Datascope excellence in nurse-administration collaboration award.

Editor's note: Sponsored by Datascope, these awards honor innovative contributions to collaborative practice by nurses who care for acutely and critically ill patients and their families. At least one of the collaborators must be an active AACN member. Recipients of the award are:

Debbie J. Arnett, RN, MSN 

Glendale, Ariz.

John Lincoln Deer Valley Hospital

Debbie is a critical care nurse who has practiced for over 20 years; she is currently the critical care educator at John C. Lincoln Health Network. Debbie has increased our organization's success by supporting a number of communication techniques in cooperation with administration. Her efforts have shaped the way we communicate with patients, and in turn patient satisfaction has increased tremendously. Debbie's collaboration with administration has been instrumental in quelling the nursing shortage. Debbie improved the Nurse Extern program coursework and has helped nurses who have been out of the profession for years re-enter nursing with confidence. She assures their success through individualized assessment, training and mentorship. When our hospital administrators chose to recognize certified nurses, Debbie embraced the idea and designed classes to encourage nurses to take the CCRN and CEN exams. Successful results include a pay increase and enhanced professional pride. Debbie has dramatically influenced the use of nursing knowledge and expertise to improve patient care decisions. As the Code Team Committee chair, Debbie revealed some areas needing improvement. The post-code survival rate for our hospital has now rocketed to 16%, compared to a national average of 5%. Debbie has also initiated multiple protocols to increase nurse autonomy and improve patient outcomes, which were approved by administration. Debbie is a friend, a mentor and a leader. She has changed the lives of nurses and the patients we serve through her collaboration with administration.

Vision Team

Indianapolis, Ind.

Clarian Health Partners

"TEAMWORK IS NCC. TOGETHER EVERYONE ACHIEVES MORE!" are the words you see on a bright yellow banner, as you walk into our unit. All staff and management wear pins as a reminder of this commitment to our patients, their families and one another. More than two years ago, our managers asked a few nurses on our unit to form a committee that would focus on developing a positive, professional, collaborative work culture. In October 2003, eight nurses met and formed The Vision Team of Neuro Critical Care. Our managers support leadership through work groups and committees, which promotes a feeling of ownership in our work environment, rather than having management mandate the decisions. The Vision Team collaborated for a year to develop a teaching tool that would educate the staff on professionalism and the expectations for working on NCC. With the motto "Teamwork is NCC," we formulated 38 corresponding words, giving definitions and unit-specific examples to match each letter in the motto. With the support of our managers, we planned two retreats and gave our presentation. The Vision Team is committed to being effective decision makers, reaching our goals and being role models for our unit. We continue to search for positive, creative ways to embrace our motto. This team has definitely had a positive impact on our unit. Our turnover rate for the first quarter of 2005 was 1.5%, compared to 7.6% for year-end 2004. In the words of John C. Maxwell, "Teamwork gives you the best opportunity to turn vision into reality."

Critical Care Cardiovascular Unit

Barrington, Ill.

Advocate Good Shepherd Hospital

Ms. K woke up with an irregular heartbeat and severe pain between her shoulder blades. Following emergency cardiac catheterization, doctors discovered she had coronary artery disease and needed a bypass. What makes this scenario unique is that if Ms. K had presented one week earlier, these services could not have been offered at our hospital. She would have been transferred to another facility with the accompanying delay in treatment. Ms. K felt lucky to have been treated immediately. After several years of gathering statistics, surveying the market, obtaining the certificate of need and developing construction plans, the day was here. The excitement of our first case was palpable. No one questioned if we were ready--we knew we were! Maybe our confidence was achieved after the clinical and educational preparations. Maybe it was the clinical simulations with volunteer patients that helped us approach this first patient with certainty. Maybe it was the camaraderie with other nurses in surgery and the cardiac lab as we readied the program. Whatever it was, we had the confidence to care for Ms. K. Post-operatively Ms. K required intra-aortic balloon counterpulsation and titration of vasoactive infusions. The next day she was extubated, the intra-aortic balloon was removed and she went to cardiac rehabilitation. After her successful surgery and recuperation, Ms. K visited the hospital. Nursing staff in the cardiovascular unit were gratified to see her, and knew the outcome would not have been possible without the vision and effort of our administrative leaders.