September 2023
Karen
Cilluffo
,
BSN, RN
Clinical Research
Seattle Children's Hospital
Seattle
,
WA
United States
Karin provides exceptional care to our patients and families. She seamlessly collaborates across multiple clinical teams, transnational institutions, and research groups, routinely going above and beyond to deliver personalized care to everyone she interacts with and serves. Karin can intuitively navigate complex conversations with empathy, mirroring intellectual and emotional cues from patients and families with drastically different needs.
Seattle Children’s is a leader in patient care and research, as a result SCH can be an incredibly busy place. And while this might compromise some provider’s care, it has never compromised the care Karin gives to her patients and their families. Volunteering your child for any study is nerve-wracking, but volunteering your child for a Phase 1 study, knowing that the study may or may not be successful, can be especially difficult. Karin understands this difficulty at her core. Karin takes her time to get to know the patient and their family – understanding the journey that brought them to SCH, what their concerns are, and how she can be there for the family during their time at SCH.
She is kind and patient and humble - and as new hire last year she was approachable, knowledgeable, and encouraged questions…and thoughtfully answered all my questions. I changed nursing fields and was overwhelmed most days and she was a calming, supportive presence. Now that I’ve been in the role for a while, she continues to be my primary source of information – I know she wants me to be successful in this role and encourages me every day!
***
Karin is an integral member of our Immunotherapy Clinical Research team. As a CRN she closely monitors the toxicity and efficacy of our CAR T cell products, which bring new patients to Seattle from all over the globe. Not only does she do her job efficiently and competently, her compassionate care for patients who are often far away from home getting therapies as a last resort to treat their treatment-resistant cancers. These are families that are scared and nervous, and Karin always treats the patients and families with respect and compassion.
***
My reason for nominating Karin is her diligent work towards our patients and families. She has consistently gone above and beyond to provide exceptional care to not just patients but also the entire clinical team. Her thoughtfulness and compassion bring immense positivity and zeal to the team.
***
Karin has been an invaluable part of the CBDC team. She represents exceptional care, compassion, dedication, AND leadership. She is kind, organized, and always on top of her game! She is always willing to help and communicative. She plays such an important part of the team, and we are so grateful to have her.
***
Karin provides exceptional care to our patients and families. She seamlessly collaborates across multiple clinical teams, transnational institutions, and research groups, routinely going above and beyond to deliver personalized care to everyone she interacts with and serves. Karin can intuitively navigate complex conversations with empathy, mirroring intellectual and emotional cues from patients and families with drastically different needs.
I can’t imagine fully enjoying a work environment without a healthy dose of people like Karin. She simultaneously engages families and coworkers professionally while bringing her authentic self and playful sense of humor to the workplace—behavior that, I would posit, is exemplary of perhaps one of the most important combinations of soft skills a clinical research nurse working in pediatric oncology can possess. She also provides excellent and detail-oriented written and verbal communication for all coverage pass-offs such that I have never seen anything fall through the cracks on her watch.
Karin’s efforts in excellence are interconnected to her innate demonstration of integrity. She is direct, honest, and articulate in discussions and leaves no stone unturned as she strives to solve complicated problems. She is often the first to call out unanticipated process issues and is thoughtful in her approach to ameliorating them by carefully considering various downstream implications and factors. She chooses, time and time again, to have difficult conversations that lead to practical improvements, and it’s clear that her motivations are selfless and centered on improving both the program and outcomes for our patients.
***
Karin has been a Hem/Onc research nurse for the past several years and has gone through countless transitions in our program with incredible adaptability and grace. She has a thorough understanding of the patient population, the way our clinic functions, and the best ways to advocate for patient care and adherence to research protocols. Karin has been integral in shaping and advocating for the research RN role, especially in our Immunotherapy program. She was a senior nurse in the role when I transitioned from the inpatient Cancer Care Unit, and she has taught me so much not only about research but also about how to be a strong advocate and partner in patient care. Our program's providers all adore her and deeply value her expertise and professionalism as they recognize the value she brings to the research RN role. I am so thankful for her kindness, knowledge, compassion, and friendship, and cannot think of anyone more deserving of the DAISY Award.
***
I am nominating Karin because she is an excellent role model for other members of the team. She works incredibly hard to provide the best care for our patients, and she is always 100% on top of things.
***
Karin engages with family, educating them on study protocol that the participant is enrolled in, and listens with compassion to families. Karin serves as a role model as she problem-solves and improves work processes. She is a leader by example, as she unifies the team with her words of encouragement and wisdom.
***
Karin is the longest-serving research nurse working in the Immunotherapy CAR-T cell research program. She is an expert, mentor, preceptor, and resource and is about to transition to a different role and many of us would like to recognize her many contributions to our program as she leaves us. Karin is truly passionate about research and has described her role as bringing the research protocol to life for the patient and family. She explains the practical implications and is wonderful at translating incredibly complex concepts in ways that families from all backgrounds can understand. From an equity standpoint, Karin really advocates for families to fully grasp the meaning of the research study so that informed consent is real. She slows down consent conferences and checks in to make sure families understand before adding additional layers of information. Karin is wonderfully compassionate and patient, and I often see her crouching next to a patient or upset mom, checking in, reassuring, reminding, and listening. Karin checks all of the values boxes. Karin has been so helpful to providers who are less familiar with the studies, helping them understand their responsibilities for any particular visit and often going above and beyond to connect those tasks to the bigger picture. As a teammate, I will miss Karin's comradery and exemplary communication. She is a gem and a fabulous teammate, and she will be sorely missed.
