Gordon is an exceptional leader and the very definition of a servant leader. Gordon always puts his staff members' needs before his own. His dedication and leadership have helped boost morale and create a more engaged staff in the PICU. He has worked diligently to increase our staff retention and employee engagement, as well as increase our resources, all to help create a better environment to take care of the sickest children in Mississippi. 

When Gordon came to the PICU, we were at a staff vacancy rate of greater than fifty percent and had decreased staff morale and staff engagement. He hit the ground running and went to every recruitment event available, asked staff what it was they needed to feel supported and placed all of their suggestions into action. If you were to come into the PICU and ask any nursing staff, on any shift, if they felt supported, without a doubt they would say yes. When the night shift staff said they would like to see the manager on more night shifts to feel supported, Gordon started coming in early and staying late in order to talk to night shift staff members. Everyday you will see Gordon making his rounds and talking to every staff member on shift. He is a living example of what humble servant leadership should be. 

Another example of his servant leadership would be from Pediatric Nurses Week. As a unit and Children's Hospital, we have never celebrated Pediatric Nurses Week. Gordon loves any occasion to celebrate his staff members. He made sure to be present for each shift to pass out treats to each nurse in person. He planned several fun events during the week to show his appreciation for the nurses. Some of these activities included a PICU Who's Who with a trophy presentation, a different food treat every day, and a drawing for prizes for each shift. He went above and beyond and truly made his nursing staff feel appreciated during Pediatric Nurses Week. 

If you ask Gordon what his job is as a Nurse Manager, he always responds by saying, "To make sure the nurses of the PICU have all the resources they need to take care of the sickest children in Mississippi." He has been fundamental in allocating equipment needed to better care for the PICU patients. If it is another set of hands staff need, he is there to jump in and help. He is never too busy to help the unit or be a listening ear. His open-door policy extends beyond normal business hours. If there is an issue, you know you will be able to reach him and receive a response in real-time. 

Gordon's enthusiasm for learning and helping others is contagious. He has placed a focus on education and striving to deliver the best quality care available. It is rare to find a leader that is not only a patient advocate but also a fierce nursing staff advocate. I cannot belabor the point that Gordon is a beloved Nurse Leader and an excellent asset to the PICU and Children's of Mississippi. 

The following comments are from other PICU staff members who wanted to write a kind word about our fearless leader:

"Gordon is such a great boss. He's so flexible and accommodating. I always feel like I'm supported by him as a PERSON, not just a nurse. He does whatever he can to change schedules, grant PL, find workarounds, and provide opportunities for professional growth to truly improve your quality of life. He walks the halls, knows what's going on with your patient, and is never above stepping into a bedside or charge nurse duty while also handling managerial work. He's come in on weekends, holidays, and the middle of the night to make sure our unit is as supported as possible. When he walks the halls, he always has time to stop and talk-a lot of times about completely non-work-related things. You just KNOW he cares about this team." 

"Not only is he our beloved Fearless Leader, but he's also one of our most valued assets on the unit. He'll jump in an emergency situation and do exactly what is needed without direction or even context as to what's going on, and he'll help you turn and change a patient if you ask. He'll spend 16 hours at the hospital to make sure we're all vaccinated and kept in the loop as to what's happening in the unit. It's easy to find a nurse manager who will sit in their office and do paperwork, but it's invaluable to have one who will jump right into the trenches with you if you need him to. And outside of clinical work, he'll pull you aside and make sure that you, as a PERSON, are doing and being the best you can be because that's what we, and our kiddos, deserve. I hope that we go to bat for our patients half as hard as Gordon does for each and every one of us. His expertise and experience is priceless, and I know I speak for every single PICU employee when I say it is an absolute joy to work with Gordon."

"Gordon Gartrell is a titan of healthcare leaders and a steward of the Science of Nursing. I have known Gordon for the past 10 years and the amount of enthusiasm that he shows for everything he does in life is contagious. Personally, I have known Gordon in many roles- as a co­worker as a staff nurse in the Adult Emergency Department (AED), a fellow Nurse Scientist as a PhD student and currently as my Nurse Manager in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. Again, from a personal standpoint, Gordon's role in my life could easily be described in the proverb of "well if he jumped off a bridge, would you jump too?" Well, if Gordon jumped off a bridge, there must be a fantastic reason why, and I'll have to ask when I get to the bottom of the chasm. 

I first met Gordon working in the UMMC AED. He was the UMMC "Nurse Rookie of the Year," and he worked diligently to earn that title. I had been a nurse for a couple years and I'll never forget the day that some bearded man-child in a Patagonia vest tried meticulously to show me every drug in the code cat- in explicit detail- despite my resistance. He was so excited to teach me something, anything that would help me become a better nurse. To say the least, it was impactful and a great way to start my tenure at UMMC. From the very start of his career, Gordon strove to excel in not only his own nursing practice but to teach others what he was learning. He was and is in a constant state of change- always looking for ways to better himself. He sought ways to spread that learning at the staff nurse level. Gordon obtained every certification he could, and he shared that knowledge with his co-workers. His impact grew when he took on his first leadership role in the AED, and through his guidance the department grew tremendously. 

After years in leadership in the AED- Gordon took a leap of faith into the Nurse Manager Role in the Pediatric Intensive Care Unit. As a fellow AED nurse and concerned friend, I questioned his decision. After not being able to talk him out of the switch, I wished him luck and told him I couldn't wait to see him back in the AED in a couple of months. 

Gordon then laughed me off and went on about how there was so much potential in the PICU and how excited he was to work with the staff. Over the next several months every time I spoke to Gordon about his new role he would only have positive things to say- about how the staff is so engaged, how the medical team works together as a unit, and how the Children's Hospital had accepted him into their fold immediately. I saw a change in Gordon when he took on the role of Nurse Manager. He spoke constantly about what amazing things were occurring in the PICU. How each day he was able to come to work and impact patient care through changes in practice that he learned about in class and in practice fom the AED. In between classes, I would walk with him to his office on the unit, and we were always late coming back to class because he stopped so many times to talk to smiling co-workers, staff, and patients. It was like pulling my Dad out of 'Big Church'- like I get it, you are popular! Gordon painted such a good picture that I myself, a rather hardened AED nurse of 8 years, took the plunge into the world of pediatrics as a staff nurse in the PICU. 

I have now been in the PICU for the past 7 months, and I have been able to witness firsthand what a decade of nursing experience, a decade of striving to be a better nurse, a decade of helping others- can do in a leadership role. I could spend time listing out how Gordon serves on numerous committees that impact patient care at all levels in the UMMC system and how he is an active member in numerous nursing organizations- American Association of Critical Care Nurses, Emergency Nurse's Association, and Southern Nurse Research Organization. How he is a Nurse Scientist who is active on several UMMC grants from the School of Nursing and School of Population Health. How there is always candy in his office despite his allergy to sugar and how he is always willing to take a walk anywhere with me when all I need is a listening ear. But, that would be redundant and sound like I am pandering to the reader. 

Gordon has absolutely blossomed into the future of healthcare. That future is kind, insightful, self-critical, questioning, intrigued, developing, and evolving. I cannot wait to witness his development as a coworker, fellow nurse, peer, and friend."