Mackenzie A Gillenwater
January 2025
Mackenzie A
Gillenwater
,
RN
Medical Services
East Tennessee Children's Hospital
Knoxville
,
TN
United States
She helped him cope with these challenging situations by supporting his decision to talk about them. She was helping him OWN his diagnosis and long road ahead through support and showing interest in his plan.
I know we have so many good nurses here at ETCH, but one in particular that I have seen shine is Mackenzie Gillenwater from the 3rd floor. She embraces all our CORE values day after day.
(COMPASSION) Mackenzie has a huge heart and genuinely cares about her patients. During our daily CLABSI rounds, I got to see firsthand how Mackenzie cared for and impacted a patient and his mother, who had been here nearly 2 months. This patient was here for Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) and suffered a devastating kidney injury from this that will now have to be on the kidney transplant list. In addition, this young guy was having to experience his mom and dad go through a divorce. Some pretty grim days for a 10-yr old to have to endure. Most days, when I rounded on him, he was quiet, seemed sad, and did not really want to interact with us. But, after a couple of weeks, I began to notice that some days he was in a really good mood, smiling, and much more social with us. Then I began to realize it was when Mackenzie was his nurse. So, I asked him one day why he was in such a good mood, and about that time, Kenzie walked in, and he lit up like sunshine. When she left, I told him I had figured it out. It was Kenzie who made his days brighter, and he nodded yes, motioned me closer, and whispered in my ear, “She’s kinda pretty, too!”
(OWNERSHIP) Then, he talked my ear off, telling me all about the things Kenzie would do that made his day better. He would show her his tik toks and she took the time to watch and listen. She owns all aspects of nursing and yes, listening, engaging, and just being attentive for a few minutes, even when I know she was really busy went a long way. He had started making tik toks about his journey of having HUS and now on his new journey of having to go on a transplant list for a kidney. She helped him cope with these challenging situations by supporting his decision to talk about them. She was helping him OWN his diagnosis and long road ahead through support and showing interest in his plan.
(RESPECT) This patient’s mom really went on and on about how Kenzie was so respectful and would call her ma’am. She said Kenzie cared about her as well telling her it was ok to nap, and she would watch after her son. That resonated with this mother, and she went on and on about the care Kenzie provided and the time she took to explain things so she could understand them. I have myself experienced how respectful Kenzie is. I hear Kenzie say “yes ma’am” or “no ma’am” any time she is talking with her leadership team. Even me, when I go through the unit, Kenzie makes it a priority to say “hello” and asks how my day is and always with a big smile on her face. Sometimes young nurses shy away from leadership, but not Kenzie. I honestly think it is because she is so respectful and wants us to know she respects us by always speaking and smiling.
(EXCELLENCE) It is not every day that I get to see our nurses in action, but over the last 2 months, I have seen Kenzie be a nurse and shine. She made a difference in this patient’s day when she was his nurse. It is easy to see why, though, Kenzie’s infectious optimism, smile, and personality are so easy to be around. I saw that same optimism and even smiles from this patient when she was his nurse. I have never seen her having a bad day, even though I know they all do and if she were, you would not know it. Her bad day, if she is having one, is left at the door when she goes in to care for a patient and she delivers her best with each encounter. I cannot say enough about how amazing all our teams are, but Kenzie’s Compassion, Ownership, Respect, and Excellence really showed during the last 2 months while caring for this patient and I had the opportunity to experience that and wanted to say, “Thank YOU.” Thank you for making this child’s days a little brighter, for making him smile on some of his saddest days, and for being part of our amazing 3rd floor team.
(COMPASSION) Mackenzie has a huge heart and genuinely cares about her patients. During our daily CLABSI rounds, I got to see firsthand how Mackenzie cared for and impacted a patient and his mother, who had been here nearly 2 months. This patient was here for Hemolytic Uremic Syndrome (HUS) and suffered a devastating kidney injury from this that will now have to be on the kidney transplant list. In addition, this young guy was having to experience his mom and dad go through a divorce. Some pretty grim days for a 10-yr old to have to endure. Most days, when I rounded on him, he was quiet, seemed sad, and did not really want to interact with us. But, after a couple of weeks, I began to notice that some days he was in a really good mood, smiling, and much more social with us. Then I began to realize it was when Mackenzie was his nurse. So, I asked him one day why he was in such a good mood, and about that time, Kenzie walked in, and he lit up like sunshine. When she left, I told him I had figured it out. It was Kenzie who made his days brighter, and he nodded yes, motioned me closer, and whispered in my ear, “She’s kinda pretty, too!”
(OWNERSHIP) Then, he talked my ear off, telling me all about the things Kenzie would do that made his day better. He would show her his tik toks and she took the time to watch and listen. She owns all aspects of nursing and yes, listening, engaging, and just being attentive for a few minutes, even when I know she was really busy went a long way. He had started making tik toks about his journey of having HUS and now on his new journey of having to go on a transplant list for a kidney. She helped him cope with these challenging situations by supporting his decision to talk about them. She was helping him OWN his diagnosis and long road ahead through support and showing interest in his plan.
(RESPECT) This patient’s mom really went on and on about how Kenzie was so respectful and would call her ma’am. She said Kenzie cared about her as well telling her it was ok to nap, and she would watch after her son. That resonated with this mother, and she went on and on about the care Kenzie provided and the time she took to explain things so she could understand them. I have myself experienced how respectful Kenzie is. I hear Kenzie say “yes ma’am” or “no ma’am” any time she is talking with her leadership team. Even me, when I go through the unit, Kenzie makes it a priority to say “hello” and asks how my day is and always with a big smile on her face. Sometimes young nurses shy away from leadership, but not Kenzie. I honestly think it is because she is so respectful and wants us to know she respects us by always speaking and smiling.
(EXCELLENCE) It is not every day that I get to see our nurses in action, but over the last 2 months, I have seen Kenzie be a nurse and shine. She made a difference in this patient’s day when she was his nurse. It is easy to see why, though, Kenzie’s infectious optimism, smile, and personality are so easy to be around. I saw that same optimism and even smiles from this patient when she was his nurse. I have never seen her having a bad day, even though I know they all do and if she were, you would not know it. Her bad day, if she is having one, is left at the door when she goes in to care for a patient and she delivers her best with each encounter. I cannot say enough about how amazing all our teams are, but Kenzie’s Compassion, Ownership, Respect, and Excellence really showed during the last 2 months while caring for this patient and I had the opportunity to experience that and wanted to say, “Thank YOU.” Thank you for making this child’s days a little brighter, for making him smile on some of his saddest days, and for being part of our amazing 3rd floor team.