Serendipitous Shelaina, Nursing Education’s beacon of light and leader who’s always a step ahead, is a humble and valuable employee in our facility who usually flies under the radar. She values our Veterans and other key stakeholders’ roles in providing them with safe patient care and outcomes while keeping our institution’s vision and strategic mission at the forefront. She is also honest, collegial, sincere, knowledgeable, approachable, and prepared to assist the Veterans, Leadership, Management, and her fellow colleagues.

An example of Shelaina’s hard work was orchestrating the Nursing Education Skills Fair. This was a large undertaking for the Nursing Education Department with limited Staffing.  This involved coordination of multiple departments, spatial planning, paperwork, delegating, compiling various pieces of equipment, and logistics needed to successfully undergo this most important task given to us by Nursing Leadership. During this process, she was always responsive and wanted to make the task as easy as possible for the entire department.  She fostered a sense of community in our department during this process and implemented the Staff’s suggestions to make this successful during various planning sessions.

Through her coordinated efforts, it was a turnkey operation for the department and for the attending Staff. This effort was not a one-time deal with Serendipitous Shelaina but a consistent effort in our department. An interaction with Shelaina is almost always a learning and teaching opportunity. She has the keen ability to always be mindful of interacting and working with diverse personalities, learning styles, and schedules. She knows policies and procedures not only for the nursing profession but also for our facility, which makes her a strong and dependable asset.

Shelaina is also dedicated to her profession, provides encouragement and coaching to our Nursing Staff’s development so that they can be their best, and is an excellent mentor.   She is selfless and prefers to see those who need help or growth succeed when it comes to improving patient outcomes and professional growth. Words cannot do justice to her kindness, thoughtfulness, and willingness always to be available to help.  It is a true pleasure to work with her, so thank you, Serendipitous Shelaina!

Thank you for always giving us the building blocks to succeed!!!