Alexandra Buhl
November 2023
Alexandra
Buhl
,
BSN, RN.
Medical Surgical ICU
Medical University of South Carolina; Charleston
Charleston
,
SC
United States
It is a significant and solemn moment that recognizes the loss for all involved. To implement and really advocate for this shows how much compassion, empathy, and a deep sense of care Allie has for her patients and for her team.
I am nominating Allie Buhl, Clinical Staff Leader of the MSICU for her exceptional dedication and commitment to her patients, the unit, and our future nurses. Allie embodies all the core values of nursing such as compassion, integrity, respect, excellence, and much more. Not only does she embody all these values, but she excels at them and exemplifies them in a leadership role. Allie maintains high standards for herself and for the others in the unit. She leads honestly and focuses on building a rapport with others based on trust, respect, and empathy. She inspires, influences, and leads by example by promoting best practices within the unit.
She was able to lead MSICU through the most successful year in quality metrics in the unit's history. She is always welcoming to feedback, appreciates others' perspectives, and always acknowledges others' contributions. Allie encourages and supports the professional development and learning of other staff. She promotes engagement, offers suggestions for RN III projects, and encourages CCRN certification.
She goes above and beyond to ensure the staff in the MSICU feel supported and have all the resources that they need in order to be successful and to safely care for critically ill patients. When a new RN is hired, Allie creates a “Welcome to MSICU” binder. This binder includes Orientation logs, orientation checklists, Documentation guidelines, ICU-specific resources, a list of “how tos” and “where to find”, and much more. Not only does Allie focus on support for new hires, but she also concentrates on the education for senior and experienced nurses as well.
Biannually, Allie works closely with the unit CPNE and Shared Governance to run a unit, Skills Blitz. This skills blitz is a 4-hour blitz with hands on education, review, and relearning of devices, skills, and equipment specific to the MSICU. She collaborates with many other interdisciplinary teams for those content experts to provide additional education at a unit-based level.
This fall, Allie has taken on the organization and scheduling of the skills blitz on her own, due to our CPNE being out on FMLA. She is committed to setting nursing up for success and providing the resources they need to effectively and efficiently create a positive patient experience. Allie recognized the unit had an opportunity in the way that we ran a code event. To maximize survival rates and minimize complications during a cardiac arrest event, Allie created and implemented a Code Debrief form for the MSICU. This is a debrief huddle, for any cardiac arrest event, for the team to share what went well, recognize the team players, identify opportunities, and identify improvements moving forward. This debrief has been so successful that multiple other units are utilizing it as well. Along with the debrief, Allie created the “Team Lead” lanyard. This lanyard is worn by the team leader in any ACLS event. It is brightly colored and noticeable. Identification of the team lead has improved the closed-loop communication during cardiac arrest responses in the unit.
Along with these 2 initiatives, the most heartwarming piece of the code improvement process that Allie has implemented is “The Pause.” The Pause is a short moment of silence after a loss from a cardiac arrest event that recognizes the humanity of the person that was lost and the health care team that did everything they could in an attempt to save a life. This pause is not only important to acknowledge the respect and dignity for the patient, but it is important for the emotional well-being of the staff. It is a significant and solemn moment that recognizes the loss for all involved. To implement and really advocate for this shows how much compassion, empathy, and a deep sense of care Allie has for her patients and for her team.
Not only does Allie demonstrate all of these core values through her personal actions, but she also instills these in the team, creating a culture of excellence, compassion, and patient-centered care. For Allie, the ultimate goal is ensuring the patients receive the best possible care in the MSICU. She deserves this award for her continued dedication to patient safety, the patient experience, and her co-workers.
She was able to lead MSICU through the most successful year in quality metrics in the unit's history. She is always welcoming to feedback, appreciates others' perspectives, and always acknowledges others' contributions. Allie encourages and supports the professional development and learning of other staff. She promotes engagement, offers suggestions for RN III projects, and encourages CCRN certification.
She goes above and beyond to ensure the staff in the MSICU feel supported and have all the resources that they need in order to be successful and to safely care for critically ill patients. When a new RN is hired, Allie creates a “Welcome to MSICU” binder. This binder includes Orientation logs, orientation checklists, Documentation guidelines, ICU-specific resources, a list of “how tos” and “where to find”, and much more. Not only does Allie focus on support for new hires, but she also concentrates on the education for senior and experienced nurses as well.
Biannually, Allie works closely with the unit CPNE and Shared Governance to run a unit, Skills Blitz. This skills blitz is a 4-hour blitz with hands on education, review, and relearning of devices, skills, and equipment specific to the MSICU. She collaborates with many other interdisciplinary teams for those content experts to provide additional education at a unit-based level.
This fall, Allie has taken on the organization and scheduling of the skills blitz on her own, due to our CPNE being out on FMLA. She is committed to setting nursing up for success and providing the resources they need to effectively and efficiently create a positive patient experience. Allie recognized the unit had an opportunity in the way that we ran a code event. To maximize survival rates and minimize complications during a cardiac arrest event, Allie created and implemented a Code Debrief form for the MSICU. This is a debrief huddle, for any cardiac arrest event, for the team to share what went well, recognize the team players, identify opportunities, and identify improvements moving forward. This debrief has been so successful that multiple other units are utilizing it as well. Along with the debrief, Allie created the “Team Lead” lanyard. This lanyard is worn by the team leader in any ACLS event. It is brightly colored and noticeable. Identification of the team lead has improved the closed-loop communication during cardiac arrest responses in the unit.
Along with these 2 initiatives, the most heartwarming piece of the code improvement process that Allie has implemented is “The Pause.” The Pause is a short moment of silence after a loss from a cardiac arrest event that recognizes the humanity of the person that was lost and the health care team that did everything they could in an attempt to save a life. This pause is not only important to acknowledge the respect and dignity for the patient, but it is important for the emotional well-being of the staff. It is a significant and solemn moment that recognizes the loss for all involved. To implement and really advocate for this shows how much compassion, empathy, and a deep sense of care Allie has for her patients and for her team.
Not only does Allie demonstrate all of these core values through her personal actions, but she also instills these in the team, creating a culture of excellence, compassion, and patient-centered care. For Allie, the ultimate goal is ensuring the patients receive the best possible care in the MSICU. She deserves this award for her continued dedication to patient safety, the patient experience, and her co-workers.