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Sanford Health ▪ 801 N. Broadway Ave. Fargo, ND

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Licensed Practical Nurse

03/02/2009 – 02/01/2010

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Emergency Room

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• As an LPN my skills included: completing assessments, administering medications, inserting Foleys, inserting IV catheters, and drawing labs.

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Registered Nurse

02/01/2010 – 11/01/2016

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Emergency Room

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• Triaged patients on a five-level triage acuity scale. Delivered comprehensive ongoing assessment and care of medical and trauma patients. Collected and interpret clinical data including vital signs and lab values. Insertion and management of Foley catheters, and IV catheters. Insertion and care maintenance of life-sustaining equipment such as: chest tubes, arterial lines, central lines, and advanced airways. Performed clean and sterile dressing changes and wound assessments. Collaborated with all members of the interdisciplinary team, therapists, social workers, doctors, and pharmacists. Prepared patients for surgery, pre-op checklists, and medication. All skills completed on ages newborn to geriatric.

  • Roles included tag nurse, triage nurse, and trauma nurse.

    • As a tag nurse I assisted placing patients in rooms according to triage priority.

    • In the triage role, I triaged patients according to the severity levels.

    • In the Trauma nurse role, including primary and secondary roles while assisting with major and minor traumas. Including charting, assessment, interventions, and priority care.

    • Assumed role as floating nurse to help identify ongoing Emergency Centers needs and provide team members with leadership and guidance to reach optimal nursing standards.

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• Lead SANE Nurse – While working in the ER, assumed the lead SANE nurse role to expand the reach of the program. Worked to improve and change policies, procedures and documentations for the program. Created and provided education to partner agencies, including multiple police departments, rape and abuse advocates and students. Developed on-call schedules and facilitated 24-hour care/coverage for SANE victims

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Registered Nurse

01/15/2013 – 10/01/2015

 

Intensive Care Unit

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• Delivered comprehensive ongoing assessment and care of critically ill patients. Collect and interpret clinical data including vital signs, lab results, and wound progression. Insertion and care maintenance of life-sustaining equipment such as: arterial lines, central lines, and advanced airways. Titration of continuous IV drips including insulin, heparin, narcotics, vasopressors, anti-arrhythmic, and sedatives. Performed clean and sterile dressing changes and wound assessments. Collaborated with all members of the interdisciplinary team, therapists, social workers, doctors, and pharmacists. Prepared patients for surgery, pre-op checklists, and medication. Received new post-operative patients directly from the OR. Assisted with insertion, management and care of Continuous Renal Replacement Therapy. Monitored and managed patients with Intracranial Pressure Monitors. On some occasions cared for patients on extracorporeal membrane oxygenation (ECMO).

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Flight Nurse

​10/01/2015 - Present

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Sanford Air Med

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Transport critical medical and trauma patients via rotor and fixed wing aircraft. Perform assessment and perform interventions. Including: IV therapy, medication administration, intubations, chest tubes and patients with balloon pumps and Impella devices. Transportation includes patients from NICU to Geriatric patients.

 

 

Clinical Care Leader – Simulation Education

​ 12/2016 – 6/2020

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• Collaborate with quality management, along with numerous quality improvement and safety committees within the hospital and clinics to assist in recognition and address concerns including: medication errors, patient safety, risk management activities, infectious diseases, communication deficiencies and interprofessional team dynamics. As a team collaboration we formulate education via skills and simulation to help resolve these organizational issues and improve patient outcomes, while improving performance improvement.

• Leading a crew of 16 individuals in providing medical education to all medical providers from EMT’s, Paramedics, RN’s, Residents, Physicians and many other entities. This role includes coordinating schedules with internal and outreach providers to provide simulation training with high-fidelity manikins and medical equipment.

• Leading a crew of 16 individuals in providing medical education to all medical providers from EMT’s, Paramedics, RN’s, Residents, Physicians and many other entities. This role includes coordinating schedules with internal and outreach providers to provide simulation training with high-fidelity manikins and medical equipment.

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Ambulatory Nursing Manager – Perham Health Clinic

12/18 – Present

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• Manage day-to-day operations for three very busy clinics who reach over 40,000 patient visits a year. Work collaboratively with nursing staff to manage a clinic with urgent care, family medicine, internal medicine, obstetrics, urology, nephrology, cardiology, oncology, and occupational health. Assign and assist with nursing schedules and filling staffing gaps that exist. Actively participate in tasks force, committees, staff meetings, department activities, goals, quality measures, hospital committees, and develop policies, procedures, workflows and guidelines. Assist in training new staff and ensuring current staff maintain competency. Manages processes in clinical performance, assessments and process improvements. Practice positive collaboration, while promoting the mission and vision of the organization.

  • Established a new psychiatry service line including telehealth services for psychiatry to outreach 12 offsite clinics.

  • Created standardized triage process.

    • Was able to decrease medication refills/my chart response times from 7 hours to 2 hours with implementation.

  • Created workflows for new patient process, registration, medication refills, Nursing Home and Home Health collaboration,  

  • Created cost saving measures including decreasing printing costs, supply chain standardization, staffing standardization and overtime allocation,

  • Responsible for the quality of patient services and continuous improvement of customer satisfaction

    • Worked diligently to create a patient and family centered care culture, including increasing signage throughout department, initiated a lactation room for mothers, next appointment cards, and increased patient outreach.  

  • Carefully selected, developed, and retained qualified staff, as well as trained new staff annually in accordance with regulations.

  • Worked collaboratively with Human Resources to both coach staff and ensure proper disciplinary actions are taken when necessary.

  • Worked on quality projects including addressing all ambulatory quality measures and worked on decreasing Medicaid/Medicare patients Emergency Department visits.

  • Implemented an electronic allergy system into the clinic.

• COVID-19

  • Worked quickly in a rapidly changing environment to develop a safe environment for patients, staff, and visitors

  • Overnight created a Respiratory Care Clinic – while creating a COVID nurse triage role, COVID curbside testing, active employee screening and COVID nursing protocols.

  • Educated all staff on proper PPE usage and maintained competencies.

  • Maintained adequate staffing while supporting hours for all staff members. Only furloughed one staff member upon their request.

  • Maintained adequate patient volumes. Created many safety and quality measures to ensure patients care did not decline. Volumes rapidly declined to 48% of normal volumes for one week with the implementation of many measures, volumes rapidly increased to 95% normal volumes in a short time frame. We maintained highest volumes for not only Sanford Health enterprise, but much of Minnesota. Recognized by other Minnesota CEO’s for rapidly increasing volumes in ambulatory care setting.