GWAC Critical Care Chronicle

Volume 16, Issue 2

April 2016

The Presidents Message

Steve Risch, MSN, RN, CCRN, CCNS
Spring is here! I hope you
are enjoying the season. I
want to thank all of our
GWAC members for their
continued support to our
chapter. We remain one of
the strongest chapters in our
region.
Before I update you on our chapter, I want to
share my thoughts on the recent editorial on
Emotional Intelligence (EI) by Drs. Richard Savel
and Cindy Munro in Marchs American Journal
of Critical Care. There are five components of EI,
but the one that strikes me the most is selfawareness. Simply put, self-awareness is our
emotional response to a situation.
As the authors note, We have a passion to help
others, and we want to be with people who share
our passion. When people around me dont share
my passion, Im guilty as charged of responding
in a less than favorable way. I sometimes need to
be reminded to keep my emotions under control.
But, as I self-reflect, I realize I am passionate in
what I do. The concept of EI helps us strike a
balance between our emotions and our response
something I challenge all of us to do.

conference center to hospital setting, but the

response from our members was overwhelmingly
favorable, and we had a sold-out conference.
Through this type of financial stewardship, we
moved our chapter to a significantly better
financial footing. I am proud that GWAC has
offered two travel grants to AACNs 2016
National Teaching Institute (NTI).
As a chapter we continue to be committed to
hosting networking events. We hosted a happy
hour with The Medicines Company in Springfield,
Va., in December. On April 26, we will host a
Spring Fling at Shady Grove Adventist Hospital
in Rockville, Md. Details to follow by email!
GWAC is also focused on reaching our goal of
500 members. Today we have close to 400. I ask
you to encourage your friends and colleagues to
join AACN and GWAC. Share with them the great
benefits our professional organization has to offer,
both locally and nationally.
As we grow, we continue to focus on growing our
leadership. Are you feeling courageous this year?
Please consider joining our Board of Directors.
Contact me or any board member to learn more.
Lastly, I want to thank our members and the
Board of Directors for supporting GWACs
mission. We celebrated our 30th year as a chapter,

I have been excited to serve as your president this

past year. Whether you are a courageous Spotlight
volunteer committee, a member of the Board of
Directors, or a GWAC member, your passion for
this chapter has paid off. Our chapter has made
great strides in meeting our strategic goals.
Our biggest success this year was our Spotlight on
Critical Care conference, held at Holy Cross
Hospital in October, 2015. It was a risk for our
organization to move the yearly event from a
GWAC Critical Care Chronicle

a milestone we would not have reached without

our passionate members and leaders.

Fiscal Year 2016 GWAC Board

President: Steve Risch MSN RN CCRN CCNS
President Elect: Carolee Beckford RN CCRN
Immediate Past President: Karen Mack MS MBA
ACNP-BC CHFN
Treasurer: Stephen Mehallow RN BSN
Treasurer-Elect: Caitlin Litchfield RN BSN
Recording Secretary: Theresa Cattuna RN BSN
PCCN
Recording Secretary-Elect: Danielle Rolin, RN
Membership Chair: Carolee Beckford RN CCRN
Marketing & Development Chair: Beth
Matusiewicz RN BSN
Web Manager: Minnie Raju RN MS
Circle of Practice Chair-CCRN: Jen Lewis, RNBC, CCRN, MSN
Circle of Practice-Nursing Students: Kelly
McNeil-Jones, RN, MBA, RCIS
Circle of Practice Chair-APN: Helen Brown MS
ACNP-BC FNP-BC
Circle of Practice Chair-PCCN: Vacant
Spotlight 2016 Conference Co-Chairs: Theresa
Cattuna RN BSN PCCN & Stephen Mehallow
RN BSN
Newsletter Editor: Andrea Useem RN BSN
Region IV Advisor: Pat Baker RN MS CCRN
CCNS

GWAC Membership Report:

First Quarter 2016
Carolee Beckford, RN CCRN

Treasurers Report
Stephen Mehallow, RN BSN CCRN
GWAC has had a great first half of fiscal year
2016. Driving this success was the profitability of
our Spotlight on Critical Care conference last fall.
We strive to make the conference not only a
success educationally, but financially as well and
we are pleased to be able to deliver. As a result of
this good financial news, as you might have
heard, GWAC is now offering scholarships for
members to attend NTI so dont delay in getting
your applications in.
I would also like to introduce Caitlin Litchfield,
RN BSN, of the ICU at The George Washington
University Hospital as GWACs next Treasurer for
coming fiscal year 2017. She has wealth of
experience working with local organizations
dating back to high school and will bring a great
analytical mind to GWACs finances.
As I transition this summer to co-chair of the
Spotlight Conference committee, I would like to
thank you for entrusting to me GWAC's financial
performance and records. It has been an honor to
serve this organization in this role.

