Summer Christman, Patient Service Associate – H7 – Medical Oncology
Please join the Center for Nursing Excellence in congratulating Summer Christman for being selected as the February BEE Award winners!
Summer is a Patient Service Associate in the Medical Oncology Department and was nominated by two co-workers. The following is the story of how Summer impacted these co-workers’ lives in a way that they will never forget.
“Summer is a gem. It is so refreshing having her as a PSA for your group because she is great at anticipating the needs of her patients. If a patient is bedbound, she places them on a turn schedule. While bathing the patient, she will call the RN at bedside to note any skin issues (redness, skin breakdown) and assist the nurse in implementing preventive measures like mepilex and heel protectors. She checks her orders everyday and will place TEDs/SCDs on patients who have it ordered. Blood sugar checks and vitals are prompt and ice water, etc is taken care of. These little things seem simple but make a HUGE difference for the nurse taking care of a busy 4-5 patients everyday.
Another thing that is wonderful about Summer is her attitude. She comes to work to work and does what needs to be done. When I charge on the weekends, she is always checking on me and willing to assist in any way to get our unit in order or to assist a patient. I know I am not the only one who sees these things because I hear great things about this PSA all the time and she deserves to be recognized for it.”
“I worked on H7 on 10/25 and Summer was a fantastic team-mate! She anticipated all of the patients’ needs and I literally didn’t need to call her for anything. I think this takes a lot of stress off the patient, because they don’t feel as though they are burdening by calling. She had several patients who were total care patients, needing assistance getting cleaned up. In between baths, vital signs, and accu-checks, she came to me about several patients who she noticed were getting a little reddened on their bottoms. She took the initiative to put preventative mepilex on their backside and initiate a turn schedule to prevent further impairment of skin integrity. She placed TEDS and SCDs that were missed by previous shifts and even asked for me to place a per protocol order for a turn schedule so that other techs might be more inclined to turn the patients as well. She just “got it”. I didn’t have to ask her to do anything, but I got the impression that if I had, it wouldn’t have put her out in the slightest. It was a pleasure to work with her. I hope she decides to go to nursing school one day. I think she would be a great addition to the nursing staff at UAMS.”
Please congratulate Summer for Being Exceptional Every day at UAMS!