November 2023
Tina
De Los Santos
,
BSN, RN, CMSRN
6A
Harris Health System Ben Taub Hospital
Houston
,
TX
United States
Tina demonstrates equality in action for both patient care and with employees. She maintains professionalism and is able to utilize her experience to benefit the unit. Her knowledge and attitude towards her work instill a sense of trust and respect.
Tina De Los Santos exemplified the characteristics of a DAISY Nurse whenever she arrives to work! Throughout the course of this year, she’s transitioned from an NC II to an NC III; through her advancement, she has taken on additional leadership roles and responsibilities! Similar to other nurses on 6A, Tina is capable of stepping into the shoes of a nurse manager.
We recently transitioned nurse leader rounds to be independently led by the charge nurse. In usual Tina fashion, and after sharing this idea, Tina took it upon herself to design the tool the charge nurses would implement. This tool was consistently used for two full years; during this time we sustained and exceeded the organization's goal for patient experience.
If that wasn’t enough, Tina is very familiar with Harris Health’s chain of escalation. When unit leadership is unavailable to address immediate patient concerns, without hesitation, Tina connects with patient relations and provides service recovery to assist with resolving the patient's concern/conflict.
Tina isn’t only an advocate for patients, she also advocates for the novice nurse. Throughout her career at Harris Health, Tina has trained over 20 nurses, several whom remain with the organization. We jokingly say Tina has a Harris Health family tree; she is the mother hen to daughters, sons, nieces, nephews, a great aunt to some, and a grandmother to others! Tina truly believes in training the next generation of nurses! Tina role models how to collaborate with the healthcare team to meet the patient need’s; she isn’t afraid to stop the line. While floating to a med/surg unit, an MD pulled a central line and did not tell nursing that they were pulling the line; although Tina ran into the team as they were finished and outside of the room and asked the team had they done something with the patient and they said yes they had in fact, pulled the line. It was at that time Tina went back to check on the patient and found that the patient was in a pool of blood, and for the next 45 minutes, they were trying to stop the bleeding. The RRT was called very timely. The physicians did not communicate that they were physically there to remove the line. Had Tina not run into the MD the bleeding that occurred could have gone on for a very long time with her not realizing that they had pulled the line; the patient was transferred to IMU.
Every professional challenge or feedback provided to Tina has been achieved through her consistent hard work, self-reflection, grit, and determination! Tina is active at a unit level, a pavilion level, and has assisted with System driven initiatives!
As you can see, Tina goes over and above normal job duties and responsibilities to care for patients, peers, and the leadership team of Harris Health System!
RAU nurse manager stated “You went above and beyond when picking up a shift in the RAOU; there was a pregnant EC nurse, and she was without a PCA. You made sure she was safe and assisted how you could with her patients. She had a crisis intervention, and you were by her side. You made yourself available to assist, and I am truly proud of your accomplishments to and intentions of keeping her and her baby safe.
A 6A peer describes Tina as the following “She demonstrates equality in action for both patient care and with employees. She maintains professionalism and is able to utilize her experience to benefit the unit. Her knowledge and attitude towards her work instill a sense of trust and respect. Her reports are indicative of her understanding of the patient, and she often provides valuable insight. Tina’s work ethic sets a standard to be followed. Her level of engagement within the unit and pavilion as well as her degree of achievement in becoming a NC3 shows her level of commitment towards our patient. Tina demonstrates combining quality standards with the familiarity of the system to great effect, able to navigate patient circumstances towards the most positive outcome."
As you can see, Tina is an exceptional nurse who like so many of those nominated, is deserving of this prestigious award! Tina will continue to make her mark on the nursing profession and the patients she has the privilege to serve! She is a true DAISY Nurse.
We recently transitioned nurse leader rounds to be independently led by the charge nurse. In usual Tina fashion, and after sharing this idea, Tina took it upon herself to design the tool the charge nurses would implement. This tool was consistently used for two full years; during this time we sustained and exceeded the organization's goal for patient experience.
If that wasn’t enough, Tina is very familiar with Harris Health’s chain of escalation. When unit leadership is unavailable to address immediate patient concerns, without hesitation, Tina connects with patient relations and provides service recovery to assist with resolving the patient's concern/conflict.
Tina isn’t only an advocate for patients, she also advocates for the novice nurse. Throughout her career at Harris Health, Tina has trained over 20 nurses, several whom remain with the organization. We jokingly say Tina has a Harris Health family tree; she is the mother hen to daughters, sons, nieces, nephews, a great aunt to some, and a grandmother to others! Tina truly believes in training the next generation of nurses! Tina role models how to collaborate with the healthcare team to meet the patient need’s; she isn’t afraid to stop the line. While floating to a med/surg unit, an MD pulled a central line and did not tell nursing that they were pulling the line; although Tina ran into the team as they were finished and outside of the room and asked the team had they done something with the patient and they said yes they had in fact, pulled the line. It was at that time Tina went back to check on the patient and found that the patient was in a pool of blood, and for the next 45 minutes, they were trying to stop the bleeding. The RRT was called very timely. The physicians did not communicate that they were physically there to remove the line. Had Tina not run into the MD the bleeding that occurred could have gone on for a very long time with her not realizing that they had pulled the line; the patient was transferred to IMU.
Every professional challenge or feedback provided to Tina has been achieved through her consistent hard work, self-reflection, grit, and determination! Tina is active at a unit level, a pavilion level, and has assisted with System driven initiatives!
As you can see, Tina goes over and above normal job duties and responsibilities to care for patients, peers, and the leadership team of Harris Health System!
RAU nurse manager stated “You went above and beyond when picking up a shift in the RAOU; there was a pregnant EC nurse, and she was without a PCA. You made sure she was safe and assisted how you could with her patients. She had a crisis intervention, and you were by her side. You made yourself available to assist, and I am truly proud of your accomplishments to and intentions of keeping her and her baby safe.
A 6A peer describes Tina as the following “She demonstrates equality in action for both patient care and with employees. She maintains professionalism and is able to utilize her experience to benefit the unit. Her knowledge and attitude towards her work instill a sense of trust and respect. Her reports are indicative of her understanding of the patient, and she often provides valuable insight. Tina’s work ethic sets a standard to be followed. Her level of engagement within the unit and pavilion as well as her degree of achievement in becoming a NC3 shows her level of commitment towards our patient. Tina demonstrates combining quality standards with the familiarity of the system to great effect, able to navigate patient circumstances towards the most positive outcome."
As you can see, Tina is an exceptional nurse who like so many of those nominated, is deserving of this prestigious award! Tina will continue to make her mark on the nursing profession and the patients she has the privilege to serve! She is a true DAISY Nurse.