GWAC Critical Care Chronicle

Thank you to everyone who made

our 2015 Spotlight on Critical Care
Conference such a success!

GWAC Critical Care Chronicle

For more pictures and updates, join

the GWAC-AACN community on
Facebook! Contact Beth
Matusiewicz, Marketing &
Development Chair, for more on
GWACs social media presence.
I am a Critical Care Nurse
Stephen Mehallow, BSN RN CCRN
As part of our ongoing series I am a Critical
Care Nurse, Stephen Mehallow, a nurse in
George Washington Hospitals ICU, shares his
experience as a critical-care nurse.

I didnt have an idea of

what I was going to do for
a long time in my life.
What I did have when I
was young was a drive to
learn about the body and
diseases. One of my
favorite gifts I ever
received was a miniature full-body skeleton with
moving parts. When Id go to the library Id check
out childrens book about diseases or body
processes. During my athletic years in middle
school, I would embellish injuries in order to go
to the ER. I suppose that interest lied dormant for
many years. I earned a theology degree and then
worked in the restaurant industry after college. It
wasnt until I ran into an old friend who pushed
me in this direction that I gave any serious
consideration to nursing.
What about your job as a nurse makes you
happy?
People are going to laugh or be stunned when I
say this but I really do like the families of my
patients. I found that having family around is the
best thing for them especially when theyre going
to get extubated, are in and out of delirium or
facing a difficult prognosis. I enjoy when I can
make a difference by being the point person who
coordinates communication, explains care and,

Why did you become a nurse?

When you can get right up to

the ear of a weakened, sick and
frightened human being and
reassure them that you are
there to help, and when you can
deliver on that promisethat is
extraordinary.
Stephen Mehallow, ICU nurse
through it all, includes the family in the process.
What are the challenges you encounter and
how do you overcome them?
GWAC Critical Care Chronicle

Most definitely the biggest challenge I encounter

is providing a high level of direct nursing care to
my patients while being asked to complete an
ever-lengthening list of tertiary tasks. Every
month it seems theres something new I have to
chart on or some additional unit task I have to
complete. These all add up and make it difficult to
provide that necessary hands-on care to my
patients. Ive had to learn how to chart efficiently,
bundle my care activities and take advantage of
my personnel resources. Its not easy but thats the
nature of bedside nursing.
Have you experienced anything extraordinary
in your nursing career?
Back when I was writing nursing school
application essays, I spoke of helping people in
their most vulnerable condition. I suppose out of
all the nonsense I wrote for those admission
essays, this is the only statement that still rings
true in my career. Through all the tasks and noise
and tests and procedures and specialty rounds and
assessments and medications and alarms, when
you can get right up to the ear of a weakened and
sick and frightened human being and reassure
them that you are there to help them; and when
you can deliver on that promise by easing their
pain or explaining their condition, or when you
just hold their hand when they have no one to visit
them, and when they nod their head or a tear rolls
down their cheek, that is what is extraordinary.
What has been the most amazing experience
youve had as a critical care nurse?
I havent been around in nursing that long to
match some of the great stories others may have.
But what comes to mind is when one day the
doctor ordered that I take a patient outside for
some sun. We went out, meandered through the
crowd with his helmet and trach, and sat on a
bench in a park for about an hour. The patient had
been in the hospital for months and was so glad to
finally get out of there even for a few minutes.

still have to go through. I have only been on this

journey since January 2012. Before then I didnt
ever think Id become a nurse. To go from nothing
to new ICU nurse in 2.5 years is crazy but thats
the way it has been.
At the end of a busy/grueling day, how do you
find balance in your life?
Its funny because sometimes, after days like that,
I bring that energy home and get all kinds of
projects done. Yet at other times I just need to do
absolutely nothing. When Im not at work Ill be
spending time with my wife, Heather. She works
with four- and five-year-olds in a special needs
classroom in a job that is just as emotionally
demanding as mine. So when were home
together we just relax, watch old movies, go for a
hike or cook together. We love visiting our
families out of state too.
How has AACN played a role in your career?
Ive always felt it ones duty to be part of society
in some productive way beyond just ones
personal life and job. There needs to be civic
involvement as well and I feel as though I
accomplish that by working with this local
chapter. Its good to strive for excellence in your
profession and I can do so by acquiring the
knowledge that AACN provides. Ive also been
able to share experiences and get to know many
other nurses in the area through GWAC and this
gives me great perspective on where I want to go
in my career.
Share your story with usor nominate another
nurse! Write to our newsletter editor, Andrea
Useem.

