Brittany Rodriguez
May 2024
Brittany
Rodriguez
,
RN
ICU H34/36
Zuckerberg San Francisco General
San Francisco
,
CA
United States
Since then, to much relief from other staff, Brittany has volunteered to care for most of our pediatric patients. She has gained knowledge and confidence by putting herself in a place to learn.
Brittany prioritizes continuity of care, compassion, and autonomy as she does what needs to be done. Brittany’s contributions to continuous learning and processes to improve communication and workflows have significantly supported both colleagues and patients. Brittany makes a positive difference, impacting many others’ lives. Brittany received two nominations this year:
It can be really challenging working in our trauma intensive care unit for many reasons. One of these is that occasionally, we are tasked with taking care of pediatric trauma patients. Not only can it be devastating to see a child with injuries, but we often feel like imposters taking care of these vulnerable patients. One of our night shift nurses, Brittany Rodriguez, has risen to this challenge and has become a leader and advocate for these patients. After several days of taking care of a very sick pediatric patient a couple of years ago, Brittany told me, “The only way I’ll get comfortable is if I do it.” Since then, to much relief from other staff, Brittany has volunteered to care for most of our pediatric patients. She has gained knowledge and confidence by putting herself in a place to learn.
Recently, with a particularly medically complex patient, she even adjusted her schedule to ensure she could care for the patient several nights in a row. With patients like this one, continuity of care is essential and oftentimes difficult for us to provide. Brittany did this without hesitation and without being asked. I imagine that seeing Brittany night after night was a relief to the parents, knowing that she provided excellent, compassionate care. She has also leaned into another challenge and presented these cases to our Critical Care Pediatric Workgroup. She has diligently taken notes, reviewed medical records, and brought areas of potential improvements to our group. With her efforts, we have been able to make great strides in our preparedness for these patients in the ICU. She has contributed to documentation optimization, supply updates, and processes to improve our communication with our respiratory care colleagues. Through sharing her experiences, challenges, and reviews of patients' cases, she has contributed immensely to our collective education and confidence to care for our most precious patients. As the nurse educator, I am personally indebted to Brittany. Having such a leader and role model on the night shift is invaluable.
***
Throughout her tenure in the intensive care unit, Brittany has taken every opportunity available to become more involved in her professional development and our unit through nursing competencies, committee work, and precepting new staff. This self-determination is particularly inspiring with our challenging pediatric population. Due to the low volume of pediatric patients in our ICU, staff often feel uncomfortable assuming the primary nursing role. Despite the discomfort, Brittany has volunteered to meet these challenging circumstances with professionalism and graciousness. Specifically, she has altered her schedule and worked additional shifts (on several occasions) to promote consistency in care with this vulnerable population. She has developed case studies after complex pediatric admissions to guide discussion with other colleagues in reviewing our workflow, systems issues, and educational gaps. With her compassion and dedication to continuous improvement, she truly embodies the qualities of this award.
It can be really challenging working in our trauma intensive care unit for many reasons. One of these is that occasionally, we are tasked with taking care of pediatric trauma patients. Not only can it be devastating to see a child with injuries, but we often feel like imposters taking care of these vulnerable patients. One of our night shift nurses, Brittany Rodriguez, has risen to this challenge and has become a leader and advocate for these patients. After several days of taking care of a very sick pediatric patient a couple of years ago, Brittany told me, “The only way I’ll get comfortable is if I do it.” Since then, to much relief from other staff, Brittany has volunteered to care for most of our pediatric patients. She has gained knowledge and confidence by putting herself in a place to learn.
Recently, with a particularly medically complex patient, she even adjusted her schedule to ensure she could care for the patient several nights in a row. With patients like this one, continuity of care is essential and oftentimes difficult for us to provide. Brittany did this without hesitation and without being asked. I imagine that seeing Brittany night after night was a relief to the parents, knowing that she provided excellent, compassionate care. She has also leaned into another challenge and presented these cases to our Critical Care Pediatric Workgroup. She has diligently taken notes, reviewed medical records, and brought areas of potential improvements to our group. With her efforts, we have been able to make great strides in our preparedness for these patients in the ICU. She has contributed to documentation optimization, supply updates, and processes to improve our communication with our respiratory care colleagues. Through sharing her experiences, challenges, and reviews of patients' cases, she has contributed immensely to our collective education and confidence to care for our most precious patients. As the nurse educator, I am personally indebted to Brittany. Having such a leader and role model on the night shift is invaluable.
***
Throughout her tenure in the intensive care unit, Brittany has taken every opportunity available to become more involved in her professional development and our unit through nursing competencies, committee work, and precepting new staff. This self-determination is particularly inspiring with our challenging pediatric population. Due to the low volume of pediatric patients in our ICU, staff often feel uncomfortable assuming the primary nursing role. Despite the discomfort, Brittany has volunteered to meet these challenging circumstances with professionalism and graciousness. Specifically, she has altered her schedule and worked additional shifts (on several occasions) to promote consistency in care with this vulnerable population. She has developed case studies after complex pediatric admissions to guide discussion with other colleagues in reviewing our workflow, systems issues, and educational gaps. With her compassion and dedication to continuous improvement, she truly embodies the qualities of this award.