Page 6 - Flipbook July Newsletter

Nurse of the Year Award - Receipent

he Rosamond Gabrielson Nurse of the Year is in honor of Rosamond Gabrielson, the
Tdirector of Nursing at Vanderbilt University Medical Center in the 1970’s. She ulti-
mately developed the Shared Governance and nursing bylaws we now use in our own practice.
This award recognizes a nurse from each of the following Vanderbilt entities— Vanderbilt Uni-
versity Adult Hospital, Monroe Carell Jr. Children’s Hospital at Vanderbilt, Vanderbilt Psychiatric

Hospital, and Vanderbilt Clinics. The winner of this award elevates the nursing profession by
being a leader, using evidence based practice in his/her clinical environment and delivers exem-
plary patient care that ultimately leads to positive patient outcomes. This year the Rosamond Ga-
brielson Nurse of the Year Award for the Vanderbilt University Adult Hospital was given to
Allison Jagoda RN III, BSN, MS of the Cardiovascular Intensive Care Unit.

Allison has been with Vanderbilt for ten years and has been working in the CVICU for the
last five? years. During her time at Vanderbilt she has won several awards including Employee
of the Quarter, a good catch award that ultimately lead to a nationwide recall on Prismaflex filters
and has been nominated for the Daisy Award FIVE times. Allison was involved in the refinement
of the scatter bed process we use today, collaborated with our CCU physicians to have chest x-
rays ordered consistently in the mornings to improve radiology workflow and collaborated with
vascular surgery to establish a bedside handoff process after the Operating Room. She was also
the original Letto bike super bike and used her experience as a clinical exercise physiologist to
establish the exercise protocol during a research trial on early mobility after cardiac surgery. Al-
lison is also a super user for all of the following devices: Total Artificial Heart, Extracorporeal
Membrane Oxygenation, Intra-Aortic Balloon Pumps, and Continuous Renal Replacement Ther-
apy. In the CVICU, you can find Allison taking on more roles than just that of a bedside nurse.
She has been recognized as a leader on the unit and frequents takes on the role of Relief Staff
Leader, Help All and preceptor.

It’s not just about the clinical aspect for Allison; she also acknowledges the personal aspect
of our work as nurses. “An example of this that stands out (among the many for Allison) is her
work to help coordinate a high school graduation ceremony for a patient who could not leave
our unit to attend her daughter's big day. The patient was on ECMO awaiting a lung transplant -
that's utmost life support - but she was awake and interactive and suffering from sequestration
due to the high tech equipment keeping her alive. Allison reached out to the patient's daughter's
principal, and he and another school official came and did an official ceremony in the hall - com-
plete with "pomp and circumstance," the principal's speech, the daughter in her regalia (who had
decided she wanted to be a nurse), and even cupcakes! Allison really helped make it very special,
and the event even made the news”.

Congratulations to Allison Jagoda, RN III, BSN, MS!!

Please watch the touching video at: Link

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