Josh Austin
May 2018
Josh
Austin
,
RN
Med Surg, Discharge RN, Wound Care
Kaiser Permanente Westside Medical Center
Hillsboro
,
OR
United States

 

 

 

When I think of someone who goes above and beyond, I think of one person, Josh Austin.
Josh has been with our team since the hospital opened almost 5 years ago. He continues to do amazing work as a discharge nurse, but he goes above and beyond with his involvement in other committees. He is on the skin committee, the vein rangers (IV) committee and is a CAD champion.
As part of the skin team, Josh has become the "go-to-guy" for all skin related questions and issues. Not only is he called on by the Med/Surg team, but he is often sought out by the ICU and mother/baby nurses to provide support for them as well. He offers assistance to all of our staff and does it without hesitation. One example is a patient who was admitted over the weekend with a very complicated ostomy. Josh graciously assessed the situation and was able to help him with a difficult pouch application. Another patient had a high output ostomy and frequently had blowouts, necessitating frequent pouch changes. Josh assisted with pouch changes on multiple occasions. A patient with a stage four pressure ulcer was admitted on a weekend so Josh was called to assess and make dressing recommendations for the patient. All of these patients are those that most nurses would run away from (or at least wish they could run away from) but not Josh! He is willing to help no matter what the situation is.
A maternal child/women's health patient had a PICO dressing on a C-section incision and was having problems obtaining a seal. Josh came to the rescue and was able to help stop the leak. Another maternal child/women's health patient needed a PICO, however, the staff had not yet been educated on the use of this dressing. Josh was called and went over to do education with staff. If you know Josh, you know that going into the mother/baby unit was out of his comfort zone, however, he helped without hesitation.
On all of these accounts, and many others throughout the years, Josh has stepped up and helped his fellow staff as well as hundreds of our patients. He is the perfect example of a nurse who goes above and beyond.