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Trisha Stravin,
RN, PNP
Hometown: Charlestown,
Mass.
Experience:
10 years at Children’s
Leisure Activities: Cooking,
kayaking, skiing
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Trisha Stravin has other roles at
Children’s, but her primary job is as a CNS on 6 East, where
she supports and mentors new staff and reviews clinical operations.
Her role is to ensure that every member of the unit’s nursing
staff has the support and clinical expertise to deliver exceptional,
family-centered care. “The fast-paced environment on the cardiac
unit can be overwhelming, especially for new nurses,” says
Stravin. Her charge is to support new nurses in their transition
to autonomous members of the nursing team.
“I enjoy learning how a nurse’s personal philosophy,
values and culture dictate the care that he or she delivers,”
Stravin says. And that understanding defines how she helps them
in their practice. “Many nurses enter their careers as young,
hopeful and highly motivated individuals,” she says, but because
nurses face constant challenges on the job, professional support
is crucial. “I’m always checking in with nurses on the
unit,” she says. “I am always asking questions like,
‘Why did you make that decision? How did you choose that course
of action?’”
After 10 years working at Children’s, Stravin says she has
learned the importance of balancing learning and teaching. “I
am the middle-man between the nurse providing direct patient care
and the nursing system,” she says. Although that means some
situations are beyond her control, she says she has embraced the
axiom to “accept what I cannot change, have the courage to
change what I can and have the wisdom to know the difference.”
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Sandy Quigley,
RN, PNP, CWOCN
Hometown:
Natick, Mass.
Experience:
19 years at Children’s
Leisure Activities:
Dancing, ice skating and swimming
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As Children’s resident expert for enterostomal therapy, Sandy
Quigley’s daily “routine” is anything but. Quigley specializes
in caring for patients with disorders of the skin and gastrointestinal
and urinary tracts. On an average day, she visits six or seven floors,
offering clinical consultation to physician and nursing colleagues
dealing with sensitive issues such as feeding tubes, incontinence,
wounds and pressure ulcers.
Quigley provides consults for other care providers on the phone
and at the bedside, but she does more than simply give her expert
opinion. “I try to help them develop critical thinking skills about
these issues,” she says. “I tell them, ‘Describe to me what you’re
seeing,’ and then I prompt them to describe it better. I try to
help people identify the issues effectively and decide upon the
appropriate intervention.”
Between following her pager around Children’s and delivering talks
to school nurses, pediatricians and others, Quigley keeps more than
busy. But, she says, “I absolutely love being a nurse. I am touched
that so many patients and families have let me be a part of their
story.”
-NT
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