving of this award. Shelley has outstanding clinical skills as evidenced by the fact that she is often called by all areas of the hospital when there is a difficult catheterization because she is so skilled at it. Her patients and families all love her and even request her specifically at times when they come for testing. Shelley is always compassionate with the patients and families and goes above and beyond to make their experience at CCHMC a positive one. The thing that stands out to me is when Shelley will go out of her way to keep a catheter in place for a child so that they do not have to be cathed a second time if at all possible when they are here. She also will go out of her way to make a phone call to a different department to see if a patient can be seen early or if they came from a long way away, she will see if their appointments can be combined to save the family from making two trips. Shelley takes the time to do those things that don't have to be done in order to help a family. Recently, Shelley had to have a difficult conversation with a family in order to educate them about the lice that their child had so that the family was able to address it. This was not something that was necessarily in Shelley's scope of practice, but she did the right thing and knew that she had the professional responsibility of doing what is right for our patients and families. Shelley is very deserving of this award and I know that our patients and families would agree.
How does this nurse make a special connection with your family and child?
Shelley has excellent people skills and is able to relate to all of our patients and families on some level. She is well liked and often requested by specific patients and families due to the rapport she builds with them and the relationships she has created over the years. Shelley is genuinely interested in the "stories" of our families and therefore engages them in conversation and is a great listener. Shelley's sense of humor also puts the families at ease and Shelley always remembers her patients and specific things about them so that if they come back, she already has a connection.
Share an example of how this nurse educates your family and child.
Shelley has to educate our families daily on the importance of sticking to their daily cath programs, the importance of timed voiding, sterile techniques if UTIs are common and routinely does cath teaching as well. Shelley is always patient with the families and is very thorough in her teaching. Shelley is good at positive reinforcement, finding the strengths that families have and sharing alternatives for difficult situations.
Describe a situation during which this nurse made your family and child feel comfortable.
Urodynamics is a very uncomfortable and unfamiliar test for many of our patients and families. Shelley is always mindful of privacy for our patients, making sure that the patient and family is fully prepared and educated about how the test will go, and answering any questions they may have. Shelley is a big supporter of child life being present, which greatly assists in making a patient and family feel comfortable and Shelley is willing to adapt if families have special requests. Shelley goes above and beyond to make sure that a patient and families visit to CCHMC goes as smoothly as possible and does what she can to improve their experience.
Tell us how this nurse includes your family and child in the planning of their care.
It is not uncommon for Shelley to allow a patient or parent to do their own cathing for the urodynamics testing, which gives them a great deal of control and inclusion in their care. Shelley also asks the families what is realistic, what will work, what won't, and does her best to accommodate these things. When we have a patient that caths or will need to, Shelley shows them the many choices that are out there so they can decide for themselves what will be best for them and always tells the families that things can be changed at a later time if needed.
Department: Nephrology/Urology Outpatient Center
Tell us why this nurse is excellent:
Shelley is an excellent nurse and is very deserving of this award. Shelley has outstanding clinical skills as evidenced by the fact that she is often called by all areas of the hospital when there is a difficult catheterization because she is so skilled at it. Her patients and families all love her and even request her specifically at times when they come for testing. Shelley is always compassionate with the patients and families and goes above and beyond to make their experience at CCHMC a positive one. The thing that stands out to me is when Shelley will go out of her way to keep a catheter in place for a child so that they do not have to be cathed a second time if at all possible when they are here. She also will go out of her way to make a phone call to a different department to see if a patient can be seen early or if they came from a long way away, she will see if their appointments can be combined to save the family from making two trips. Shelley takes the time to do those things that don't have to be done in order to help a family. Recently, Shelley had to have a difficult conversation with a family in order to educate them about the lice that their child had so that the family was able to address it. This was not something that was necessarily in Shelley's scope of practice, but she did the right thing and knew that she had the professional responsibility of doing what is right for our patients and families. Shelley is very deserving of this award and I know that our patients and families would agree.
How does this nurse make a special connection with your family and child?
Shelley has excellent people skills and is able to relate to all of our patients and families on some level. She is well liked and often requested by specific patients and families due to the rapport she builds with them and the relationships she has created over the years. Shelley is genuinely interested in the "stories" of our families and therefore engages them in conversation and is a great listener. Shelley's sense of humor also puts the families at ease and Shelley always remembers her patients and specific things about them so that if they come back, she already has a connection.
Share an example of how this nurse educates your family and child.
Shelley has to educate our families daily on the importance of sticking to their daily cath programs, the importance of timed voiding, sterile techniques if UTIs are common and routinely does cath teaching as well. Shelley is always patient with the families and is very thorough in her teaching. Shelley is good at positive reinforcement, finding the strengths that families have and sharing alternatives for difficult situations.
Describe a situation during which this nurse made your family and child feel comfortable.
Urodynamics is a very uncomfortable and unfamiliar test for many of our patients and families. Shelley is always mindful of privacy for our patients, making sure that the patient and family is fully prepared and educated about how the test will go, and answering any questions they may have. Shelley is a big supporter of child life being present, which greatly assists in making a patient and family feel comfortable and Shelley is willing to adapt if families have special requests. Shelley goes above and beyond to make sure that a patient and families visit to CCHMC goes as smoothly as possible and does what she can to improve their experience.
Tell us how this nurse includes your family and child in the planning of their care.
It is not uncommon for Shelley to allow a patient or parent to do their own cathing for the urodynamics testing, which gives them a great deal of control and inclusion in their care. Shelley also asks the families what is realistic, what will work, what won't, and does her best to accommodate these things. When we have a patient that caths or will need to, Shelley shows them the many choices that are out there so they can decide for themselves what will be best for them and always tells the families that things can be changed at a later time if needed.