As Laura Baker's clinical faculty facilitator this fall - She is an accelerated BSN student completing her last semester of clinical on 2 North at UMMC. On one of my clinical visits to 2 North to see Laura in September, I ran into some of the traditional BSN juniors on their very first day of clinical. Laura overheard me talking to the juniors and told me she would help them during the shift if needed. Laura was very busy that day caring for a full team of total care patients with her preceptor. Later that day, the juniors told me how helpful and kind Laura was to them. She took them along to round on her patients and allowed them to watch and assist with dressing changes, repositioning and turning patients, and giving baths and changing bed linens for Laura's total care patients. 

One of her patients was complex with two wound vacs, multiple IVs, an epidural, foley catheter, wound drains, and dressing changes. Laura didn't just recruit them to help her, she took the time to teach them how to reposition, right down to pausing feeds before lowering the HOB to prevent aspiration, how to position tubing so they aren't dislodged during a move, and even talked about good body mechanics to protect their backs for the future. Instead of letting the junior students slow her down, she took the initiative to share her knowledge with them and made them feel comfortable on their first day in the hospital setting. 

Each time I visit 2 North, I can see Laura has really worked on planning care and documenting for multiple patients during her shifts. The preceptor always has good reports about Laura's progress and no matter how busy it gets; Laura just digs in her heels and completes the tasks ahead of her. She is very intentional about providing the best nursing care while treating her patients and their families with respect and kindness. 

Warm Regards,
Amy