Vera Lopez
August 2024
Vera
Lopez
,
MSN, RN, PCCN
5MN Intermediate Care
UCLA Health
Santa Monica
,
CA
United States
She brought many great innovations to our hospital- standardized bed meetings, transferring ICU patients to Intermediate Care within 15 minutes, bath teams, etc. This Nurse Leader never sees a problem, only an opportunity to enhance patient care and drive change through innovation.
This Nurse Leader is the consummate nurse and leader. She promotes the values of the profession in everything she does from mentoring, coaching, and caring for patients. If there was a reincarnation of Florence Nightingale, it would be This Nurse Leader!! Her passion for nursing is palpable, her advocacy and drive for exceptional patient care are unmatched, and her uncanny ability to develop strong nurses who make huge impacts on nursing care, patients, and the profession is unwavering. An example of This Nurse Leader's passion for mentoring is when I was still in nursing school. This Nurse Leader and I ran into each other while we were at different conferences- I was at the National Student Nurse Association conference, and she was at NTI. We met up after our respective conferences ended for the day for dinner and a bit of fun. At the end of the evening, This Nurse Leader was talking about the importance of education, “never stop going back to school—that is how you stay relevant and ensure that you are practicing at the top of your licensure!!” 23 years later, those words still ring true and were a driving force in me attaining my DNP!
This Nurse Leader began working for UCLA in 1990- 2000 (Liver Transplant- RN) as her second job but also worked at Santa Monica Hospital as her primary job. She started working at Santa Monica Hospital in 1975 in the Respiratory Unit. She transferred to the Ortho Unit as Charge RN and was later transferred to the Telemetry unit as a Charge RN. The UD of the telemetry unit mentored her and advised her to apply for the House Supervisor job.
This Nurse Leader held the role of house supervisor for 1.5 years, but missed patient care so much, she returned to the telemetry floor as the Assistant Director. She held the role of Interim Director for 6 months on the telemetry unit. She transferred to the ICU when the new UD was hired to further expand her clinical knowledge and skills where she stayed for 8 years. This Nurse Leader then transferred back to telemetry as an Assistant Director. In 2007 she took on the role of Unit Director for Telemetry.
Under her guidance, she grew the unit into an Intermediate Care unit, taking higher acuity patients and developing a strong team. Many of her nurses started their careers with This Nurse Leader but, through her mentorship, took on broader roles across the system. When I was the UD for the ICU, I was always appreciative of the nurses who transferred to me from Intermediate Care as they had a strong foundation in nursing and were always patient-centered!
This Nurse Leader is an innovator and brought the AONE CCIT (Center for Care Innovation and Transformation) to the unit to truly change processes and culture in her unit. She brought many great innovations to our hospital- standardized bed meetings, transferring ICU patients to Intermediate Care within 15 minutes, bath teams, etc. This Nurse Leader never sees a problem, only an opportunity to enhance patient care and drive change through innovation.
This Nurse Leader is an amazing leader, and we are so fortunate to have her on our team, driving enhanced patient care and promoting professional growth!!
This Nurse Leader began working for UCLA in 1990- 2000 (Liver Transplant- RN) as her second job but also worked at Santa Monica Hospital as her primary job. She started working at Santa Monica Hospital in 1975 in the Respiratory Unit. She transferred to the Ortho Unit as Charge RN and was later transferred to the Telemetry unit as a Charge RN. The UD of the telemetry unit mentored her and advised her to apply for the House Supervisor job.
This Nurse Leader held the role of house supervisor for 1.5 years, but missed patient care so much, she returned to the telemetry floor as the Assistant Director. She held the role of Interim Director for 6 months on the telemetry unit. She transferred to the ICU when the new UD was hired to further expand her clinical knowledge and skills where she stayed for 8 years. This Nurse Leader then transferred back to telemetry as an Assistant Director. In 2007 she took on the role of Unit Director for Telemetry.
Under her guidance, she grew the unit into an Intermediate Care unit, taking higher acuity patients and developing a strong team. Many of her nurses started their careers with This Nurse Leader but, through her mentorship, took on broader roles across the system. When I was the UD for the ICU, I was always appreciative of the nurses who transferred to me from Intermediate Care as they had a strong foundation in nursing and were always patient-centered!
This Nurse Leader is an innovator and brought the AONE CCIT (Center for Care Innovation and Transformation) to the unit to truly change processes and culture in her unit. She brought many great innovations to our hospital- standardized bed meetings, transferring ICU patients to Intermediate Care within 15 minutes, bath teams, etc. This Nurse Leader never sees a problem, only an opportunity to enhance patient care and drive change through innovation.
This Nurse Leader is an amazing leader, and we are so fortunate to have her on our team, driving enhanced patient care and promoting professional growth!!