Aimee embodies everything in a Nurse Leader that I want to be someday. She is caring, friendly, understanding, and compassionate. She is fair and respectful. She has an innate ability to unite her nurses by using positivity and hopefulness, even under less than desirable conditions, and to motivate us to perform at our highest level so that we can provide the best possible care and outcomes for our patients and families.

Aimee is a true role model. She never uses foul language and she is always able to remain calm, collected, and poised. She is deeply concerned with the physical and emotional wellness of all her staff members and she encourages her nurses to care for their patients in the same, well-rounded manner. She does not shy away from conflict. She has the ability to turn conflict into opportunities to enhance communication and understanding. Aimee is always approachable. I trust her enough to come to her with any mistake or issue that arises because I know that she will use the experience in a positive manner, to promote learning and enhance future safety.

Aimee values employee evaluations at the highest level. She is constantly soliciting feedback for new employees and addresses issues in real-time. For example, if an employee has performance issues, Aimee will sit down with the employee to discuss them as soon as possible. She will never wait until an issue has passed and then bring that up later at your annual performance evaluation. Basically, if an issue needs to be addressed, Aimee is partnering with the employee in real time to enact change.

Aimee, recognizing that I have an interest in leadership/management, has given me numerous opportunities for professional development. For example, she has guided me in my journey to evolve into an ICU Facilitator, which can be a daunting role. She is constantly supportive, offering suggestions and tips based on her years of experience. She models how to hold people accountable and empowers me to be strong and professional when I feel like backing down and avoiding a situation. In an age when everyone is going to school and then leaving the bedside, she still promotes further education and advanced degrees, even though that results in more rapid turnover of her staff. She truly develops relationships with her staff. She knows our strengths, weaknesses, and interests. She then capitalizes on that, bringing out the best in people. She has referred me to the Nurse Manager Residency Program. She has supported me as the Chair of our unit's Governing Council. She attends every Governing Council meeting because she desires to be involved in everyday issues affecting the bedside nurse and their patients, even though she is now removed from the bedside. Aimee really has never removed herself from the bedside, though. She participates in bedside Multidisciplinary Rounds every day with the Intensivist and Pharmacist and bedside nurse on ALL ICU patients! She strives for the best care possible for every patient and also wants to ensure her bedside nurses are involved enough, educated enough, and empowered enough to provide that.

This year has been a hard year in the ICU because of COVID-19. Nevertheless, Aimee continues to encourage us to maintain our highest standards of care. She points out when we are dropping the ball and she frequently creates new experiments using her Huddle Board, her Weekly Update, and her unit Council Members and Quality Champions. Aimee never shows disappointment or frustration with her staff outwardly. She will be honest with us and tell us that she knows we can do better. She will enthusiastically encourage us about the new changes and the improved outcomes we will then expect to see. She is a relentless change agent, addressing issues bits and pieces at a time and involving her staff in that work. She really values celebrating the positives. She encourages us to nominate each other for Nurses Week Awards, DAISY and Daffodil Awards, and PENN System Awards. She promotes participation in the Clinical Ladder program for RNs and PtCAs.

Aimee has volunteered at a COVID-19 Vaccination Center and has made that opportunity available to all of us as well. During the COVID surge, she developed a new intervention that has really been valuable to our COVID patients: a journal. The idea of the journal is for the nurse and family to highlight daily activities regarding medical and emotional care. As a unit, we have received much positive feedback from recovered patients about the journals such as providing closure and solace, which both work to reduce ICU-associated PTSD. Interventions such as the ICU Journal, created by Aimee as a method to bridge the restricted visitation gap, are why the Nursing Profession is considered one of the most trusted and esteemed professions.