Pamela Lesser creates a positive image of professional nursing. She is present in the departments in which she leaders. She takes an active role in our quality improvement multi-disciplinary bi-monthly meetings and is always looking into ways to improve our unit and patient care. She is also member and leader in AWHONN (Association of Women's Health, Obstetric and Neonatal Nurses).
Pam keeps herself up to date on the latest trends in women's services. She encourages her leaders and front line staff to be a part of their professional organization as well as continuing education including advanced practice and certification. She is an advocate for the patients and what is in their best interest. She is also involved with the Illinois Perinatal Quality Collaborative which looks at the needs of families and neonates.
Pam supports nursing by helping to implement and educate our departments on Team Stepps as well as encouraging education and career advancement. She encourages nurses to join and contribute to different hospital workgroups. If you want to challenge and grow your skills, she will help you find a way to be successful.
Pam is the queen of the HUDDLE. When we have a challenging patient situation, she is the first one to initiate a multidisciplinary huddle to give the patient, the family and the staff a voice in how to best direct and deliver exceptional care. Specifically, we had a patient who had a very large BMI and she initiated care huddles on how to accommodate her larger size so she could labor comfortably as well as be supported when the time to deliver arrived. When the patient needed a Cesarean section, she was instrumental at getting the right people involved in a huddle to discuss where the patient would be getting the procedure, how we were going to move the patient since she was post epidural and unable to move her lower extremities, as well as allowing her support person to be involved and at the delivery of their first newborn infant.
Pam expects excellent service from all the staff and it is what she models. She is always asking the question "what is the right thing to do for the patient and family?" She rounds on both of her inpatient units daily, checking in with families and patients. She quickly follows up on concerns from families, residents, doctors, nurses as well as her own leadership group and makes sure to close the loop.
Pam is an example of what and who a professional nurse should strive to be. I do not know a more deserving nurse. She is a women's services advocate at SSM, not only at St. Mary's but for the system. She encourages her staff by being present on the unit and she is a mentor for staff on other units. She has been a preceptor for nurses getting their MSN degrees as well as facilitated getting nurses in midwifery or advanced practice programs. Pam believes in keeping up to date with best practices. She encourages certifications and has worked to get the nurses the resources for them to be successful in their certification tests by providing assistance with education classes. Pam Lesser is an exceptional director, exceptional leader, exceptional patient advocate and exceptional nurse.