As a charge nurse Katie checks in with staff nurses hourly to make sure everyone is doing well, provides assistance if a nurse is struggling with their assignment, ensures everyone takes their breaks, makes staff and patient safety her top priority when there is a violent/potentially violent situation, and is an excellent resource for both hospital policy and procedures and patient care.
In addition to being a regular source leadership inspiration, Katie goes above and beyond to meet patients' needs and requests whenever possible. The most recent example of this is when Katie coordinated everything to enable a patient to get married during his hospital stay. This patient was admitted due to a traumatic injury which left him paralyzed from the waist down. His fiancé had a terminal cancer diagnosis and they had planned to get married prior to the patient's hospitalization. The couple had notified the staff a few days earlier of their wishes to get married, however they did not have a date set. After discussions over several days about how many people would be present, different location options on the unit and throughout the hospital, there were considerations based on both medical and celebration wishes. The couple selected the date and asked if they could be married that day. Katie quickly coordinated the location of the wedding ceremony, chaplain services, and worked with the patient care nurses to collaborate with occupational therapy to help dress the patient and his best man, who was also a patient on our unit because he was injured in the same accident as the patient. She also coordinated with physical therapy to mobilize the patient to the prayer room for the ceremony. Katie did not just make phone calls; getting the patient dressed required four staff members and Katie was one of them. She also purchased cupcakes and apple juice from the cafeteria because she did not know if they had a cake or refreshments for the ceremony and wanted to make sure they had everything they needed to celebrate properly. Since the patient care nurse was caring for three other patients, Katie remained with the patient for the ceremony and the reception afterwards, which included photos, and of course the wedding toast. In total, Katie spent close to four hours with the patient and his family to ensure they had the best wedding possible under less than ideal circumstances.
Katie Geisler is an exemplary model of nurse leadership, which is demonstrated through her professionalism and her compassion, and deserves to be recognized for all the work she does for both the patients and the staff of the Trauma Nursing Unit.