The Nurse Manager of the RRT, Amanda Shipman, has multiple duties while ensuring the day-to-day operations of the 24/7 residential units. Her responsibilities go beyond supervising the nursing staff. I can attest to her strong work ethic and amazing organizational skills, as I have seen her balance the many roles of a nurse manager and a RRTP management team member. She fosters a work environment that is based on mutual respect, open communication, and team collaboration on RRTP problem-solving. She has had to work through varied unforeseen life circumstances with the nursing staff, the entire RRTP team, and maintain the structural safety of the residential buildings that comprise the RRTP complex.

Amanda maintains an open-door policy, not only for nursing staff but also for RRTP team members and Veterans. This fosters a mutual respect between all parties. All RRTP staff and most Veterans feel heard and seen when they can speak privately with her directly.

Amanda works with both staff and Veterans to improve the RRTP experience and programming through attending town hall meetings, stakeholder meetings, and her bi-weekly Thursday teams nursing huddle, where she can freely discuss changes and implement them. It is great to have a forum that allows us a voice in changing our work practices to provide quality care to our Veterans.

Amanda has fostered a sense of support to allow her staff to pursue their educational goals. Since transferring to this unit, I have seen a nurse go from BSN to CRNP, RNs achieve their BSN, LPNs become RNs and even a NA/HT become an RN. This would not be possible without a Boss who assists with flexible scheduling by promoting the self-scheduling model for her staff.

Amanda maintains open lines of communication to all members of the RRTP Team and Veterans. Her staff has her VA cellphone & office telephone extensions, her VA email, and access to her on the Teams messaging network. The Veterans can contact her through any staff member or simply go knock on her door, which is open most of the time.

Amanda has been known to have individual meetings with staff members, multiple staff members, or the entire team of nurses when problems arise, or there are new policies or procedures that must be implemented. She usually has an entire team meeting on the nursing huddle (teams), where we discuss issues and compare ideas on how to resolve the problem.