Michael
Frigo
November 2024
Michael
Frigo
,
BSN, RN, CRRN
Shirley Ryan AbilityLab
Chicago
,
IL
United States
One of Michael's strongest qualities as a preceptor is that he is highly skilled in teaching critical thinking. I often hear him asking his preceptees challenging questions that aim to expand their knowledge and problem-solving skills.
I started as a new graduate nurse here at Shirley Ryan with Michael as my preceptor. I consider myself extremely lucky to have been introduced to the profession of nursing by him. He exemplifies a kind, compassionate, patient, and detailed oriented educator. No matter the circumstances, Michael always took extra time and care to explain the "why" and "how" of the task in front of us. He made me feel empowered to try new skills, and always provided me with thoughtful feedback.
During my first few weeks, Michael and I cared for a burn patient. I did not have any experience with wound care, let alone a burn shower and dressings. I remember the first burn shower I did with him, I tried hiding in the corner to stay out of the way. Michael explained every little thing he was doing as he went and found little ways to involve me and make me feel comfortable. Each day forward, he spent weeks patiently teaching me what wounds warranted which dressing and the efficient ways to apply them. He provided me with burn education materials and helped empower me to then educate the patient myself. What started as an incredibly intimidating task has now become one of my favorite nursing tasks, all thanks to Michael. A few weeks after my orientation ended, I had my first patient fall. It was a very scary moment and I felt incredibly guilty. Michael was there immediately to help both the patient and me. He sat down with me after to debrief, calmed my nerves, and walked me through filling out the safety event. He turned a scary situation into a calm learning moment, which I have carried with me to every emergency situation since. I appreciate him so much for that.
Now I have worked alongside Michael for over a year and he continues to make himself available as a mentor and educator. I have never once hesitated to reach out to him with questions or for help. If there are any new hires or students on the floor, Michael will seek them out to teach procedures or involve them in patient education. Michael is involved in many committees here and is quick to update the floor on new policies, procedures, or upcoming projects.
He always has a helping hand to lend and goes above and beyond for his patients, orientees, and colleagues. Michael makes every moment of every day a learning opportunity. The 20th floor is beyond lucky to learn from him and be led by him.
***
Michael precepted me as a new grad nurse, and he was excellent. He is a patient and positive nurse who loves what he does. As a preceptor, he explained everything very thoroughly, allowing for a more comfortable hands on experience and never made me feel bad for making a small mistake. He was very calm and explained what I should do next time without making me feel bad. He made sure I felt prepared when he started letting me go into the patient rooms without him standing next to me and eventually handling a mini-patient assignment with him. He was a great resource to answer all of my questions during this point in my orientation. When I was fully on my own, he continued to check in on me and reassured me that just because I'm alone, that doesn't mean I can't ask him or anyone else for help. He is a very nice person and he represents the ideal nurse. I learned a lot from Michael.
***
Michael has passion for what he does and that is shown through the way he cares for his patients and teaches new nurses. Michael was my preceptor and he served as an amazing role model (and still does). He never made me feel "dumb" and explained everything thoroughly. Michael is patient and offers help when needed. Lastly, Michael builds trusting relationships with his fellow colleagues and patients.
***
Michael has always shown a love for teaching and for our unit on 20 in general. He was not my preceptor but has gone out of his way to show me new experiences and tactics in nursing care during my first few months as a new hire. Michael was never condescending in his critique, was always patient and kind to his orientees, and made sure he was always approachable to ask for help. Whenever there is a new policy or documentation change, he is always the one to educate each of us individually to make sure we understand and if we had any questions regarding the new material. He also has a profound role in many committees which emphasizes his passion in education and further development of nursing at Shirley Ryan.
***
I am enthusiastically nominating Michael Frigo for this extraordinary DAISY Nurse Educator Award. As a charge nurse, I have seen Michael precept numerous new nurses from their first day on the unit to their successful transition to independence.
