Tori goes out of her way to make herself a resource to the 4 south unit and beyond. She spends time on the unit checking in on staff, making sure we are up to date on relevant policies, and is never too busy to help us. Creating an environment on our unit that encourages us to ask questions without judgement requires a special approach and Tori does it so well.     
Tori is clear and constructive in her communication, both in instruction and in feedback. Whether in a structured learning environment or situational teaching moment, Tori takes an active role in helping nurses become more confident in their knowledge. She is great at understanding questions, learning deficits, and responding in kind but thorough instruction. Tori never takes shortcuts and is an advocate for such. She promotes the right way to do things, every time, and does it in a way that inspires others to do the same. She personally challenges me to be a better nurse.     

Tori has created entire education workshops to meet a large learning need on our unit, then taught it in individualized groups, speaking to the needs of each nurse uniquely. She does this to make sure we really are understanding pertinent information and she seems to truly take great joy in it.     

Tori is the first to recognize education needs and the first to act on it as well. In response to a recent learning opportunity on the unit, Tori created an entire workshop and implemented it within a month, with a 100% attendance rate by unit staff. That was only possible because she created many different sessions so that all could attend and it was extremely beneficial.     
Tori Miller has gained a reputation at DCMC for her strong will, passion for education, and unapologetic drive to foster nursing excellence here. Our education department would not be what it is without her, and neither would our nursing staff. I can't think of anyone more deserving.  

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Tori has the ability to channel her compassion for pediatrics and neuro into her incredible education for staff and providers. She fosters an open door to all departments and campuses for anyone who has an interest in learning and expanding their knowledge and skills for neuro. Her compassion and empathy are palpable when she sees a safety event or opportunity for learning (like when she responds to code strokes, physically goes and checks in on nurses with EVDs in CCU, NICU and IMCU and facilitates EEG tech rounds weekly without fail). Her experience at Dell Children's as a floor preceptor, charge nurse, acute care educator and now neuroscience/specialty educator has allowed her to understand the learning process, nurse flow and needs of the individuals she caters to. She also strives in her own education and continues to advance her knowledge by getting her master's and recently accepted to a DNP in Nurse Education. This further proves her passion for what she does on a daily basis.     

Tori could teach a rock! She caters to every learning style imaginable: hands on, modules, case studies, SIMs, exemplars, skills fair & more.  Tori motivates everyone to keep up our own nursing skills regardless of their role. Though not required, we attended the 3S/4S skills fair. One of the highlights that was most memorable was when Tori paired RNs into groups where we had to simulate a real life situation - we were given a scenario and had to work together, calculate dosing and physically draw up seizure rescue medications - all while being timed to ensure. Feeling the pressure and stress of the situation was incredibly realistic. She moderated it with grace and without judgment - offering any learning from it to everyone.  She taught our unit leadership about onboarding and is our constant sounding board for if we are making the right decisions for our nurse residents in their orientation (as we have no education background - I need her help!).      

Tori leads by example every day. She makes me want to be a better nurse leader by showing her organization, sharing her skills (such as making education sites, electronic personalized workbooks, etc). She doesn't let the scope of her specialty limit her ability to see the bigger picture and how we cannot only work together, but share ideas to best improve the experience for our nurses and patients. Her passion for learning has translated into leading as an example for others: our conference attendance, certification rates and interest have significantly increased because of her. She wants to educate, but she wants to learn and recognizes she is still learning - while learning right beside you.     

Tori understands the flow of the hospital and works early mornings and late nights to educate staff. She is on campus to meet the needs of learning - she is often seen at DCN, DCMC Central, the TAO, clinic and throughout the hospital. She has been proactive and blocked days for orientation (as units work closely with her on scheduling). She not only meets their schedule which improves their interest in learning. I remember walking into my office one day and thinking there was a urinal on the floor, but no - it was a urinal, but it was fake urine she had drawn/taped to the side of the container to make the realistic factor of simulation impressive. She worked so hard at creating simulations - there aren't enough words to describe it - you'd truly have to see it for yourself. The attention to detail: laminated pictures of vital sign machines with simulated blood pressures, a realistic wound on the patient foot, a patient MAR and mock medication station - all that she created on her own. The time to prepare and create the simulation coupled with the time she spent completing the simulation was truly admirable and yields to her passion and natural ability to educate.       

Tori is invested and is able to think out of the box to provide opportunities for staff. There was so much interest in the Seizure and Epilepsy Certification from physicians, APPS and nurses - yet cost was a barrier. Tori was able to secure $4,950 in grants from the AANN - Agnus Marshall Walker Foundation - for this certificate. The desire for learning that Tori has created led for DCMC to have its first-ever PCT obtain this certification as well.  Tori worked with 4S Leadership to recreate the EMU CORE Group - a specific, trained group of nurses that take care of EMU patients, act as an expert for teaching others staff and take ownership in the development of the program to be nationally recognized. Tori took the lead at creating contracts, parameters and applications for the EMU CORE Group and presented it in conjunction with nursing leadership to Dr. Clarke in order to brand it in a way that DCMC could contribute to the National Epilepsy Foundation toolkit.    
 
Tori understands the correlation between education and patient safety. This past year, we had a serious safety event that occurred in our unit. As the manager, I was in need of educator assistance to help create an education plan to improve patient safety and future delays in treatment. Without hesitation, Tori volunteered to assist me with this education. She met with me to discuss objectives and goals for this mandatory simulation education training. She created a simulation that focused on identifying shock, clinical presentation, early and late stages of shock, and nurse interventions, and created a presentation called "What is shock?" She also created a case study and exemplar to give staff the option to choose which one they wanted to complete. She tailored the education to meet the needs of everyone's learning style. Her passion and dedication to patient safety are shown through her work ethic and education offerings.       

Tori's passion for teaching shines through in everything she does. Whether she is leading a workshop on pediatric neuro surgeries and seizure management (which happens monthly - August was her highest attendance of 30 nurses across various disciplines from OR to critical care), and mentoring student nurses in her additional role as ACC Nursing instructor, her approach is both enlightening and encouraging. She has a deep knowledge of pediatric neurosciences to make challenging topics accessible and engaging, often incorporating real-life examples she has encountered to hands-on demonstrations, such as skills fair. She creates a learning environment that is both engaging and welcoming. DCMC is truly incredibly lucky to have her and she is incredibly deserving of this award.