Ms. Broushel has really changed the work culture and team dynamic of PSU and the ICU. Not only have I seen the difference in my team’s ability to communicate better, experience less conflict, and bring positive energy when they come to work, but I have felt a difference in the way we are supported and how much she really cares about her staff. 

From the day Ms. Broushel started, there has not been a single shift I have worked without her calling the unit around 10 pm to check in, and again in the morning by 5:00 am - just asking how our shift was and making sure she is up to date on the unit before starting her day. Even on weekends - she calls us and just makes sure we are ok. I have worked nights at a few hospitals and have never seen a manager stay until 9 pm on Fridays or say she is coming in early just to meet with me and then actually come in on time just to ask me how I am doing and if I am feeling supported (at 6:00 am on a weekday).

She always goes out of her way to make sure we are staffed. On the occasions that we aren't she is so quick to answer her phone and brings everyone’s stress down, somehow takes care of it, and always makes us feel like we can call her with whatever problems or recommendations we have. 

I've never seen a manager so involved!  Broushel is always trying to think of ways to celebrate our wins, learn from our shortcomings, and make everyone feel like they are actually important and valued on the unit. I don't think she will ever really know how much it meant to me when she pulled me aside just to check-in.  

Her humility and willingness to always find ways to improve help me want to be a better nurse.  Broushel is able to accept when things could've been done differently, and admits when she has a “mess up” on her part (which is very rare).  She helps us realize that mistakes can happen, but what matters is that we learn from them. She makes me want to carry myself with kindness, patience, and confidence, just like she does. She carries herself with grace, never takes shortcuts, and always has a plan B and plan C in place.  She manages so many things, but she makes it look easy and has never, ever complained or said anything negative. 

In the past, the holiday schedule has been a huge issue, and no one has ever been happy. When we tried to work it out ourselves, it was a challenge. This year, Broushel somehow created such an open environment for communication and told us to try to come together, talk between us, and come to an agreement before coming to her all at once.  At first, everyone had said, “No way.”  But after a few months of her making us all feel like we really can communicate and fix things amongst ourselves, we decided to try again.  We made our entire holiday schedule!  Everyone was happy and shocked.  We laughed about why we didn't just do this sooner. 

Broushel makes us all feel capable of leading. She trusts us to do the right thing and to act and work to our potential in professional settings and with our patients.  This has really made a difference in our team. It's really easy to do more than expected when you feel appreciated and like your team is rooting for you, trusting you to always do your best.  I'm not sure how she does it, but I feel really thankful to have a leader I can look up to like her. She raises the bar for our unit and makes a difference without even knowing it, just by being herself. 

Since Broushel started, no one has resigned from ICU, and if we have lost anyone on PSU, the plans were made before she started.  People who had planned to leave decided to stay. That says a lot about her leadership.  I am not sure if she even knows that people stayed because of her, but they absolutely did. Everyone always asks how she does it or why she felt like we were worth staying for when she was given the chance to leave the job a few months ago, but we are all so happy she stayed.  I know I am not the only one who hopes she knows how appreciative we are that she leads our unit.