What has your journey as a nurse been like?

It has been fast, very fast especially if you
consider what some of my medical student or
resident colleagues have had to go through and
GWAC Critical Care Chronicle

Kudos: Recognizing Our Nurses

More Achievements from Our

Members:

Andrea Useem, RN BSN

Congratulations to the many nurses in the Greater

Washington D.C. area who recently earned a
critical-care certification!

Kim Kelly, RN BSN MBA, director of nursing

for critical care at Suburban Hospital, wrote to us
with some exciting news about nurses at her
facility. Warning, this update contains a visual
spoiler alert for House of Cards fans!
Please recognize Marge Donovan, RN MHA,
who is our ICU Assistant Nurse Manager at
Suburban Hospital, for receiving an award from
the WRTC for being a Champion for Organ
Donation. Marge has co-chaired our Collaborative
Donation Committee since 2007.

Suburban Hospital (Bethesda, Md.)

One of my ICU nurses, Nicole McCauley, was an

extra on this latest season of House of Cards.
What does she play? A trauma nurse of course!
Watch for her in episode 4! (See the screen shot
below.)

Ellen Smith, RN CCRN

Virginia Hospital Center (Arlington, Va.)

Lindsey Bireley, RN CCRN

Gerald Brock, RN CCRN
Sarah Clemente, RN CCRN
Alicia Marconi, RN CCRN

Caroline Gracia, RN PCCN

Mahlet Fetahi, RN PCCN
Megan Stewart, RN PCCN
Jacquelyn Taylor, RN PCCN

Inova Fairfax Hospital (Falls Church, Va.)

Gina Graf Black, RN TCRN

Marianne Hess, MSN, RN, CCRN-K, Interim

Manager of the Professional Development &
Education Department at George Washington
University Hospital, gave the end note
presentation at the Maryland Association of
Nursing Students 36th Annual Convention in
Baltimore, Maryland on February 13th, 2016.
Mariannes presentation was entitled Putting the
I in iLEAD.
Catherine Miller, MSN, APRN-CNS, ACNSBC, CCRN, the Clinical Education Program
Manager at Howard County General Hospital,
presented at the Chesapeake Bay Chapter AACN

GWAC Critical Care Chronicle

Futures, 27th Annual Symposium on March 17th.

Her topic was, Keeping an Eye on Sepsis

professor at George Washington Universitys

School of Nursing.

Two GWAC members are running in AACN

national elections:

Why did you chose critical care nursing as

your career?

Kiersten Henry, ACNP-BC, CCNS, CCRNCMC, is on the ballot for the AACN Nominating
Committee. Theresa Davis, PhD, RN, NE-BC, is
on the ballot for the AACN Board of Directors.
AACN members can cast their vote before April
18 at midnight, when voting closes.

I was fascinated by the

heart when I studied
anatomy and physiology.
During my senior year in
nursing school I got an
opportunity to take care of a
critically ill patient with my
preceptor and I was hooked.
My first job out of nursing school was in the CCU
at Sinai Hospital in Baltimore. They had a
summer internship program for new graduates.
The medical director of the unit was Dr. Michel
Mirowski, the developer of the first implantable
defibrillator.

What are YOUR nurses accomplishing? Write to

our newsletter editor about new certifications,
presentations or other achievements.

Welcoming New GWAC Members

Andrea Useem, RN BSN
Our chapter is always adding new members, and
in this issue, we begin a series highlighting the
many motivations that lead nurses and students to
join GWAC-AACN.
We asked new member Katie Guerra, a senior
nursing student Catholic University, to tell us
about herself and what inspired her to join
GWAC.
I joined GWAC because
this organization embodies a
supportive environment for
all members in order to share
innovative ideas to give
holistic and safe patient
care. As a nurse extern, I
worked for the first time in
critical care, and it really inspired me to join a
community that supports giving the highest
quality of care to patients and their families.
Join us in welcoming Katie and others to GWAC!

