2022 Nursing Excellence Awards

Hamilton Health Sciences thanks all nurses for their commitment, compassion, leadership, advocacy and courage through yet another challenging year. Congratulations to all of this year's award recipients!

Innovation and Quality Award

Shasta Cividino, Registered Nurse, Clinical Manager, Labour & Delivery, McMaster University Medical Centre

Her nominators say:

Shasta consistently demonstrates innovation and quality improvement in order to improve not only Labour & Delivery's (L&D) working environment but also improving quality outcomes in patients and families while supporting the wellbeing of the team.?

Shasta demonstrates so many characteristics of great innovators. She sees the spaces that others often miss. She has the ability to reimagine things that are already there but need change. For Shasta, innovation means doing things differently or doing things that have never been done before. She embraces the idea and then creates environments in which employees are given tools and resources to challenge the status quo, pushing boundaries and achieving growth in both the program and each individual employee. She empowers employees to be creative and develop the skills they need to move to the next level of their careers. Shasta does not take short cuts nor is she afraid of going after more complex solutions.?

Her wisdom and knowledge, her continued support and encouragement can only enhance the future of the HHS. We are blessed to have Shasta in the role of Manager for L&D. Shasta Cividino is a rare find and she has left an imprint on many nurses and staff members. We are grateful to have not only an innovator but a natural born leader managing our unit.

Mentorship

Rini Dass, Nurse Practitioner, Medically Complex Care, St. Peter's Hospital

Her nominators say:

Rini pioneered the role and is passionate about sharing her knowledge with staff and students, and is committed to helping each grow professionally. Rini often mentors nurse practitioner (NP) students whom she considers colleagues and partners. She holds a Clinical Appointment with McMaster University at the rank of Assistant Clinical Professor and has tutored 4th level BScN students. Rini excels as a clinician and since joining our team has used her coaching skills to develop and nurture registered nurses (RNs) and registered practical nurses (RPNs) as they care for patients who over time have become more medically complex. The skills and knowledge of our nursing staff have grown considerably since Rini's arrival almost four years ago. She has an ability to challenge nurses to be more critical in their thinking and has helped many hone their physical assessment skills.

Rini values providing more formal opportunities for staff to learn as well. Prior to the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic, Rini had a desire to design and host an in-house conference. Her dream was realized when more than 50 staff members from St. Peter's attended the multidisciplinary education conference, 'Clinical Gems in Complex Care – Applying Evidence to Practice,' featuring speakers from across the site.

Barb Laughland, Registered Nurse, E4/F4 (Surgical Oncology), Juravinski Hospital

Her nominators say:

Barb is a mentor in all every sense of the word. Barb shows not only a passion to help others succeed but the willingness to help them be a successful nurse on the surgical oncology unit. She is approachable and notes that there is never a “silly question."

She often assists the staff members to work through the process by using various techniques, resources and her personal knowledge to find the answer. Barb's present temporary role is to provide clinical support and formal mentorship for nurses who have recently completed their orientation and are transitioning to independent practice (e.g. new hires, novice nurses). She is always willing to educate, stand by, advocate, encourage, influence and promote nursing. Barb is a believer in the next generation of nurses and utilizes their modern knowledge and her experience to come up with plans to assist, advise and teach the essentials of becoming a successful nurse. She gives each staff member the assurance, determination and courage to make it through the day with confidence.

Nursing Leadership

Matt Scaum, Registered Nurse, Intensive Care Unit (ICU), Juravinski Hospital

His nominators say:

Matt has a calm and approachable manner which leaves the team feeling comfortable and supported. He manages the team in every aspect; from scheduling to policy updates and hosting meetings to data entry. He provides the team with up to date information regularly so we can perform at our highest standards.

Matt is consistently available to the team to discuss scenarios and methods to navigate and provide best treatment. He is available to us not only on shift, but in his personal time will guide us to appropriate resource or resolution. He will always leads us to best policy approach, safe efficient care, and clear communication with all disciplines. Matt will host meetings for the team to discuss policy changes, physician updates, and discuss scenarios we've encountered and ways to navigate challenging situations.

Matt consistently supports the Rapid Assessment of Critical Events (RACE) team by ensuring appropriate algorithm is followed and that other disciplines understand the role of RACE. He is unfailingly positive, confident and welcoming. Not only is Matt an excellent leader, a knowledgeable healthcare professional and a supportive colleague, he also has exceptional bedside manner.

Patient Experience

Christie LeBlond, Registered Nurse, 3C/3Z Pediatric Medicine & Complex Care, McMaster University Medical Centre

Her nominators say:

When reading the qualifications for the Patient Experience Award, the first name that comes to mind is Christie LeBlond.?She puts the patient's experience and needs at the forefront of everything she does, and puts all her effort into ensuring that patients experience safe, family-centered care.

