September 2019
Kaitlin
Kurtzke
,
BSN, RN
Endoscopy Unit
Lahey Hospital & Medical Center
Burlington
,
MA
United States
She has dedicated her own free time to manage, shop, and organize for all of these events. Her efforts have significantly contributed to an increase in team morale, satisfaction, and friendships.
We work in the Endoscopy Center at 2-west at the Burlington campus. Kaitlin joined our team a little over a year ago and has been a valuable member ever since. She is an excellent nurse; compassionate, professional, and motivated, a true inspiration.
I have to say in Endoscopy; we are lucky to have a team of excellent nurses who put the patient first and strive to provide high-quality care. What makes Kaitlin stand out is her commitment to high standards and improving our work environment. When she joined Endoscopy, we were at a time of transition, new leadership, new staff, and preparing for a new unit. We were in need of some team building.
As a member of our first Unit Based Council, Kaitlin took on developing the department Sunshine Fund. As our manager would say, “she owned it!” She has done an exceptional job organizing and preparing gifts, cards, and cakes to acknowledge multiple baby births, Brides, and departures, and in addition, sending gifts to our colleagues who have had surgeries or losses in their families. She has dedicated her own free time to manage, shop, and organize for all of these events. Her efforts have significantly contributed to an increase in team morale, satisfaction, and friendships.
Kaitlin, in addition to running the Sunshine Fund, has recently organized a collection for a colleague’s young daughter who recently had surgery. She collected for the group, shopped for this little gift, and created a fantastic basket of get-well gifts that any child would love. She then went and delivered this gift to the home of the family.
This is an example of the commitment and passion Kaitlin has to reach out to others and make them feel cared for and supported by the entire team.
Our unit participated in the Lahey Food Drive this spring, Kaitlin owned this event! She took charge of organizing the collection, reaching out for donations, and spent her lunchtime boxing up all the collected goods.
There are so many examples I can list to show her commitment to this unit, but the last is my personal experience. I am co-chair of our Unit Based Council, and our latest project has been creating Standards of Care for Recovery in Endoscopy. Kaitlin has been a large part of this initiative, not only in her dedication of time but also in sharing her expert knowledge of post-anesthesia nursing care. She has helped collect data, and research standards, and is always asking what she can do next. In the latest part of this project, we needed to review charts to asses our current educational needs after the initiation of new standards. Our unit is jam-packed, and there is almost no downtime to work on UBC during a shift. I planned to come in off hours to complete the reviews and Kaitlin offered to come help. She spent her Sunday morning reviewing over 250 charts with me. Her commitment to high-standard nursing care and professionalism has been highlighted to me through this project experience. Kaitlin is an exceptional nurse, colleague, and person. I have been lucky to witness her dedication and would love to see her recognized as she makes it a priority to recognize others.
I have to say in Endoscopy; we are lucky to have a team of excellent nurses who put the patient first and strive to provide high-quality care. What makes Kaitlin stand out is her commitment to high standards and improving our work environment. When she joined Endoscopy, we were at a time of transition, new leadership, new staff, and preparing for a new unit. We were in need of some team building.
As a member of our first Unit Based Council, Kaitlin took on developing the department Sunshine Fund. As our manager would say, “she owned it!” She has done an exceptional job organizing and preparing gifts, cards, and cakes to acknowledge multiple baby births, Brides, and departures, and in addition, sending gifts to our colleagues who have had surgeries or losses in their families. She has dedicated her own free time to manage, shop, and organize for all of these events. Her efforts have significantly contributed to an increase in team morale, satisfaction, and friendships.
Kaitlin, in addition to running the Sunshine Fund, has recently organized a collection for a colleague’s young daughter who recently had surgery. She collected for the group, shopped for this little gift, and created a fantastic basket of get-well gifts that any child would love. She then went and delivered this gift to the home of the family.
This is an example of the commitment and passion Kaitlin has to reach out to others and make them feel cared for and supported by the entire team.
Our unit participated in the Lahey Food Drive this spring, Kaitlin owned this event! She took charge of organizing the collection, reaching out for donations, and spent her lunchtime boxing up all the collected goods.
There are so many examples I can list to show her commitment to this unit, but the last is my personal experience. I am co-chair of our Unit Based Council, and our latest project has been creating Standards of Care for Recovery in Endoscopy. Kaitlin has been a large part of this initiative, not only in her dedication of time but also in sharing her expert knowledge of post-anesthesia nursing care. She has helped collect data, and research standards, and is always asking what she can do next. In the latest part of this project, we needed to review charts to asses our current educational needs after the initiation of new standards. Our unit is jam-packed, and there is almost no downtime to work on UBC during a shift. I planned to come in off hours to complete the reviews and Kaitlin offered to come help. She spent her Sunday morning reviewing over 250 charts with me. Her commitment to high-standard nursing care and professionalism has been highlighted to me through this project experience. Kaitlin is an exceptional nurse, colleague, and person. I have been lucky to witness her dedication and would love to see her recognized as she makes it a priority to recognize others.