Asten Agnew
January 2024
Asten
Agnew
,
BSN, RN
Pediatric ICU Services
Texas Children's Hospital
Houston
,
TX
United States
Asten has sought out staff for training as simulation instructors as well as volunteered himself to lead sim with our physician providers because we all are aware of the impact that simulation has on the quality of care our patients receive at Texas Children's.
Asten has been a nurse in the CICU for 11 years and a unit educator for the last 5 of those years. He has always shown great passion for learning and developing other nurses. In his role as educator, he has brought many opportunities for growth to not only the nurses in the CICU but also nurses in the whole Heart Center and beyond through Cardiac Class, Preceptor Development, and Simulation. For the Cardiac Class, Asten collates a collection of interactive lectures by our medical team and experienced nursing staff geared towards nursing staff with at least a year of experience. The goal of this educational initiative is to advance knowledge and bedside considerations as you progress and take care of increasingly complex cardiac patients. Asten facilitates these classes in a forum to address questions and generate fruitful dialogue among attendees.
Asten is extremely passionate about our nurses' preceptors as he understands that those interactions and exposure can have an enormous impact not only on the onboarding nurse but also on the quality of patient care through knowledge, practice, understanding, and retention. At a minimum, Asten requires some form of preceptor development training, and he is continuously meeting face-to-face with the preceptors. Additionally he is a part of the tiger team in the Heart Center working towards an even more strategic preceptor development platform.
We all are aware that the night shift can be less supported with resources for continual learning when compared to the day shift; however, Asten refuses to accept this as an excuse and has worked tirelessly to bring simulation time to the night shift staff. While we continue to work on this as a routine practice, Asten has sought out staff for training as simulation instructors as well as volunteered himself to lead sim with our physician providers because we all are aware of the impact that simulation has on the quality of care our patients receive at Texas Children's.
These are just a few examples of how Asten leads nursing in the CICU. He is a valued team member and is appreciated by the staff and all the other leaders in the Heart Center.
Asten is extremely passionate about our nurses' preceptors as he understands that those interactions and exposure can have an enormous impact not only on the onboarding nurse but also on the quality of patient care through knowledge, practice, understanding, and retention. At a minimum, Asten requires some form of preceptor development training, and he is continuously meeting face-to-face with the preceptors. Additionally he is a part of the tiger team in the Heart Center working towards an even more strategic preceptor development platform.
We all are aware that the night shift can be less supported with resources for continual learning when compared to the day shift; however, Asten refuses to accept this as an excuse and has worked tirelessly to bring simulation time to the night shift staff. While we continue to work on this as a routine practice, Asten has sought out staff for training as simulation instructors as well as volunteered himself to lead sim with our physician providers because we all are aware of the impact that simulation has on the quality of care our patients receive at Texas Children's.
These are just a few examples of how Asten leads nursing in the CICU. He is a valued team member and is appreciated by the staff and all the other leaders in the Heart Center.