Past-President Insights
Linda Briggs, DNP, ANP-BC, ACNP-BC, FAANP
As part of our occasional series highlighting the
work of past GWAC presidents, we bring you an
interview with Dr. Linda Briggs, now an assistant
GWAC Critical Care Chronicle

At what point in your career did you join the

AACN and GWAC?
I joined AACN in the fall following my
graduation from nursing school. I wanted to take
the CCRN exam, which I did and passed it on the
first try. I joined GWAC around 1988 when I
returned to the DC area to start the cardiac surgery
program at Alexandria Hospital.
How and why did you decide to take on
leadership roles, including GWAC president?
I was always impressed by the members and the
leaders of GWAC. I started by helping with
Spotlight on Critical Care, our annual symposium.
I had lots of friends who were leaders in the
organization and helped guide me along the way,
including Dorrie Fontaine (Dean, University of
Virginia School of Nursing), Janie Heath (Dean,
University of Kentucky) and Carol Rauen. Back
when I first started in GWAC, we had monthly
dinner meetings. I just kept volunteering to be on
committees. In 2003 I was asked if I would like
to run for president-elect, and in 2004, I became
the president.
What challenges did you face in these
AACN/GWAC leadership roles?
7

GWAC has been one of the largest local chapters

of AACN for a really long time. At the time I was
president, we had some challenges in maintaining
membership because our members were now
working 12-hour shifts, and it wasnt easy for
them to attend local monthly meetings. Also,
some of the dinner sponsorship money was
starting to get tighter.
We decided to move away from monthly meetings
and focus on our larger continuing education
events primarily Spotlight. The Board
continued to communicate with members in all
the local hospitals to encourage people to work on
our committees and stay active with the
organization. We tried very hard to make
everyone who was interested feel included and
that they had an important role in all our
activities.

What do you think prevents some

critical-care nurses from becoming
involved nationally or locally with AACN?
People often believe that they dont have the time
or the specific skills. You can volunteer as little
or as much as you want. GWAC and AACN can
help you learn any skills you dont already have
and develop those you do.
What are you working on these days?
I am currently working on starting an Acute Care
Adult-Gerontology Nurse Practitioner at George
Washington University. I am also doing research
on scope of practice regulations related to newly
graduated nurse practitioners.
Thank you to Dr. Briggs for sharing her
experiences with the GWAC community.

One of the ways to get involved at the national

level is to be a volunteer. There are a myriad of
opportunities including helping with the planning
of the National Teaching Institute, writing items
for a certification exam, participating in a Think
Tank and joining an advisory team. You can fill
out your volunteer profile online and AACN will
contact you when appropriate opportunities arise
and believe me they will. You can find out more
at the AACN volunteer page.
How did these leadership roles influence your
own career?
AACN provides a lot of opportunities to build
skills to be a better leader. They have leadership
conferences and mentorship programs. Also, as
part of AACN and GWAC you get an opportunity
to network with national leaders. This networking
leads to other opportunities for professional
growth.
Through AACN I was a mentor for another
GWAC member to publish a journal article. I also
served on committees that taught me how national
certification exams are constructed. These skills
have helped me in my career as a nursing faculty
member.

GWAC Critical Care Chronicle

GWAC and AACN can help you

learn any skills you dont already
have and develop those you do.
Dr. Linda Briggs, George Washington
University

The GWAC Board of Directors is very excited to

announce we will be offering a new scholarship
opportunity for members.
The chapter will be offering two $500
scholarship awards based on an essay
submission. Must be a GWAC and AACN
8

member for at least 2 years. Applications are due

April 15th.
Download your application here. We look to
reviewing the applications!

Practice Alert
Karen Mack, MS MBA ACNP-BC CHFN, &
Andrea Useem, RN BSN

retrospective study of eight hospitals electronic

medical records, the authors found that
recommended assessments took place for only
8.3% of patients. Among patients assessed every
2.5 hours, naloxone was not required for any
patient.
The article includes recommendations for nurse
executives to improve assessment compliance and
patient safety.

A new study published in the Feb. 2016 Journal

of Nursing Administration found a strong link
between assessment frequency and opioidinduced respiratory depression.
The authors noted that current guidelines exist to
encourage nurses to frequently assess patients
receiving IV opioids via patient-controlled
analgesia (PCA) pumps. However, in their

GWAC Critical Care Chronicle

Do you work in an AACN Beacon Unit? The

Critical Care Chronicle would love to report on
your units journey. Email newsletter editor
Andrea Useem to learn more.