Have you ever had an instructor that was as interested in your patient?s history and admission as you were? Have you ever had an instructor that went above and beyond the call of duty to make sure that you were involved with every single aspect of care for your patient? Doreen surpassed my expectations as a clinical instructor. Her upbeat personality and her eagerness to learn herself allowed me to be connected with my patients on a level that I have never experienced before. I was assigned a patient who was in a serious motorcycle accident. This patient hit a telephone pole head on and was not expected to live, but he was surpassing the doctor's expectations. He had multiple broken bones, internal bleeding, a severe skull fracture, and over night there were brains coming out of his nose. He had more tubes and drains than I would ever expect to find coming out of a human being. This patient was in critical condition, this patient was under continuous 1:1 RN supervision, this patient was assigned to me! To me? Yes, this patient was actually assigned to ME! Doreen felt that I could handle this patient. How could I, a student nurse, handle a patient that was admitted less than 24 hours ago in serious critical condition? She had faith in me and I will forever be grateful. I held my head high, went in to see the patient, and I did the best I could do. I asked questions, and if Doreen didn't know the answer, she guided me in the right direction. I also had the opportunity to talk to the family; I was a shoulder for them to cry on which meant a lot to me. This young man's life has definitely changed, but I am proud that I had the opportunity to be a part of his care and long road to recovery. The nurses on my unit knew that Doreen held high expectations for us, so I was often asked questions by the bedside nurse that were pertinent to patient care because they knew Doreen would be asking me a similar question that would help guide in my patient care. I learned to collaborate with a lot of members of the multidisciplinary team including respiratory, case management, social work, and dietary. I was also expected to talk to doctors during rounds, and update them on my findings. Some doctor's actually knew me by name! That was possible because of Doreen forcing us to talk to them and ask questions. I went home everyday stressed out and exhausted, but I soon realized that this was a good thing; somebody actually cared enough to prepare me for the "real world" not the "textbook world". I want to thank you, Doreen, for making me a stronger person, a better student, and one day, an exceptional registered nurse! ----------------------------------------------------------------------- Doreen is the type of instructor that you can only wish for. She is the type of instructor that you know just wants you to be the best that you can be, her method is to engage you and to question, never making your feel bad for answering incorrectly by encouraging you to find the correct answer yourself. But most of all I admired the way Doreen was with patients, her bedside manner and compassion for the patients was something that I so admired and now strive to emulate. I once watched as Doreen was walking by a patient?s room and she noticed that the patient was crying, she walked into the room and proceeded to put her hand on the patient?s shoulder and asked why she was crying. The patient said something and then Doreen gave the patient a hug and stood there while the patient cried on Doreen?s shoulder. I knew then and there that was the type of nurse I wanted to be, someone that could show true compassion and kindness to a patient. If I can just be half the nurse that Doreen Konop is I know I will have succeeded. It was a true honor to have her as my clinical instructor. It is an experience I will treasure the rest of my career. ---------------------------------------------------------------------------- I am nominating Doreen Konop because of the fantastic clinical experience I had in critical care. Doreen was my instructor in the Trauma ICU on 6F/G in Presby and it was a great learning experience. Doreen always gave positive feedback, and was very encouraging to her students, from day one we felt completely comfortable asking her questions and discussing our patients with her. I began the rotation scared and intimidated, and left feeling confident and prepared for transitions. The staff on the floor had so much respect for her, and it is evident that she has a great reputation with the nurses and doctors. Doreen was a fantastic role model because she was always fair and professional, yet had a very compassionate side with the patients. I felt that this was my best clinical experience because she always made sure you had the greatest clinical experience possible. Doreen is very passionate about teaching and that comes through everyday you are with her, I could not think of a better recipient for this award!