I can say without a doubt that Laura Brenneman is one of the best nurses I have ever worked with. Laura came to our unit after she was relocated with her military husband to the Akron area. As I have learned more about Laura, I have become inspired to improve my own bedside care, seek higher education, apply for an advanced degree, obtain my CCRN certification, and be an overall better nurse because of what she does every day she comes to work. I always know I can call on her for anything during our shift and she helps no matter what; I am always excited when I see we are working the same shift.
Laura was a travel nurse and a permanent position nurse when she was in other states (her husband got moved around a lot because of his military career). It is obvious to me that all of the traveling Laura did made her an extra-strong ICU nurse. The way she talks about her time as a traveler actually inspired me to do a travel assignment myself. In addition, Laura helped me get the assignment by helping with my interview, recommending a recruiter/company and explained how I could maximize my income while working. She talks about how it constantly "pushed [her] out of my comfort zone." I think because she worked so hard to learn different ways of doing things and approaching patient care in different places made her develop phenomenal assessment skills, communication that goes above and beyond anything I've ever seen before, a vigilance in advocating for her patients that I had not known was possible, kindness and generosity to coworkers that are rarely seen anymore, and selflessness (almost to a fault sometimes).
Not only is Laura clinically advanced in her ICU experience and years on the job, but she is also unique from working in small (critical access) hospitals all the way to our level 1 trauma center. She has obviously gone above and beyond to provide the best care for the people around her. She is an ACLS, PALS, and CCRN instructor, volunteers in her community, goes to school full-time, works full-time, deals with constant deployments (husband leaves nearly every single month); all with a smile on her face and willingness to always give even more. I know that she has helped over a dozen nurses in the past two years obtain their CCRN certification voluntarily; donating time, resources, one-on-one time, and instruction. Every person she has taught has passed their CCRN on their first try (including myself). I know that CC and our unit manager encourage certification to enhance the overall level of care that the ICU provides and increasing the number of certified nurses makes us stronger.
She constantly challenges herself to learn more about the process of a patient's illness as well as the rationale for treatments and interventions far beyond what a typical bedside nurse would do. If you were looking for Laura during a shift, chances are she can always be found in her patient's room (or in the middle hallway, making all of us coffee). She spends so much time in the room, more than anyone else, providing exceptional care and tending to their needs, sometimes before anyone else is even aware that the patient needed extra attention. She will spend hours at the bedside, thoroughly explaining each aspect of a patient's care and treatment along with their disease process to the patient, family members, and visitors.
She's never afraid to question orders, inquire about potential enhancements in the patient's care, communicate with the MDs, and report changes.
Nearly every time that I need help with a turn, bath, "code brown" clean up, need a second opinion, an ear to vent to - I find that I will seek out Laura's help over almost anyone else's, because I know that she will be willing, helpful, have a good attitude. Sometimes she will even go above and beyond what I have asked her to do (like braiding my patient's hair instead of just helping with a bath), especially if she notices that it will help me out during my shift. Laura is constantly encouraging others to ask for help if they need anything... anytime... and she means it. I know that I have pulled from her lunch breaks to place a difficult IV, provide insight on a patient status or questionable change in assessment, and has never to my knowledge ever declined to help out a coworker If she was able to help.
She has the most positive attitude in the hospital, is always a pleasure to work with, has mastered her sense of urgency and patient care over the years, and continues to challenge herself to continue growing and help others as well. If our entire ICU was full of nurses Like Laura, I can't even imagine how good our HCAPS and other reportable statistics would be like.
Laura is a true DAISY Nurse because I watch her go above and beyond the expectations of patients, families, and the hospital to ensure that her patients were provided optimal care... Every. Single. Shift. She's one of those nurses who likes to keep her head down and do her job instead of vying for attention or recognition. She says that the only kind of recognition she needs is from her patients "getting well and leaving the ICU" or "helping someone die with dignity" when medicine can no longer help them. I know she has never received an award like this for her nursing care, but I would nominate her over and over and over.