***
When I joined the CBDC CRN team in 2019, Karin was one of my preceptors. She quickly became a role model for me, professionally and personally. She provides excellent care for her patients by advocating for their needs, while also upholding the integrity of the research protocols. She is compassionate and caring like most nurses, but she is also extremely detail-oriented and thorough, which ensures that her patients receive the safest care possible. She has been a strong member of CBDC Research as a whole throughout her tenure and has used the challenges she's faced to create better standards of work.
***
From day one at Seattle Children's, Karin Cilluffo made a personal goal to learn as much about cancer treatment and research as she could. Her orientation to research was self-directed and she electively attended Beginning Oncology Days, Bone Marrow Transplant Classes, attended the Chemotherapy and Biotherapy Course, elected to attend additional sessions on palliative care, Grand Rounds, staff meetings and studied for her CPHON certification.
After 6 years in the NICU, Karin jumped into Oncology with both feet and learned to provide care to the Immunotherapy and Advanced Therapeutics study patients. Every step of the way, Karin has had a goal to learn as much as possible so she can better care for patients and their families and prepare them for their journey through relapsed/refractory cancer treatment. Her love of the role has led her to become an expert in the field and she was soon orienting new research nurses while taking a full patient load.
Karin brings the study alive for patients and their families and becomes a favorite for her dry wit, down-to-earth and extremely genuine care, integrity and visible, contagious love for the work, the patients, families, and her co-workers. Karin has an expansive knowledge base and excellent assessment skills, organization, trust with patients and families, and respectful and trusting relationships with her colleagues. Families reach back out to Karin, regardless of the patient’s outcome, and express their gratitude. She walks with the patients and families every step of the way and feels extremely accountable to her patients.
She also initiates and encourages others to participate and engage in recognition, celebrations, and acknowledgments of co-workers. She is up-front and transparent, expertly bringing challenges and issues to light, honestly giving her opinions, and coming up with ways to problem-solve. Karin maintains a positive, calm demeanor, regardless of what is happening with processes, patients, co-workers and home life. She is an active listener, provides excellent advice, and maintains her own boundaries. She has an abundance of patience with the often slow progress of system improvements and advocates for change. Karin is the gold standard for patient care and integrity of research. She is always available for questions from her nursing and provider colleagues, gets the work done in an efficient manner and makes patient care look effortless. Karin has confidence in her nursing skills and is able to problem-solve challenging situations. She is an excellent nurse and is trusted and revered by all her colleagues, patients and families. I cannot think of a more deserving nurse to receive the DAISY Award for Nursing Excellence.
She is kind and patient and humble - and as new hire last year she was approachable, knowledgeable, and encouraged questions…and thoughtfully answered all my questions. I changed nursing fields and was overwhelmed most days and she was a calming, supportive presence. Now that I’ve been in the role for a while, she continues to be my primary source of information – I know she wants me to be successful in this role and encourages me every day!
***
Karin is an integral member of our Immunotherapy Clinical Research team. As a CRN she closely monitors the toxicity and efficacy of our CAR T cell products, which bring new patients to Seattle from all over the globe. Not only does she do her job efficiently and competently, her compassionate care for patients who are often far away from home getting therapies as a last resort to treat their treatment-resistant cancers. These are families that are scared and nervous, and Karin always treats the patients and families with respect and compassion.
***
My reason for nominating Karin is her diligent work towards our patients and families. She has consistently gone above and beyond to provide exceptional care to not just patients but also the entire clinical team. Her thoughtfulness and compassion bring immense positivity and zeal to the team.
***
Karin has been an invaluable part of the CBDC team. She represents exceptional care, compassion, dedication, AND leadership. She is kind, organized, and always on top of her game! She is always willing to help and communicative. She plays such an important part of the team, and we are so grateful to have her.
***
Karin provides exceptional care to our patients and families. She seamlessly collaborates across multiple clinical teams, transnational institutions, and research groups, routinely going above and beyond to deliver personalized care to everyone she interacts with and serves. Karin can intuitively navigate complex conversations with empathy, mirroring intellectual and emotional cues from patients and families with drastically different needs.
I can’t imagine fully enjoying a work environment without a healthy dose of people like Karin. She simultaneously engages families and coworkers professionally while bringing her authentic self and playful sense of humor to the workplace—behavior that, I would posit, is exemplary of perhaps one of the most important combinations of soft skills a clinical research nurse working in pediatric oncology can possess. She also provides excellent and detail-oriented written and verbal communication for all coverage pass-offs such that I have never seen anything fall through the cracks on her watch.
