Suzanne is a seasoned cardiology nurse who uses her expertise to improve all aspects of care. She has a deep understanding of how the patient experience and the nurse working environment are entwined, and how improving one improves the other.
A born leader in professional development, Suzanne has pioneered an effort to help nurses get specialty certification, an endeavor that deepens nursing practice and improves patient care. This was not a simple task: First, she set out to understand what the barriers were to nurses taking the specialty certification exam. Then she worked with the institution to address those barriers and finally, she created a program to empower her colleagues to study for and then take the exam. Because of her efforts, there has been an increase in staff awarded with specialty certifications—in practical terms, this means increased skill and knowledge.
Suzanne has a unique ability to notice problems, and then to bring people together around the solution. On her unit, patients sometimes get pressure injuries from BIPAP devices, which use a mask to deliver oxygen. In collaboration with wound care nurses and respiratory therapists, she found that there was no alternative device on the market, so she developed one herself: a prototype BIPAP mask that has built-in skin protectant on the inside. It could be a game-changer for patients.
Suzanne works on many levels at once. Not only is she an advocate for her fellow nurses and a device innovator, she also excels at understanding patients holistically, and providing compassionate care. Recently, she was caring for a patient who had liver cancer with a poor prognosis. This patient wanted to marry his partner. Suzanne organized a full hospital-room wedding with decorations and a ceremony that was extremely meaningful to this patient and his family.