November • 2015
Page 2
Nursingmatters is published monthly by Capital Newspapers. Editorial and business offices are located at 1901 Fish Hatchery Road, Madison, WI 53713 FAX 608-250-4155 Send change of address information to: Nursingmatters 1901 Fish Hatchery Rd. Madison, WI 53713 Editor........................................... Kaye Lillesand, MSN 608-222-4774 • kayelillesand@gmail.com Managing Editor................................... Julie Belschner 608-250-4320 • jbelschner@madison.com Advertising Representative...................Andrew Butzine 608-252-6263 • abutzine@madison.com Recruitment Sales Manager.......................Sheryl Barry 608-252-6379 • sbarry@madison.com Art Director...........................................Wendy McClure 608-252-6267 • wmcclure@madison.com Publications Division Manager.................. Matt Meyers 608-252-6235 • mmeyers@madison.com Nursingmatters is dedicated to supporting and fostering the growth of professional nursing. Your comments are encouraged and appreciated. Email editorial submissions to klillesand@sbcglobal.net. Call 608-252-6264 for advertising rates. Every precaution is taken to ensure accuracy, but the publisher cannot accept responsibility for the correctness or accuracy of information herein or for any opinion expressed. The publisher will return material submitted when requested; however, we cannot guarantee the safety of artwork, photographs or manuscripts while in transit or while in our possession.
EDITORIAL BOARD Vivien DeBack, RN, Ph.D., Emeritus Nurse Consultant Empowering Change, Greenfield, WI Bonnie Allbaugh, RN, MSN Madison, WI Cathy Andrews, Ph.D., RN Associate Professor (Retired) Edgewood College, Madison, WI Kristin Baird, RN, BSN, MSH President Baird Consulting, Inc., Fort Atkinson, WI Joyce Berning, BSN Mineral Point, WI Mary Greeneway, BSN, RN-BC Clinical Education Coordinator Aurora Medical Center, Manitowoc County Mary LaBelle, RN Staff Nurse Froedtert Memorial Lutheran Hospital Milwaukee, WI Cynthia Wheeler Retired NURSINGmatters Advertising Executive, Madison, WI Deanna Blanchard, MSN Nursing Education Specialist at UW Health Oregon, WI Claire Meisenheimer, RN, Ph.D. Professor, UW-Oshkosh College of Nursing Oshkosh, WI Steve Ohly, ANP Community Health Program Manager St. Lukes Madison Street Outreach Clinic Milwaukee, WI Joyce Smith, RN, CFNP Family Nurse Practitioner Marshfield Clinic, Riverview Center Eau Claire, WI Karen Witt, RN, MSN Associate Professor UW-Eau Claire School of Nursing, Eau Claire, WI © 2015 Capital Newspapers
Nursingmatters
More than “just a nurse” Kaye Lillesand Nursing Matters editor
There is an old adage, “If you want to be respected, you must behave respectfully.” I believe that we could easily substitute the word value for Kaye Lillesand respect. That thought led me to wonder what behaviors nurses exhibit that cause others to value their work. Kelley Johnson, Miss Colorado 2015, is an example
of such a behavior when she performed a monologue about being a nurse for the talent portion of the competition. Instead of a gown she wore scrubs and a stethoscope. The uproar that Joy Behar, a host on The View, caused by questioning why a nurse was wearing a stethoscope has filled TV and social media with comments and thoughts about nurses and the value they bring to society. Another example I experienced recently was when a friend had a family member in an ICU. She said to me with some surprise, “It is the nurses who do all the work. The doctor is only there for a few minutes.” The family needed to make the painful decision to discontinue life support. When she was telling another nurse and myself about the whole
experience she said, “I don’t know how you nurses do it. You are working feverishly with the patient, keeping us informed and caring for us at the same time.” There was huge respect and a reflection of the value of nursing in her voice. When people experience the physical and intellectual work that nurses do, they can’t help but value it, but too often we are reluctant to explain our thought processes to patients – what we are assessing and why. What decisions we are making and why we are doing what we are doing often go unexplained. The public often sees us as “following doctor’s orders.” Katharyn May, Dean of the University of Wisconsin-Madison School of Nursing states, “The intellectual work that
See Editorial, Page 3
Passion
continued from page 1 Life since 2011. She is licensed in the state of Wisconsin as an EMT-Intermediate and a National Association of Air Medical Communication Specialists Certified Flight Communicator. She is a single mother of a 5-year-old son, and has still on many occasions gone above and beyond to ensure there is adequate staff in the Flight for Life Communications Center, even though that means taking time away from her family life. As a Flight for Life Communication Specialist, Wilson brings professionalism, compassion and dedication to the job every day. She places tremendous importance on the safety of the flight crews. This emphasis on safety was highlighted in the nomination letter, which detailed an occurrence this past year when one of the Flight for Life aircraft was struck by a bird during a flight. Wilson dealt with the stressful situation in a calm professional manner. She immediately located an alternate landing site for the aircraft and flight crew, resulting in a safe, uneventful landing. This incident earned her a Flight for Life Safety Award and was a major factor in the Board of Directors decision to select her for this award. Wilson’s passion for and dedication to her job as communication specialist while always keeping the safety of the Flight Crews a priority has earned her the respect of her colleagues. She was nominated for this award by one of her co-workers, Cory Lund. “If not for Steph’s compassion for the job as communication specialist and her dedication to safety, who knows where the Flight for Life’s Communication Center would be today,” Lund said.
Flight for Life responds to the scene of a two-vehicle crash in Winnebago County.
Flight for Life responds to a traffic wreck.
Flight for Life has flown more than 34,000 patients throughout Wisconsin and Northern Illinois. As a communications specialist, Wilson is a critical component of each emergency transport, working behind the scenes to ensure the safety of
the patient, first responders and the Flight for Life crew. Her co-workers say they could not be more proud of Wilson winning the award – a pinnacle of achievement that recognizes all that she gives to Flight for Life and the communities they serve.