One of Michael's strongest qualities as a preceptor is that he is highly skilled in teaching critical thinking. I often hear him asking his preceptees challenging questions that aim to expand their knowledge and problem-solving skills. I remember one instance where Michael was able to give a new nurse a complete clinical picture of a transplant patient by going through the normal physiologic functions of the lungs, the pathophysiology of a lung transplant, why we assess for certain complications, how the patient's specific anti-rejection medications worked, how we monitor certain drug levels closely, and why it was important to follow the immunocompromised isolation to keep the patient safe. He routinely demonstrates how to prioritize all of this information in order to make critical decisions that lead to optimal patient care.
Not only does Michael precept new nurses, he is also a mentor for other nurses who are beginning to precept. I frequently see his past preceptees approaching him for advice. I have seen Michael assist newer preceptors by giving them advice on how to adjust teaching techniques to different learning styles, how to respectfully provide constructive criticism, and how to recognize when your preceptee is ready for more independence or requires more support. All of the nurses on our unit see Michael as a role model preceptor and we greatly value his input and advice.
By supporting and teaching a large number of our new nurses, he has been a massive contributor to maintaining our unit's culture of safety, accountability, curiosity, and compassion. He does this by showing our new nurses how to prioritize open and honest communication, demonstrating how to maintain patient dignity, encouraging active participation in ongoing education from the academy, treating potential errors as learning opportunities, promoting reporting of near misses and errors, and empowers them to speak up and advocate for patient safety. His precepting not only affects his new nurses but directly influences the culture of our unit as a whole.
If you were to spend one shift with Michael, you would see how much teaching/precepting brings him joy and purpose. His passion for instilling knowledge and empowering new nurses is truly inspiring. Michael Frigo is an extraordinary preceptor, I wish every unit at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab had a Michael to guide the next generation of nurses.
***
Michael is always more than willing to teach anyone who wants to learn, from students to staff members to new nurses. He always has the answers or at least knows where to find them. He is enthusiastic, thorough, and always implements best practices. He advocates for his patients and has extraordinary attention to detail. Lately, Michael has oriented many new staff RNs who have had a smooth transition into practice, which we attribute to Michael. He provides constructive feedback and ensures they are aware of the nuances of the rehab workflow. He also participates in many committees and always keeps our 20th-floor staff updated on the newest policies, products, and practices. Thank you, Michael!
*Of note, this was the first recipient of the Nurse Educator Award at our facility. It was presented during an Advanced Preceptor Workshop and Recognition Dinner. The honoree received six nominations from colleagues!*
During my first few weeks, Michael and I cared for a burn patient. I did not have any experience with wound care, let alone a burn shower and dressings. I remember the first burn shower I did with him, I tried hiding in the corner to stay out of the way. Michael explained every little thing he was doing as he went and found little ways to involve me and make me feel comfortable. Each day forward, he spent weeks patiently teaching me what wounds warranted which dressing and the efficient ways to apply them. He provided me with burn education materials and helped empower me to then educate the patient myself. What started as an incredibly intimidating task has now become one of my favorite nursing tasks, all thanks to Michael. A few weeks after my orientation ended, I had my first patient fall. It was a very scary moment and I felt incredibly guilty. Michael was there immediately to help both the patient and me. He sat down with me after to debrief, calmed my nerves, and walked me through filling out the safety event. He turned a scary situation into a calm learning moment, which I have carried with me to every emergency situation since. I appreciate him so much for that.
Now I have worked alongside Michael for over a year and he continues to make himself available as a mentor and educator. I have never once hesitated to reach out to him with questions or for help. If there are any new hires or students on the floor, Michael will seek them out to teach procedures or involve them in patient education. Michael is involved in many committees here and is quick to update the floor on new policies, procedures, or upcoming projects.
He always has a helping hand to lend and goes above and beyond for his patients, orientees, and colleagues. Michael makes every moment of every day a learning opportunity. The 20th floor is beyond lucky to learn from him and be led by him.
