Please excuse me for tooting my wifes horn. The following is from the December 2014 edition of Virginia Mason Medical Center’s Nursing Communicator. Becky Walsh’s Retirement Party Wednesday, December 17th 12 noon to three o’clock pm in Lindeman F&G You’re invited to come and say farewell to Becky, enjoy some refreshments and add your own stories, pictures and messages to Becky! ———————— Critical Care CNL Becky Walsh is Retiring! Becky Walsh, MN, RN, CCRN, CNL 45 Year Career Virginia Mason Critical Care Nurse Where to begin expounding on all the accomplishments of a 45 year career nurse? Having graduated from Tacoma General Hospital School of Nursing in 1969, Becky promptly came to work at Virginia Mason, specializing in critical care nursing. In 1980, she earned her Critical Care RN certification (CCRN), and has been recognized as one of 436 RN to have maintained this advanced professional credential for 30 continuous years. That’s dedication! Becky returned to school, and in 1984, graduated from Seattle Pacific University with a BSN. In 1994, she graduated from UW with a MN, as Clinical Specialist in critical care nursing. Since then, Becky was a part of both the CCU and the Hyperbaric Teams which won VM Best Team awards in 1995. Becky also participated in the Professional Recognition Program (PRP), and in 1995, ‘96 and ‘97 Becky earned Levels I, II and III consecutively. Throughout her years here, Becky contributed in many work teams, RPIWs, Kaizen Events, committees and the like. Her work has been instrumental with the IHI Breakthrough projects in CCU; VAP Prevention; the development and imple-mentation of standard protocols and order sets in CCU; the Code 4 Committee; the prevention of hospital delirium project; optimizing care transitions between home, clinic & hospital; the establishment of Clinical Nurse Leaders as an integral part of advanced nursing practice; design participation in the new CCU; the research and establishment of ‘quiet time’ for patients in the CCU; and much, much more. Becky is not only the face of nursing at Virginia Mason, but the face of the patient as well, having experienced and recovered from serious illness and surgery during these years. Knowing first hand what the patient faces, feels and fears, her heightened awareness enabled Becky to advocate for the patient and family in many ways. Her skillful, caring and compassionate mode of nursing practice was recognized with the DAISY Nurse Award in 2008. Becky has functioned in CCU in various roles: Staff Nurse/Educator/Clinical Nurse Leader. Her vast experience and knowledge has been an inspiration for critical care nurses to emulate along with her care and compassion for both patient and family. Becky and her husband Jeff (who loves nurses) have always gone the extra mile, taking the caring model to the highest degree. If a patient forgot something, they would return it to them at their home. Becky has a mind like a steel trap for abstracting obscure medical disease information and remembering all of the names and relatives and friends of patients and how they are related to the patient; what they do and even the names of their pets! - Shirley Sherman, MN, CCU Director -------------------- Rebecca Ann Walsh: 2008 DAISY Nurse Becky’s 2008 DAISY Award Nurse nomination by Julie Gorveatt, CCU RN, read as follows: The morning started out with the death of a young man in CCU. His mother, at the Inn, was distraught and talking about harming herself. Becky went over to the Inn, spoke with the mother, stayed with her as needed and arranged to meet her back in the CCU in 1 hour. Becky planned on going back over to the Inn if the mother did not show up. She contacted the patients wife to be with the mother. Becky’s day was just getting started. There was another family in CCU that had to make the hard decision to withdraw their mother/wife from life support. Becky was involved in the care conference, supported the family during the withdrawal phase, and helped arrange for the funeral home to pick the patient up in the CCU instead of the morgue. The afternoon found Becky helping us rush a patient back to the OR due to bleeding out of her surgical neck wound. She finished her day with a patient’s family discussing end-of-life and making a plan for the withdrawal of life support when the family would arrive the next day. Beckys ability to go from family to family, supporting them however they need it, assisting in critical situation with the staff and keeping her calm, understanding manner is amazing. She is an integral member of our team and I know that it’s our patients and families that are the better for it. -------------------- Becky and I worked together for 43 years. I thought she could have been a physician… she’s very intelligent... ...but wasn’t Nursing lucky to get her! - Bertha Hanson, RN retired When I was a new RN, scared and floated to the 8 bed SCU (that’s what we had in 1974), Becky was a WONDERFUL resource for me. If she was working that night, I felt safe to take care of the patients assigned to me. Becky was always nice to everybody and willing to answer questions (that may have made her wonder what, exactly, the nurse asking was doing in the SCU in the first place!). Happy Retirement! - Clydia Pappenfus, RN retired
Posted on: Mon, 08 Dec 2014 03:33:50 +0000
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