Michelle is an extraordinary nurse both clinically and professionally and always goes above and beyond. She takes ownership and follows through but more impressively she is aware when there are deficits and seeks out the information and resources to rectify the situation until there is a suitable outcome.

A clinical example of this is her work that she has done with the pectus excavatum patients who receive the NUSS bar procedure, an extremely painful procedure done during adolescence. After realizing these patients/families had limited postoperative education, were suffering from constipation, had limited activity, and improper pain control she implemented a class to ensure these patients and families receive the proper education and have sufficient time to discuss the surgery. This class thoroughly reviews the procedure including post operative recovery and expectations. In doing the analysis for the program Michelle identified the need to educate patients and families to wean from narcotics and proper pain control. Through many discussions with anesthesiologists, the pain team, and literature reviews has discovered that there isn’t a standardized process. With physician assistance Michelle then established a more formalized medication weaning schedule which included the use of non-opiate pain medications. Not only has this been beneficial to the patients and families, it has also reduced the number of postoperative calls, patients suffering from constipation and improper opiate use as well as increased patient/family satisfaction.

Professionally she also goes above and beyond. She agreed to be a key driver with “Competency On The Fly”, taking the lead and ensuring there was adequate documentation to provide to the validators. She coordinated the training and education for all of the ambulatory validators. It is through her ownership that this has been a successful initiative within ambulatory services. In addition to her leadership with “Competency On The Fly” she has agreed to coordinate the MOC Code offerings for the 2nd and 3rd floors in Ambulatory and has taken on the DEC role for the two floors. She works with many nurses and staff outside of her department and is looked at as a resource for nursing staff both in the clinic and in the inpatient units. She participated in the development of the teasers text for PCAP, and is currently a member of the Innovation and Outcomes Council.

Everyday Michelle demonstrates her extraordinary nursing skills in working with the patients in pediatric surgery, and sharing with other nurses in ambulatory.