***
Michael precepted me as a new grad nurse, and he was excellent. He is a patient and positive nurse who loves what he does. As a preceptor, he explained everything very thoroughly, allowing for a more comfortable hands on experience and never made me feel bad for making a small mistake. He was very calm and explained what I should do next time without making me feel bad. He made sure I felt prepared when he started letting me go into the patient rooms without him standing next to me and eventually handling a mini-patient assignment with him. He was a great resource to answer all of my questions during this point in my orientation. When I was fully on my own, he continued to check in on me and reassured me that just because I'm alone, that doesn't mean I can't ask him or anyone else for help. He is a very nice person and he represents the ideal nurse. I learned a lot from Michael.
***
Michael has passion for what he does and that is shown through the way he cares for his patients and teaches new nurses. Michael was my preceptor and he served as an amazing role model (and still does). He never made me feel "dumb" and explained everything thoroughly. Michael is patient and offers help when needed. Lastly, Michael builds trusting relationships with his fellow colleagues and patients.
***
Michael has always shown a love for teaching and for our unit on 20 in general. He was not my preceptor but has gone out of his way to show me new experiences and tactics in nursing care during my first few months as a new hire. Michael was never condescending in his critique, was always patient and kind to his orientees, and made sure he was always approachable to ask for help. Whenever there is a new policy or documentation change, he is always the one to educate each of us individually to make sure we understand and if we had any questions regarding the new material. He also has a profound role in many committees which emphasizes his passion in education and further development of nursing at Shirley Ryan.
***
I am enthusiastically nominating Michael Frigo for this extraordinary DAISY Nurse Educator Award. As a charge nurse, I have seen Michael precept numerous new nurses from their first day on the unit to their successful transition to independence.
One of Michael's strongest qualities as a preceptor is that he is highly skilled in teaching critical thinking. I often hear him asking his preceptees challenging questions that aim to expand their knowledge and problem-solving skills. I remember one instance where Michael was able to give a new nurse a complete clinical picture of a transplant patient by going through the normal physiologic functions of the lungs, the pathophysiology of a lung transplant, why we assess for certain complications, how the patient's specific anti-rejection medications worked, how we monitor certain drug levels closely, and why it was important to follow the immunocompromised isolation to keep the patient safe. He routinely demonstrates how to prioritize all of this information in order to make critical decisions that lead to optimal patient care.
Not only does Michael precept new nurses, he is also a mentor for other nurses who are beginning to precept. I frequently see his past preceptees approaching him for advice. I have seen Michael assist newer preceptors by giving them advice on how to adjust teaching techniques to different learning styles, how to respectfully provide constructive criticism, and how to recognize when your preceptee is ready for more independence or requires more support. All of the nurses on our unit see Michael as a role model preceptor and we greatly value his input and advice.
By supporting and teaching a large number of our new nurses, he has been a massive contributor to maintaining our unit's culture of safety, accountability, curiosity, and compassion. He does this by showing our new nurses how to prioritize open and honest communication, demonstrating how to maintain patient dignity, encouraging active participation in ongoing education from the academy, treating potential errors as learning opportunities, promoting reporting of near misses and errors, and empowers them to speak up and advocate for patient safety. His precepting not only affects his new nurses but directly influences the culture of our unit as a whole.
If you were to spend one shift with Michael, you would see how much teaching/precepting brings him joy and purpose. His passion for instilling knowledge and empowering new nurses is truly inspiring. Michael Frigo is an extraordinary preceptor, I wish every unit at Shirley Ryan AbilityLab had a Michael to guide the next generation of nurses.
***
Michael is always more than willing to teach anyone who wants to learn, from students to staff members to new nurses. He always has the answers or at least knows where to find them. He is enthusiastic, thorough, and always implements best practices. He advocates for his patients and has extraordinary attention to detail. Lately, Michael has oriented many new staff RNs who have had a smooth transition into practice, which we attribute to Michael. He provides constructive feedback and ensures they are aware of the nuances of the rehab workflow. He also participates in many committees and always keeps our 20th-floor staff updated on the newest policies, products, and practices. Thank you, Michael!
*Of note, this was the first recipient of the Nurse Educator Award at our facility. It was presented during an Advanced Preceptor Workshop and Recognition Dinner. The honoree received six nominations from colleagues!*