Emily Miller
May 2021
Emily
Miller
,
BSN, RN, BMTCN
Neuroscience ICU
VCU Health
Richmond
,
VA
United States
Last year for week of the nurse, Emily had over 100 individual donations from small businesses and vendors around Richmond.
Picture this, it’s 2020, the “Year of the Nurse”, when a worldwide pandemic hit. Challenges were faced, policy changes quickly implemented, the stress and pressure of COVID-19 was felt throughout the entire healthcare system. Nurses on the front line quickly felt this stress but adapted fast and stayed flexible.
As you can imagine, morale was not at an all-time high. It was a year like no other. Thankfully for the Neuroscience ICU team, we have an extraordinary nurse leader who is truly committed to raising morale in our unit. Whilst a difficult task during a pandemic, Emily Miller stayed true to her nurses and continued leading in a fierce yet compassionate manner.
Emily has juggled many roles and done so with grace and proficiency. Emily is one of our unit’s clinical coordinators, as well as the chair of our Recognition and Retention Committee, NSICU Practice Council, and Education Committee. She is also the coordinator for the mentorship program on our unit, a new graduate nurse residency facilitator, and a safety coach. As you can see by her many roles, she is dedicated to promoting and enhancing the image of nursing within the organization, the community, and the profession. She makes sure that every nurse feels welcome and recognizes accomplishments, achievements, birthdays, birth announcements, and spearheaded “week of the nurse” festivities-which was above and beyond.
Last year for week of the nurse, Emily had over 100 individual donations from small businesses and vendors around Richmond. We were able to raffle off several prizes: some included gift cards to restaurants, bowling, and care package baskets. Every nurse on our unit received something. She also decorated the unit, putting up fun boards (such as the “guess the baby board”) where each nurse could interact and play along. She went above and beyond to increase morale on our unit and celebrate week of the nurse; however, she does not stop after one week. Emily consistently puts effort towards creating an environment where attributes of trust, compassion, mutual respect, continued professional development and ethical behavior are shown every day.
While holding multiple roles, Emily is also the clinical coordinator and takes a patient assignment when needed. She has the added responsibility of responding to hospital-wide stroke alerts. Taking on several responsibilities at once is her forte and she never appears overwhelmed. She leads by example, always ensuring that each patient is safe and that every nurse is able to effectively and efficiently manage their patient load. We always see her helping out and being incredibly responsive to the needs of others. When we cannot take on another patient, she quickly jumps in and takes over.
For example, one shift we were getting an admission of an acutely ill patient that required several interventions at 1800 (right before shift change). That particular day, the only bed that was available was a new graduate nurse’s and she had just got off orientation. Given the complexity of the patient and the timing, she did not feel comfortable with taking the admission. Emily astutely took on the assignment while also showing the newer nurse how to carefully manage the patient. Since then, I have seen this new graduate nurse confidently take critical patients, thanks to Emily’s guidance and mentorship.
As the chair of our unit-based practice council, she has stayed up to date on evidence-based practice implementations, opportunities for improvement, and educational needs. We have made several practice changes with her as our chair. Emily led improvement efforts with lab labeling on our unit. We had several months of SI reports related to mislabeled labs. Recently, after initiating and implementing independent double checks for them, our SI reports are down to one a month. She also completes countless audits including stroke audits to ensure compliance with our hospital's Joint Commission Comprehensive Stroke Program. Additionally, she conducts Infection Control Audits specifically aimed at foley rounds and decreasing CAUTIs. Her efforts to improve our unit and protect our patients are monumental.
While reading over this nomination, I’ve realized that it is difficult to write everything that Emily does for our unit. She takes on many roles and is the epitome of a fearless leader that always puts the patients and nurses first. She finds time for each committee that she is a part of and the effects of her hard work and dedication are evident on our unit.
Although 2020 and the ongoing pandemic has taken a toll on healthcare workers around the world, I can proudly say that the NSICU team is extremely grateful for the leaders, such as Emily, that have taken it upon themselves to support and encourage us during this time. Emily truly creates an environment of compassion and recognition for others, and she strongly deserves to be recognized and honored.
As you can imagine, morale was not at an all-time high. It was a year like no other. Thankfully for the Neuroscience ICU team, we have an extraordinary nurse leader who is truly committed to raising morale in our unit. Whilst a difficult task during a pandemic, Emily Miller stayed true to her nurses and continued leading in a fierce yet compassionate manner.
Emily has juggled many roles and done so with grace and proficiency. Emily is one of our unit’s clinical coordinators, as well as the chair of our Recognition and Retention Committee, NSICU Practice Council, and Education Committee. She is also the coordinator for the mentorship program on our unit, a new graduate nurse residency facilitator, and a safety coach. As you can see by her many roles, she is dedicated to promoting and enhancing the image of nursing within the organization, the community, and the profession. She makes sure that every nurse feels welcome and recognizes accomplishments, achievements, birthdays, birth announcements, and spearheaded “week of the nurse” festivities-which was above and beyond.
Last year for week of the nurse, Emily had over 100 individual donations from small businesses and vendors around Richmond. We were able to raffle off several prizes: some included gift cards to restaurants, bowling, and care package baskets. Every nurse on our unit received something. She also decorated the unit, putting up fun boards (such as the “guess the baby board”) where each nurse could interact and play along. She went above and beyond to increase morale on our unit and celebrate week of the nurse; however, she does not stop after one week. Emily consistently puts effort towards creating an environment where attributes of trust, compassion, mutual respect, continued professional development and ethical behavior are shown every day.
While holding multiple roles, Emily is also the clinical coordinator and takes a patient assignment when needed. She has the added responsibility of responding to hospital-wide stroke alerts. Taking on several responsibilities at once is her forte and she never appears overwhelmed. She leads by example, always ensuring that each patient is safe and that every nurse is able to effectively and efficiently manage their patient load. We always see her helping out and being incredibly responsive to the needs of others. When we cannot take on another patient, she quickly jumps in and takes over.
For example, one shift we were getting an admission of an acutely ill patient that required several interventions at 1800 (right before shift change). That particular day, the only bed that was available was a new graduate nurse’s and she had just got off orientation. Given the complexity of the patient and the timing, she did not feel comfortable with taking the admission. Emily astutely took on the assignment while also showing the newer nurse how to carefully manage the patient. Since then, I have seen this new graduate nurse confidently take critical patients, thanks to Emily’s guidance and mentorship.
As the chair of our unit-based practice council, she has stayed up to date on evidence-based practice implementations, opportunities for improvement, and educational needs. We have made several practice changes with her as our chair. Emily led improvement efforts with lab labeling on our unit. We had several months of SI reports related to mislabeled labs. Recently, after initiating and implementing independent double checks for them, our SI reports are down to one a month. She also completes countless audits including stroke audits to ensure compliance with our hospital's Joint Commission Comprehensive Stroke Program. Additionally, she conducts Infection Control Audits specifically aimed at foley rounds and decreasing CAUTIs. Her efforts to improve our unit and protect our patients are monumental.
While reading over this nomination, I’ve realized that it is difficult to write everything that Emily does for our unit. She takes on many roles and is the epitome of a fearless leader that always puts the patients and nurses first. She finds time for each committee that she is a part of and the effects of her hard work and dedication are evident on our unit.
Although 2020 and the ongoing pandemic has taken a toll on healthcare workers around the world, I can proudly say that the NSICU team is extremely grateful for the leaders, such as Emily, that have taken it upon themselves to support and encourage us during this time. Emily truly creates an environment of compassion and recognition for others, and she strongly deserves to be recognized and honored.