Under Christie's care, the patient and family felt supported, and confident in the care she provided, from the moment of crisis until discharge. It is a reflection of the care that Christie provides each and every day to her patients and families, always going the extra mile to ensure they are comfortable and informed while providing excellent care.?Christie will never miss a chocolate milk, warm blanket, or extra cuddles, especially when our patients are spending time in hospital without their support system, all while never missing a beat and providing excellent care. Christie's calm demeanor, excellent assessment and time management skills ensure that patients, families and the multi-disciplinary team are always informed with all the needed info to ensure patients have a safe stay and are well prepared for discharge.

Nightingale

Makram El-Zouhairi, Interim Clinical Educator, Juravinski Hospital Intensive Care Unit (ICU) & McMaster University Medical Centre WRH ICU

His nominators say:

Makram (Mak) continuously strives to present and engage others in learning opportunities within the unit whenever they present themselves not only for the Nursing staff but with students and Health Care Aides. He can best be described as competent, resourceful and a great influence in our critical care environment. He can be seen starting each day on the unit by walking around making himself visible and engaging with bedside staff asking of their learning needs. Mak has a true passion for learning but also for sharing his knowledge.

At Christmas, he formulated a wellness team to enhance morale and presented “LEVO-PHRED (ICU's Elf on the Shelf)." This was a fun and interactive theme that ran for the month of December with a daily mix of educational multidisciplinary questions.

Mak's approach to education and learning, regardless of the task, is presented in a comfortable manner, building upon his work in a fun and creative way. He has also found it important to enhance the orientation and experience of new hires by revamping the Competency Checklist(s) for registered staff in the ICU based on the different skills sets needed to work in the critical care setting.

These are a few examples of how Mak brings both a professional and positive demeanor to his various roles and is well regarded by his peers and colleagues.

Team Award Recipients

Palliative Care Team, St. Peter's Hospital: 60 members (approximately)

Group Leads: Chris Stevens, Donna Theroux, Sue Mackay

The team's nominators say:

Nursing excellence, resilience, steadfast commitment and exemplary care are consistently demonstrated by the palliative care nurses at St. Peter's Hospital. Here are just a few ways they achieve this:

1. Unwavering Commitment: Despite lengthy COVID outbreaks, lockdowns and staffing challenges, the nursing team never wavers in providing exceptional care and compassion to patients, families and one another.

2. Mentorship: The nursing team embraces externs, new hires and nursing students, providing exceptional mentorship.

3. Openness: Nursing staff volunteered to be redeployed to acute care sites during critical staffing challenges.

4. Teamwork: Strong collegial relationships amongst the nurses is clearly visible in their work.

5. Collaboration: Collaboration with acute sites and key community partners ensured timely transfers to palliative care beds during extreme healthcare system stress.

6. System-mindedness: Our nursing leaders made timely decisions with careful consideration, compassion and fairness.

7. Commitment to CQI:?Nurses consistently contribute daily to CQI huddles, bringing forward challenges, insights and solutions.?

8. Resilience: Our huddles end with a unique resilience ritual, setting daily intentions and expressing gratitude for things both big and small.?

9. Angel Halos: The outpouring of gratitude from patients and families speaks volumes.

10. Above and Beyond: The nurses banded together and reorganized assignments with some nurses taking heavier workloads in order for other nurses to provide 1:1 support..

11. Heart of Nursing: This team undeniably exemplifies nursing excellence. Not only do the nurses apply exemplary clinical and technical expertise every day, they bring to the bedside the heart of nursing – the compassion and caring that mark the profession.

HHS Clinical Practice & Education Nurse Clinicians Educator Team, All Sites, 50 Nurse Clinician – Educators

Their nominators say:

The Nurse Clinician – Educators have demonstrated their deep commitment to learning and development through the last two years of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this time, they have worked when not scheduled to support learning and development activities as well as direct care on units.

They have been role models with extensive knowledge of COVID-19 protocols which change frequently and with their unwavering commitment to the organization, patients and their clinical teams. They have had to pivot often to support new evidence and changing direction. They stepped up when a decision was made just days before universal masking went into effect on the Saturday of Easter Weekend 2020, to support the rollout. They stayed late when residents were arriving from a retirement home being evacuated. They also stepped up when the HHS President & CEO Rob MacIsaac made an urgent appeal before the New Year's Eve weekend in 2021, to work in direct care. Working in direct care shifts continued for several weeks during the Omicron wave.

Educators remain focused and upbeat at the darkest times, always taking opportunities to celebrate each other and keep a strong sense of community within the educator team. They continue to create welcoming environments for all and go the extra mile to create meaningful learning experiences.