Karin’s efforts in excellence are interconnected to her innate demonstration of integrity. She is direct, honest, and articulate in discussions and leaves no stone unturned as she strives to solve complicated problems. She is often the first to call out unanticipated process issues and is thoughtful in her approach to ameliorating them by carefully considering various downstream implications and factors. She chooses, time and time again, to have difficult conversations that lead to practical improvements, and it’s clear that her motivations are selfless and centered on improving both the program and outcomes for our patients.
***
Karin has been a Hem/Onc research nurse for the past several years and has gone through countless transitions in our program with incredible adaptability and grace. She has a thorough understanding of the patient population, the way our clinic functions, and the best ways to advocate for patient care and adherence to research protocols. Karin has been integral in shaping and advocating for the research RN role, especially in our Immunotherapy program. She was a senior nurse in the role when I transitioned from the inpatient Cancer Care Unit, and she has taught me so much not only about research but also about how to be a strong advocate and partner in patient care. Our program's providers all adore her and deeply value her expertise and professionalism as they recognize the value she brings to the research RN role. I am so thankful for her kindness, knowledge, compassion, and friendship, and cannot think of anyone more deserving of the DAISY Award.
***
I am nominating Karin because she is an excellent role model for other members of the team. She works incredibly hard to provide the best care for our patients, and she is always 100% on top of things.
***
Karin engages with family, educating them on study protocol that the participant is enrolled in, and listens with compassion to families. Karin serves as a role model as she problem-solves and improves work processes. She is a leader by example, as she unifies the team with her words of encouragement and wisdom.
***
Karin is the longest-serving research nurse working in the Immunotherapy CAR-T cell research program. She is an expert, mentor, preceptor, and resource and is about to transition to a different role and many of us would like to recognize her many contributions to our program as she leaves us. Karin is truly passionate about research and has described her role as bringing the research protocol to life for the patient and family. She explains the practical implications and is wonderful at translating incredibly complex concepts in ways that families from all backgrounds can understand. From an equity standpoint, Karin really advocates for families to fully grasp the meaning of the research study so that informed consent is real. She slows down consent conferences and checks in to make sure families understand before adding additional layers of information. Karin is wonderfully compassionate and patient, and I often see her crouching next to a patient or upset mom, checking in, reassuring, reminding, and listening. Karin checks all of the values boxes. Karin has been so helpful to providers who are less familiar with the studies, helping them understand their responsibilities for any particular visit and often going above and beyond to connect those tasks to the bigger picture. As a teammate, I will miss Karin's comradery and exemplary communication. She is a gem and a fabulous teammate, and she will be sorely missed.
***
When I joined the CBDC CRN team in 2019, Karin was one of my preceptors. She quickly became a role model for me, professionally and personally. She provides excellent care for her patients by advocating for their needs, while also upholding the integrity of the research protocols. She is compassionate and caring like most nurses, but she is also extremely detail-oriented and thorough, which ensures that her patients receive the safest care possible. She has been a strong member of CBDC Research as a whole throughout her tenure and has used the challenges she's faced to create better standards of work.
***
From day one at Seattle Children's, Karin Cilluffo made a personal goal to learn as much about cancer treatment and research as she could. Her orientation to research was self-directed and she electively attended Beginning Oncology Days, Bone Marrow Transplant Classes, attended the Chemotherapy and Biotherapy Course, elected to attend additional sessions on palliative care, Grand Rounds, staff meetings and studied for her CPHON certification.
After 6 years in the NICU, Karin jumped into Oncology with both feet and learned to provide care to the Immunotherapy and Advanced Therapeutics study patients. Every step of the way, Karin has had a goal to learn as much as possible so she can better care for patients and their families and prepare them for their journey through relapsed/refractory cancer treatment. Her love of the role has led her to become an expert in the field and she was soon orienting new research nurses while taking a full patient load.
Karin brings the study alive for patients and their families and becomes a favorite for her dry wit, down-to-earth and extremely genuine care, integrity and visible, contagious love for the work, the patients, families, and her co-workers. Karin has an expansive knowledge base and excellent assessment skills, organization, trust with patients and families, and respectful and trusting relationships with her colleagues. Families reach back out to Karin, regardless of the patient’s outcome, and express their gratitude. She walks with the patients and families every step of the way and feels extremely accountable to her patients.
She also initiates and encourages others to participate and engage in recognition, celebrations, and acknowledgments of co-workers. She is up-front and transparent, expertly bringing challenges and issues to light, honestly giving her opinions, and coming up with ways to problem-solve. Karin maintains a positive, calm demeanor, regardless of what is happening with processes, patients, co-workers and home life. She is an active listener, provides excellent advice, and maintains her own boundaries. She has an abundance of patience with the often slow progress of system improvements and advocates for change. Karin is the gold standard for patient care and integrity of research. She is always available for questions from her nursing and provider colleagues, gets the work done in an efficient manner and makes patient care look effortless. Karin has confidence in her nursing skills and is able to problem-solve challenging situations. She is an excellent nurse and is trusted and revered by all her colleagues, patients and families. I cannot think of a more deserving nurse to receive the DAISY Award for Nursing Excellence.