Adrienne has nearly two decades of experience as a pediatric nurse; her expertise and insight allow her to notice problems and unmet needs, and above all, to take quick action to solve them. Just one example of this came when a child’s condition deteriorated rapidly, and they needed to be transferred to a PICU in a different location. But the critical care transport team would not arrive for hours, delayed because there was no transport nurse available. Adrienne had many years of PICU experience, and she knew this child needed immediate transfer. So she volunteered to go in the ambulance and function as the transport nurse, so that this child could get the life-saving care that they required. It is this kind of collaborative, quick thinking that makes Adrienne an extraordinary nurse.  

That was not the only time when Adrienne stepped up with an out-of-the-box solution: She spearheaded the establishment of a pediatric step-down unit within an adult hospital, a project for which there was very little established literature or evidence to guide the process. Instead, she drew on her extensive PICU experience and consulted with many colleagues to develop the best practices, design and procedures for the unit. Those problem-solving skills also served her well when she noticed an uptick in event reports among diabetic step-down patients. She looped in a fellow nurse and together they figured out where the gaps in training and practice were, and developed a course to address those gaps, including interactive teaching methods like simulation.  

Adrienne serves children in so many ways: By collaborating with and supporting her fellow pediatric nurses, by noticing patterns and problem-solving to address problems, and by taking care of her own patients with tremendous skill and compassion.