Hospice & Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner

• Jul 2019 - Present

Hospice & Palliative Care Nurse Practitioner

• Sep 2016 - Jul 2019

Provides comprehensive medical care and expert symptom management to veterans at end of life on the dedicated 9-bed Hospice and Palliative Care (HPC) Unit as well as advance practice leadership as the unit expert to nursing staff. As the unit based NP, improves continuity of care, improves patient and family satisfaction as evidenced by Bereaved Family Survey scores. Leads daily interdisciplinary rounds on inpatient hospice unit that leads to improvement in overall care of the hospice patients. Rotates between 9-bed inpatient HPC Unit and inpatient consultation service on a regular basis, allowing the service to maintain adequate coverage and flexibility to meet the needs of veterans at McGuire. When assigned to the HPC consult service, provides expert consultation to patients throughout the medical center for symptom management and assistance with complex decision making in veterans with advance illness. Regularly leads family-patient-treatment team meetings assisting patients with complex medical decision making and aligning treatment plan to meet patient-family personal goals. Provides leadership in many aspects of palliative care while on the inpatient unit and in the consultative role and to the palliative care fellows, residents and interns on the various medicine teams throughout the medical center.

Clinical Nurse

• Aug 2014 - Jun 2016

Provide patient care and education to patient and/or caregivers regarding symptom management, palliative care, comfort care and various intravenous drips for comfort including Fentanyl, Versed and Dilaudid. Collaborate with interdisciplinary team concerning patient plan of care and discharge planning. Provide emotional support to patient and families dealing with end-of-life decisions. Provide patient care to a diverse patient population that includes telemetry cardiac, respiratory and medicine patients in a unit that helps facilitate throughput within the health system and includes admissions from the ED, clinics and outside hospitals. Of note, worked as a clinical nurse while completing Aduilt-Gerontology Acute Care Nurse Practitioner Post-Masters Certificate at UVA.

Heart Failure Program Coordinator/Clinical Nurse Specialist

• Jan 2011 - Jul 2014

Developed comprehensive EBP heart failure program to reduce readmission rates in 758-bed community hospital.• Successfully opened an outpatient transitional heart failure (HF) clinic to provide 7 day follow-up appointments and multi-disciplinary education and support to improve overall care of HF patients post-discharge thereby reducing readmission rates and avoiding CMS penalty for HF readmissions in FY 2013, 2014 and 2015• Instituted APN HF rounding on HF patients with a projected discharge disposition of home or home health to provide in-depth HF patient education and identify opportunities to improve care transitions• Created post-discharge phone call protocols and instituted follow-up phone calls for all HF discharges within 24-72 hours that includes medication reconciliation, review of HF self management key skills along with telephone triage of escalating clinical symptoms• One of clinical leads for HCA Virginia market in developing sub-acute protocols for successful implementation of Care Team Connect Pilot that connects community home health and skilled nursing facilities with the hospital for 30 days post-discharge and improves care transitions

Clinical Nurse Educator

• 2007 - 2011

Assess educational needs, plan, coordinate, and instruct educational programs for staff• Facilitated/taught Critical Care Internship Course• Designed/facilitated/taught Medical-Surgical Certification Review Course• Guest lecturer in CCRN/PCCN Review Course and Basic Rhythm Course• Designed and implemented Medical-Surgical scenario-based skills fairs for over 400 nurses • Designed/facilitated/taught Annual Nursing Assistant Education Days• Co-chair Medical-Surgical Nurse Practice Council

Critical Care Nurse, Rank: Major (Retired)

• May 1988 - Mar 2009

Critical Care Staff Nurse, Medical ICU

• Jun 2000 - Feb 2006

Provide total patient care for critically ill patients in a 9-bed medical intensive care unit in a community hospital setting. Including IV therapy, multi-disciplinary rounds, surgical post-op management, ventilator management, CVVH, and hemodynamic monitoring. • Served as charge nurse for unit• Preceptor and mentor for new staff• Taught reoccurring 5 week Basic Rhythm Course for new telemetry and critical care nurses